For all we care, some of these kids’ action might just be a rebellion or a way of venting their anger on a society that has failed to care for them.
Olabisi Deji-Folutile
We have heard a lot of talks around the activities of kid bandits and the menace of the Almajiris in the northern part of Nigeria but we seem to be paying little attention to the monster of child cultism that is fast growing in Nigeria’s primary and secondary schools. Yet, at the rate this malaise is going, especially in the southern part of the country, we don’t need a soothsayer to tell us that it’s a time bomb. If we love ourselves, this is the time to start doing something about this problem. Everybody should also be involved - parents, guardians, religious organisations, government, policy makers - everybody! Right now, before our own eyes, schools that are supposed to be havens of peace and tranquillity for children are turning into a nightmare, becoming launching pad for cultism. Violence is becoming a norm. Now is the time to pause, think and act. We should no longer allow this to fester.
If reports in public space are anything to go by, recruitment into child cultism among Nigerian pupils is growing at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, the society has remained passive amidst this ugly trend. We can’t afford to wait until this issue gets out of hand before scampering for solutions. The body language of managers of our educational sector on this matter is also not too encouraging. Perhaps they are too afraid to add this to the gamut of the challenges in the sector, hence their collective silence and decision not to put it on the front burner. But truth be told, Nigerian children are joining cults everyday; the earlier we tackle this problem, the better it would be for everyone.
This is a country with over 10million kids of school age still out of school although our education minister said the figure has now dropped to . How Nigeria was able to achieve this feat at a time when are projecting an increase in the figure due to disruptions to schooling occasioned by COVID-19, should be of interest to any researcher. In the meantime, Nigeria should not wait until innocent children begin to willingly abandon school for fear of either being attacked or recruited into cults; thus adding to the huge number of out of school children in the country. We shouldn’t allow a situation that will prevent parents from sending their children to school out of fear; or teachers totally abandoning the classroom to keep safe. We are already running out of time, hence the need for government to move fast before this bomb explodes.