Asigidi Cult
June 29, 2017
Traditional Cults Nationwide And Campus cultism
By
Matthew Oban
betteryouthlife@yahoo.com

A lot of us seem to be ignoring the influence of non-Campus cults on the Campus based cultists and other youths. Across the country we are all bothered about what our schools and universities are turning into as a result of the activities of cultists. I dare to say that, the strength of campus cultism lies in their affiliations with native doctors and a non- campus cult called Osokpikan. Call it Asigidi, Arinrin, Owegbe, or Ajor cult – they are all synonym of the same thing- a daredevil anti social secret cult mounting a widespread reputation in this country. While all eyes focus on the equally growing violent activities of campus cultism many have failed to ask the question, why the effort by well meaning Nigerians and the day government to stop it has not yielded success? The answer is quite simple yet elusive to many. It is because the government has refused to pay attention to the root cause of the problem- the influence of the traditional secret societies like Asigidi on the activities of campus cults. There is hardly any town and city where you do not have the conglomeration of these more often than not nocturnal beings. The convenience with which they gain patronage not only among the influential but also among society deviants like prostitutes and other criminally minded individuals who believe in the potency of the juju they acquire from their membership of the cult is something to fret about.

It is worth of note that just as the government is attempting to eradicate campus cults like the Black Arts, Ehie, Buchanians, Manfight etc so did it in the past, it tried to stamp out cults like Owegbe in the past which has today regenerated in forms even more deadly than the earlier version. One must point out that outlawing a secret cult does not do much in eradicating it. It only means that they should be more secretive. The government should not try to exonerate itself from those who encouraged cultism by claiming it has enacted laws forbidden the existence of cultism in campuses. We all know that very many campus cultists today are the children of very important personalities who always escape the wrath of the law even when the law enforcement agent managed to apprehend them. Those who are prosecuted are usually children of the nameless who in most cases are victims of circumstances. There was the case of a student who received so much pressure to become a member of the black Arts in the university of Lagos, and he did all he could to refuse the entreaties until he was able to transfer to the university of Benin. In Benin he encountered the same problem but this time he was unable to continue the resistance because of constant threat by the same Black Arts in UNIBEN, so he bowed to pressure but decided to join a rival of the Black Arts. He submitted to initiation into Ehie cult, a close rival of the Black Arts. But only in his first few weeks in the cult he was among the three names submitted by the school authority to the police as wanted cultists. What about hundreds of other known cultists that parade our campuses in the open? Oh they are the untouchable children of the affluent! What about lecturers and others who hold position of authority in the university? Let’s not deceive ourselves; if the government claims to be unaware, at least the university cannot claim they do not know that some members of its staff are prominent members of these cults. In fact students are meant to believe that they occupy such positions because of their ‘connection’ as cultists or ‘lordys’. Being a member of a cult is now seen as a means to acquiring affluent position yet the school authority and the government say they are serious about eradicating cultism. May be they have to reappraise the genuineness of their intention.

Although this article is not supposed to be about campus cultism but one cannot speak of cultism these days without talking about campus cultism which is a direct progeny of native secret cults like Asigidi, Ogboni and other secret societies that had at some point committed unimaginable atrocities in our society. Some people may want to argue that the Ogboni is now a reformed fraternity. But every mind of intellect should be able to ask this simple question ‘reformed from what?’ Let’s assume for once that their reformation is genuine, what about the culture of cultism it has created in our youths? So also is the pirate which one of my Heroes Professor Wole Soyinka is reputed for being a pioneer member. I have read many of his articles and listen to this icon saying, sometimes almost ‘tearfully’, that the original motive behind the formation of that first but now infamous campus cult-the pirates is grossly different from the practice obtainable in it and the other various campus cults today. But I will say to you Ogboni leaders, Professor Wole Soyinka and other cult pioneers that campus cultism that is ravaging our campuses today is a direct offspring of your actions in the past. So instead of defending yourselves, you might want to think of practical steps to finding solution rather than mere condemnation.

