In line with daily tips academic focus will look at the history, and nature of cults in Nigerian University System.
2 Major cult organization in Nigeria
1. Buccaneers
2. Pyrate Confraternity, aka Alora sea dogs
1. The BUCCANEERS secret cult
The Buccaneers splited from the Pyrates. The rebellion of the Thirty was led by Dr. Bolaji Carew, former provost of the lagos College of Education whose cult name is “Rica Ricardo”.
He was also the Supreme Eye or Sole Patron and Spiritual Head. The open challenge to the Sea Dogs is emblazoned in Buccaneer logo”Odas is Odas”,”A dog has a Master and the Master is a Lord”, “Blud for Blud”, etc. On its Aniversary, 1982, the Buccaneer Confraternity, Sea lords, became “Buccaneer Association of Nigeria”(BAN). By that time, the Vikings Confraternity was formed in opposition to the Sea Dogs and Sea lords.
This was as a result of the tendency by Pyrates to hound the Palm Wine Drinkers and to parade as the only “frat” in Nigeria.
In I977, for instance, the Pyrates disrupted the Convention of the Palmites at Nsukka. The fight led to disciplinary action based on the recommendations of the Afigbo Committee. Conclusions like this emerged: ¤ Between 1982-92, the implosion of secret cults took a completely different character. It became violent.
For instance while the pyrates had moved into the six old Universities before 1980, the “Buckets”, as others call the Buccaneers, moved into University of Lagos, 1973, University of Benin, 1978 and crossed the Niger into University of Calaber in 1980.
Calabar deck pioneered into University of Nigeria, 1985 and into other institutions as a part of the wildfire proliferation thereafter. Indead from 1984, Pyrates claimed to have cut off the Students wing.
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Buccaneers did so in 1987. These reactions pointed to the rapid proliferation of secret cults into all manners of institutions. Worse the indication is that more groups are forming.
For example, Security agents investigating reported cases of theft in late 1990, discovered documents of a new cult in the University of Nigeria at an embryo stage. Exhibit included:
1. The proposal of a new deadly organization called ‘CAPPA VENDETTA’
2. The draft constitution
3. The Emblem
4. The Declaration form.
Five students had completed the form. All of them were members of existing cult and were from the same community in Abia State.
This trend bothered the old groups. The Alumin wanted respectability. In BAN newsletter, of July 1987 entitled “Deck Submerge”: “due to the recent spate of embrassing, undisciplined and violent acts Deckhands. Grand Eye Council has decided to submerge all decks permanent for now.
All Galleon Masters merge desirable deckhands with fridgates as observers” BAN also attempted to use public relations techniques to create new image, which backfired as the Warri frigate protested in a letter to the Grand Eye: Alora, lords of warri frigate wish to bring to your attention, this issues. Buccaneers are well noted for their secrecy, which is our pride. But now the only secret left is the content of grand pa’s Chest.
Have we became palmites which every Tom, Harry and Dick knows their Hierarchal structure?.
Obviously, both Pyrates and Buccaneers were posturing and hiding their new identities as secret cults.
2. Pyrate Confraternity aka Sea Dogs
The Pyrate Confraternity Started out in 1952 at the University College, Ibadan Oyo State Nigeria, the group of Seven was led by professor Wole Soyinka, they percived themselves as cultural nationalists. Echoes of this grand sentiment could still be heard in the objectives of the Sea Dogs: “against moribund convention, tribalism, for humanistic ideas and comradeship and chivalry” they insisted on an African content in a White-oriented Campus.
But this halycon days soon passed by when the Buccaneers splited from them.
The key factor is that the nature of tertiary education in Nigeria changed dramatically in the decades. This article is part of the series of posts on cults in Nigeria University system
