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CJUS 230 One Page Assignment 1
Criminal Justice Research and Writing (Liberty
University)
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SECRET CULT MENACE IN
NIGERIA
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Secret Cult Menace in Nigeria within the Context of Social Structure and
Political Economy: A Critical Analysis
Zachary A. Cushman
Liberty University
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SECRET CULT MENACE IN
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Abstract
Secret cults have been affecting the entire foundation of Nigerian society. This article is
designed to examine the danger of the secret cult in Nigeria by linking core problems to the
religious beliefs and tyrannical colonial and post-colonial social and political structure. This
account presents elaborate circumlocutions some cult members and apologists have used to
persuade the government and society that their association is not a secret cult. Some of these
sobriquets include names for the cult: fraternity, game, confraternity, family, system,
brotherhood, culture, society, runs; and names for the cult members: runs-man, game-man,
rugged-man, system-man. This paper establishes that cultism has both negative and positive
consequences. When compared, however, the former weighs heavier than the latter. This report
recommends the government, along with relevant authorities and civil society groups, to
organize resolution sessions for students within various Nigerian learning institutions that teach
about the dangers of cult memberships to try to deter potential members from joining the
societies that exist inside and outside of the school system. The article also suggests that the
government establishes a proactive Anti-Cult outfit which will comprise of credible students and
unaltered school safety workers that will work with the host community’s vigilance groups and
conventional Police Forces to thwart the cult menace.
Keywords: secret cult; government; cultism
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SECRET CULT MENACE IN
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Secret Cult Menace in Nigeria within the Context of Social Structure and Political
Economy: A Critical Analysis
Secret cults have been affecting the entire foundation of Nigerian society. This article is
designed to examine the danger of the secret cult in Nigeria by linking core problems to the
religious beliefs and tyrannical colonial and post-colonial social and political structure. This
account presents elaborate circumlocutions some cult members and apologists have used to
persuade the government and society that their association is not a secret cult. Some of these
sobriquets include “Fraternity, game, confraternity, family, system, brotherhood, culture,
society, runs (current names for secret cult) or runs-man, game-man, rugged-man, system-man
(current name [sic] for secret cult members), or whichever name secret cults and cultists
have recently assumed in Nigeria,” (Nnam, 2014, p.171). This paper establishes that cultism has
both negative and positive consequences. When compared, however, the former weighs heavier
than the latter. Nnam (2014) recommends the government, along with relevant authorities and
civil society groups, to organize resolution sessions for students within various Nigerian learning
institutions that teach about the dangers of cult memberships to try to deter potential members
from joining the societies that exist inside and outside of the school system. The article also
suggests that the government establishes a proactive Anti-Cult outfit which will comprise of
credible students and unaltered school safety workers that will work with the host community’s
vigilance groups and conventional police forces to thwart the cult menace.
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SECRET CULT MENACE IN
NIGERIA
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References
Nnam, M. U. (2014). Secret cult menace in Nigeria within the context of social structure and
political economy: A critical analysis. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences,
9(2), 171-180. https://www.sascv.org/ijcjs/pdfs/uchennaijcjs2014vol9issue2.pdf