There is something I must make clear, no student really enjoy being a cultist. If you have the opportunity of checking it out one-on-one with cultists they will tell you that it is not the best idea. Most cultists are there because they have to be in order to survive the life on campus. Others are merely frustrated with life and the general state of affairs in educational system and the country, and simply wish to be part of something. And once you are in, you are in, no turning back. That’s why the talk of cultist denouncing cult membership amuses me. Anyway, in case you don’t know, these guys are supposed to be very intelligent undergraduates, whose membership of a cult does not diminish their sense of intellect. Denouncing cultism is not a solution at all; it only means making cultism more secretive. I once talked with a friend who was a member of The Black Arts in AAU Ekpoma, after he went to publicly denounce his membership in 2001; he said “at least by now, they will turn away their eyes from me!” That is the notion of many of those denouncing cultism. For those of us who understand how it works we know that nobody can be safe after openly denouncing cultism. The government who is pleading cultist to denounce membership of such cults should have known it’s not the best solution after all because there will always be many others who definitely would not be interested in such drama. Of course those who would have loved to mean their denouncement will be afraid of being seen as traitors.

Even if one could feign understanding to the explanations by the government that it is confused as to what to do about cultism, forgive professor Wole Soyinka for creating something that now outgrow his control, and applaud Ogboni for their effort in reformations. How can one overlook the continued effort by Asigidi and the others who continues to influence and support student cultists in obtaining magical powers which gives them confidence in carrying out their nefarious activities? When Korano the former leader Of Ehie in UNIBEN was killed in Benin by his own Ehie cult members from the University of Lagos, he could have escaped death had he not believed in powers vested in him by Arinrin priest. He was said to have safely escaped his assailants and entered Hall 4 Hostel inside UNIBEN after gun shots and machetes fail to bring him down. His assailants could not enter the student Hostel for fear of reprisal by the students who will want to protect their own. But Korano driven by ego and belief in the protection of charms given to him by his priest came out to face his pursuers. Eyewitnesses said when he came out to meet them again one of his assailants brought an egg and threw it at him and they started shooting at him. He fell and they used their machete to hack him in bits and pieces. Korano’s heart was said to continue to beat for almost three days after! One could see that the menace of cultism is not as simple as the government and those who inspired it assume it to be.

The more disturbing is the continued fast spread of Asigidi in Nigeria. Asigidi cult have branches in all part of Nigeria, even in italy. Top politician in Nigeria are members of Great Asigidi Cult in Nigeria. The cult said to be original from Benin, now operate through out the country. Even if one could understand its presence in the Eastern States which we all know as the citadel of violent secret cults, who would have taught that northerners would buy a culture of such anti social cult with its attendant dysfunctional attributes? Although most of their members here in Kaduna are said to be indigenes of Benin but indigenes of these parts and other southerners are also fast embracing it. Some say they are protected from high offices. I do not know about that, but what I do know is that if influential people who are supposed to be of exemplary characters are part of this national shame, then it must really be something to worry about. If politician and well-placed Nigerians are part of this cult for God knows reason, then what moral justification do they have to come up and condemn campus cults, which are only extensions or variations of native secret cults. The ritual murders that abound today are attributed to cults like Asigidi who make use youths, especially students to carry out such act just as politicians recruit them for political thugery and violence. Where is our conscience as parents, as elders, and as a people? Have things gone so bad that it cannot be corrected? Where are our Imams, Pastors and traditional rulers? Where are our mothers and our true African communal virtue? I would like to believe that there are still some virtuous minds that will want to come up and do something fast about this looming tragedy. As you read this, may be the question that bug your mind now is what can we do or say that has not be done or said? May be you think it may probably fade out the way it started. Lie! Owegbe and other cults were prohibited long ago during and around the first republic, today it still hounds and exerts its negative influence and satanic practices in our society. Perhaps I have dwell well enough on the problem; I should begin to think in the line of what solution will undo these demonic trends that need urgent attention lest posterity blame us all for this impending catastrophe that may affect coming generations if not tackled head on and quickly enough.

