A secret cult could be described as a group of people who have extreme beliefs or ideals which are not usually accepted by others in the society. Such beliefs usually go against the laws or norms of the society they find themselves in.

The rules and beliefs of these cults are not disclosed to anyone who is not a member; they are shrouded in secrecy.
Such secret cults exist in Nigerian universities. They have been in existence for a very long time and are a threat to the peace and stability of the university communities.

The members of such cults join them for three major reasons.
The first reason is to gain respect. The students who join secret cults join them most times because they believe that they will be respected by their colleagues in school. Once the cult is joined, they mobilize other members of the cult to places where they oppress other students who are not members by extorting money from them or taking their belongings with the use of force. These activities give members of the cult a “false” self-confidence which they would not have had if they were alone and not members.

In other words, the idea of being in a group to commit crimes inspires them to join cults. This is because they believe that members of a secret cult discard their real names and assume the cult names once they join the cult and this will make it difficult to identify and furnish them individually.

The second reason students join secret cults is financial constraint. Most students who are not well to do join cults because they believe that they can get money to educate and feed themselves by either committing crimes to get money or associating with richer members of the cult who will supply them with their financial needs.

The last reason why students join cults could be coercion. In this case, students who are not intersted in joining secret cults are forced into them by already existing members because of what they believe that the uninterested students can offer the cult.

Cultism has cause a lot of chaos in the university system Students kill one another in the name of cult wars, threaten the lives of their lecturers for extra marks that will ensure their success in the university, intimidate innocent people and deny them of their property and so on.

Unfortunately, cultism has come to stay in not just the universities but in the society in general.

Cultists are found in every facet of the society. They are found at different level of the society.

The first level of the society is the family. In some homes, the father or mother or even the siblings could be cultists. In this situation an individual could be influenced or encouraged by family members and a family member who is a cultist will be unable to advice the child or sibling against cultism.

The next level of the society where cultists are found is the peer group. The individual can also be influenced and encouraged into joining a cult by his friends.

The last level of the society is the tertiary institution like the school, places of workor the churches. This level of the society has cult members of different age levels. In a situation where the head of a university, the police force or deacons in the churches are cult members, the cult activities in such establishments will be overlooked.

The problem can be solved by organizing an awareness programme which will target the younger members of the society like the primary and secondary school children. This awareness programme will be used to educate the children on the ills of cultism and the problems which could arise as a result of cultism.

This will ensure that the younger generation does not join cults while the older cultists are faced out.

A second way of curbing the spate of cultism in the society is by creating a general awareness through the use of mass media in creating adverts to discourage cult activities and participation.

The government can also organize an orientation programme which will reach out to remote areas of the society, discouraging youths from joining cults.

Finally, churches and other religious groups can campaign against cultism in the society.

All these steps by the government and public establishments will discourage already existing members and prevent new members from emerging.