By Paul Omoruyi
From Black Axe to Aiye and De Norsemen to Jurist Confraternities, many Edo
Youths have given up their lives and future to these dastardly groups
because they were (and still are) ill-advised about the heart-wrenching
perils that await them.
The statistics are startling, frightening and breath-taking:
May 20th, 2015 – Edo State Police reported “Fourteen secondary school
students arrested for engaging in cultism”
May 14th, 2015 – Four Edo government officials arrested over cult activities
May 7th, 2015 – Cult war in Edo claims two mothers – two mothers were
killed when cultists attacked the homes of some of their targets and could
not find them and vented their frustrations on their mothers
June 17th, 2013 – 20 killed in Edo cult clashes, 10 arrested
July 2012, Leadership reported that 4 people were killed in 2 days (27
July 2012), while the Lagos-based newspaper the Guardian reported that 6
suspected cult members were killed (27 July 2012)
January 2012, media sources reported on the death of 8 people (This Day 6
Jan 2012; Vanguard 11 Jan. 2012)
May 2011, Vanguard reported that 18 people were killed (26 May 2011)
January 2011, Vanguard indicated that 10 people were killed (24 Jan. 2011)
February 2009, 7 suspected cultists were killed according to Vanguard (23
Feb. 2009)
The list goes on.
Innocent is dead. Oh, Innocent is dead. It is still unfathomable more than
a score year later. Innocent was butchered like an animal in bright day
light by rival cult group at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) Medical
Complex building right in front of his lecture theater. He was a 500-level
Medical student. He and I had a special relationship. As one of my senior
mentors in high school, he gave me a professorial explanation of why Force
= Mass X Acceleration (F=MA).
Innocent explained F=MA as if he was with Isaac Newton the day the Second
Law of motion equation was formulated. From that moment, I was enthralled
by Innocent’s brilliance and wanted to be as academically smart as
innocent!
How can I forget Innocent? I think I am indebted to him in so many ways
because his explanation of “Force” spurred my interest in physics and the
career I finally pursued in life.
In a million years, I will never have guessed that Innocent will end up
belonging to these good-for-nothing, scum-of-the-earth and dregs of
society confraternities. What drove this promising smart high school
student into cultism in the University? Not surprisingly, like some other
cultists’ young men, Innocent came from a very decent home.
The few years I spent within the four walls of UNIBEN in Edo State were
some of the most memorable times in my life. From the day I saw my college
admission examination (JAMB) score through the matriculation ceremony and
registration of first year classes, the euphoria of being a University
student was indescribable. We were young, ambitious, and passionate to
learn and to make something positive out of our life.
As a first year student, I was first exposed to the activities of cultism.
Occasionally, when there is a beef between the different nocturnal (at
least then they were somewhat nocturnal) cult groups, several students
will be attacked at night in and around the campus. However, during the
day, you can hardly tell who belongs to what. Back then, you can have a
cultist room-mate for years without knowing. There was some degree of
“vicious” civility.
In a few years, things took a dramatic turn as the different cultist
groups took their recruitments outside the campus to the street to
generate revenue for their nefarious activities. Illiterates, street
hoodlums, “motor park gangs” hawkers and their likes signed up to join
these groups. All hell was let loose as these new “street” members were
promised protection against all “enemies” real or imagined.
Suddenly, if you said hello to these low intelligent new members’ girl
friends, you will be butchered because they belong to a confraternity. You
dare not question their actions anymore. If you do, their confraternity’s
members will snuff the life out of you. They cowardly intimidate members
of the society. Yes, they are actually bunch of cowards when you get to
know them one-on-one.
As years went by, young men (and unfortunately ladies) wanted to go to
higher institutions for the sole purpose of having the opportunity to
belong to these groups. Now, the rest is history.
While growing up as teenagers in Benin City, our drive for knowledge with
the desire to become productive members of the society was so high that
almost every one of us had nick-names after great inventors, Philosophers,
Mathematicians, Physicist, Chemist and Economist. We had friends called
Pythagoras, Archimedes, Awolowo, Chinua Achibe, Faraday and Albert
Einstein. What is amazing is that majority of that group ended up as
professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Young men in Edo State today measure their status and self worth in the
society by the cult they belong to. They gallivant about despotically like
untouchable king of the jungles wearing various bandannas to indicate
their cult affiliation. The different violent cult groups now jostle for
positions in the State and Local governments to raise their awareness and
profiles. As I have written extensively about, sadly so, there are reports
that many of the cult members are now in the payroll of government
officials. Nothing is hidden under the sun – in due time, we will know how
funds were being disbursed by Government officials to these groups!
In the midst of these cultism quagmire, the Edo people (The Benins
especially) unarguably are the most loving, culturally-inclined and
welcoming people that I know. The culture and traditions of the Great
Benin Kingdom are unique, family-friendly, peace-loving and
community-oriented. Unfortunately, the cultists and their activities have
cast the state and her people in bad light.
It is evident that we have lost a generation of young Edo men and women
when the golden standard and success reference point for them are motor
park hoodlums-turned-cultists who became wealthy by cultic gangsterism. We
have lost a generation of young Edo men and women when they prefer to be
used as cult group “community security” (a euphemism for “Agberos”) for
the Government (and others) instead of being a Bank Manager, Entrepreneur,
Business owner, University Professor, Engineer, Doctor, Pharmacist, et al.
It is time for all well meaning Edo people from the Traditional to the
state and local government leaders to stop cultists’ threat to the
collective existence of the Edo people by enforcing the laws justly
against those that are involved in these evil groups.
Parents, uncles and aunties should use their influence to discourage and
educate their young folks before they get sucked into cultism. Like a
successful US-based Edo man told me recently, “The day I know say any of
my brother or sister belongs to this cultism thing; that is the end of
anything between me and them”. I fully support that idea. Those in the
Diaspora who provide financial support to their young ones at home can
also use their leverage to get the message across.
Hopefully, my nieces, nephews; second, third and fourth cousins would grow
up in a society where cultism will not be cool anymore and a despicable
thing of the past. Share your idea on solution to cultists’ activities in
Edo State and Nigeria at large. God bless Edo State and may God bless the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Paul Omoruyi
Blog @ www.diasporascope.com