“I never wore the shirt again until I graduated,” he said.

According to him, students that are members of such groups are probably battling with inferiority complex.

“There are so many ways people react to different things and I think that is their own way of feeling to be part of something,” he added.

Member Identification

Since the cult groups had expanded from universities and colleges in Nigeria to high schools, students in the various institutions that are non-members are alert and are the first to flee when trouble ensues; they also know the colors of the various groups and would not wear such colors on specific days or at all. Alagboso said his inability to understand the unwritten color code of the cult group almost landed him in trouble.

“I knew such existed. I used to hear names but I never knew their supposed ‘colors,’”

Now even teachers and other school workers are aware of the cult color identification system. Sola Funmi is a secondary school teacher in southwest Nigeria. She said even though the school made it a punishable offense for any student to wear socks of other colors apart from white, many members of the cult groups still flout the law to show their cult membership.

“On Thursdays I always see some of them wearing black socks which are a sign of the International Terrorists Union (ITU) cult group in the school. When such students come around, they are always full of themselves and attempt to intimidate everyone including teachers,” she said.

She said the cult members often threaten teachers with havocs if they fail tests or exams; she however added that many of the teachers often stand up to the young cultists and insist that they must read to pass.

“What I usually do is I call them by their first names so they would know I really know them and they would be easily reported to the appropriate authorities for further actions,” she said.

On the academic performances of the cult members, she said confirmed members perform woefully during exams.

“I think they mostly join the groups to intimidate teachers and to force the helpless teachers to pass them,” she said.

Recruitment Exercise and Robbery

Cult groups in Nigerian institutions of higher learning usually recruit new members during the early weeks of school resumption; the new male members are initiated at ceremonies that can involve severe beatings. For all-female groups on the other hand, new members could be subjected to rough sexual intercourse.

New members of female cult groups could also be introduced to prostitution rings, while politicians have been rumored to use the male groups to intimidate the electorate and rig at the polls.

In addition to threatening teachers, Alagboso said members of the group want the best things on the campus. He was once involved in an incident where a cult member tried to steal his phone in the late evening after classes.

“I was heading home when he stopped me and took the money in my breast pocket. He wanted to search my pant pockets, but I refused. I offered to bring out the contents myself because I knew I wouldn’t get the phone back the moment it entered his hands, Alagboso said.

“I brought out the phone and he asked for it. I refused. He turned and picked up a knife from a fish seller. I made a run for it before he turned to face me again.”

Ways out and Impact on Education

While some students are lured into the cult lifestyle, Alagboso believes that promoting mentorship and catching students at young ages will help them avoid cult group involvement.

He said cultism has a negative impact on Nigeria’s education system as members are poorly trained and become a burden to the nation.

“Most of them end up as half-baked graduates that get pushed into the labor market. They are not employable, but however complain of no jobs and turn to more serious criminal lives,” he said.

“Older boys of secondary schools can help here. They can map out time to visit their alma mata. Teach them. Share experiences with them so they know there’s no gain from such lifestyles.”