Insecurity: Stop cultists in Southern states
It is a common knowledge that insecurity in Nigeria has remained unabated. Banditry, Boko Haram, Kidnapping in the North and Cultism, amongst other raging incidents of moral decade are the focus in the Southern States. Although both items of insecurity are ambiguous to the both axis; Indeed, Nigeria represents a nation under collapse. Here, unwarranted killings, murder, ritual, robbering, unemployment, inadequate infrastructural development, poverty, corruption jottle for a top stop.
The correlation between cultists and all negative vices are significantly related. In fact it is an unseperated twins. Little wonder the insecurity challenges facing Nigeria keep raging. The trio of Cultism, Corruption and unpatriotic politicians has further compounded the nation’s woes.
Despite the fact that the Nigerian Constitution outrightly outlaws membership of secret societies (popularly known as secret ‘cults’) for all in Nigeria, particularly making candidates for elective positions ineligible by virtue of such membership, there have always been strong accusations against senior government officials/politicians, mostly in Southern Nigeria, of being members of secret societies like the Ogboni Confraternity, Okija Secret Society, Free Masons, AMORC (Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis aka Rosicrucian Order) to mention but a few. So many different stories have made the rounds, of allegations of politicians in higher positions going to the extent of taking their appointees to the secret shrines of their cults, to swear oaths of allegiance to them, hiring cultists to secure electoral victories amongst others.
The negative impact of cultsim has a far reaching effect, this is why NewsDirect is advocating for a stop.
There cannot really be any significant national growth or development in a country where individual interest, or in the context of this discourse, a secret society, the group’s interest, overrides everything else, even if it is detrimental to the nation. The selfish essence of secret societies therefore, also goes against the spirit of the Constitution which is meant to promote equity, equality, fairness, inclusivity and unity.
What also readily comes to mind is that, in protecting or promoting the interest of its in the name of practicing culticism, cultistz activities will be discriminatory, contrary to Section 42 of Constitution, giving its members unmerited advantages based on their membership of the society, sometimes even criminal, like aiding and abetting a crime, or accessory before, during or after the fact. For example, if a member kills someone, and his fellow members happen to be placed in high positions in the legal profession, Police and the Judiciary, their common goal would be to get the offending member off the hook at all costs, even if he’s guilty, and even though murder is a heinous crime which is punishable by the death sentence or life imprisonment in Nigeria.
Another drawback of culticism is that the promotion of their members is akin to partiality, nepotism, ethnicity, tribalism and the like, which has been one of the causes of regression in Nigeria – the sacrifice of merit on the altar of these anti-progressive elements; again since the secret society will promote its members “under all circumstances without due regard to merit, justice and fair play”, square or useless pegs will always end up in round holes, as long as the unlawful society is able to spread its tentacles and insert its members into vantage positions all over the place.
Certainly, as the country approach its forthcoming 2023 general election, all and sundry need to stand in solidarity against the ills perpetuated by cult members. Enough is enough for Nigeria’s gory political landscape, all citizenry whether in the Southern States or Northern States need to stand up against the menance.