THE WAY FORWARD

Disbanding, prohibiting or outlawing secret cults has proven not to be an effective method of curbing the social ill. This has become very apparent in the past decades of cultists rampaging in our society and campuses to be specific. My suggestion is that the federal government should set up a committee that will liaise directly with various cult leaders and encourage them to come forth and work with the government in finding solution to cult menace. The strategy is to invite the various leaders of these cults to come for a dialogue on how to form a regulatory body that will oversee the dealings of all cults. Their function will include settling disputes between individual cultists to avoid its implication on the relationship of body cults, and also source solution to disagreement between cults. The various cults should be given equal representation in this body to avoid grievances. Convincing these leaders may not be an easy task but if credible people are put in the committee they will be able to draw out the cult leaders. Their protection must be ensured or else this whole idea will boomerang. Note that the emphasis here is not on eradicating cultism itself that may come later because it will be an impossible task at the onset. They may even be encouraged to become peaceful and productive student association! The government may encourage them by giving them grant for productive economic and or academic ventures. What we are doing is to make them take responsibility on how to eradicate the violence and killings that has characterized cult movements today. I assure you if the government is able to do this, it will be well because I know that no student really take pleasure in the violence and barbarism that are attributed to cult movements today.

Comrade Mathew Oban is a truly renounced member of the Black Arts.

http://nationwidenews4naija..com.ee/2017/06/asigidi-cult.html?m=1

nationwidenews:
Asigidi Cult
June 29, 2017
Traditional Cults Nationwide And Campus cultism
By
Matthew Oban
betteryouthlife@yahoo.com

A lot of us seem to be ignoring the influence of non-Campus cults on the Campus based cultists and other youths. Across the country we are all bothered about what our schools and universities are turning into as a result of the activities of cultists. I dare to say that, the strength of campus cultism lies in their affiliations with native doctors and a non- campus cult called Osokpikan. Call it Asigidi, Arinrin, Owegbe, or Ajor cult – they are all synonym of the same thing- a daredevil anti social secret cult mounting a widespread reputation in this country. While all eyes focus on the equally growing violent activities of campus cultism many have failed to ask the question, why the effort by well meaning Nigerians and the day government to stop it has not yielded success? The answer is quite simple yet elusive to many. It is because the government has refused to pay attention to the root cause of the problem- the influence of the traditional secret societies like Asigidi on the activities of campus cults. There is hardly any town and city where you do not have the conglomeration of these more often than not nocturnal beings. The convenience with which they gain patronage not only among the influential but also among society deviants like prostitutes and other criminally minded individuals who believe in the potency of the juju they acquire from their membership of the cult is something to fret about.

It is worth of note that just as the government is attempting to eradicate campus cults like the Black Arts, Ehie, Buchanians, Manfight etc so did it in the past, it tried to stamp out cults like Owegbe in the past which has today regenerated in forms even more deadly than the earlier version. One must point out that outlawing a secret cult does not do much in eradicating it. It only means that they should be more secretive. The government should not try to exonerate itself from those who encouraged cultism by claiming it has enacted laws forbidden the existence of cultism in campuses. We all know that very many campus cultists today are the children of very important personalities who always escape the wrath of the law even when the law enforcement agent managed to apprehend them. Those who are prosecuted are usually children of the nameless who in most cases are victims of circumstances. There was the case of a student who received so much pressure to become a member of the black Arts in the university of Lagos, and he did all he could to refuse the entreaties until he was able to transfer to the university of Benin. In Benin he encountered the same problem but this time he was unable to continue the resistance because of constant threat by the same Black Arts in UNIBEN, so he bowed to pressure but decided to join a rival of the Black Arts. He submitted to initiation into Ehie cult, a close rival of the Black Arts. But only in his first few weeks in the cult he was among the three names submitted by the school authority to the police as wanted cultists. What about hundreds of other known cultists that parade our campuses in the open? Oh they are the untouchable children of the affluent! What about lecturers and others who hold position of authority in the university? Let’s not deceive ourselves; if the government claims to be unaware, at least the university cannot claim they do not know that some members of its staff are prominent members of these cults. In fact students are meant to believe that they occupy such positions because of their ‘connection’ as cultists or ‘lordys’. Being a member of a cult is now seen as a means to acquiring affluent position yet the school authority and the government say they are serious about eradicating cultism. May be they have to reappraise the genuineness of their intention.

Although this article is not supposed to be about campus cultism but one cannot speak of cultism these days without talking about campus cultism which is a direct progeny of native secret cults like Asigidi, Ogboni and other secret societies that had at some point committed unimaginable atrocities in our society. Some people may want to argue that the Ogboni is now a reformed fraternity. But every mind of intellect should be able to ask this simple question ‘reformed from what?’ Let’s assume for once that their reformation is genuine, what about the culture of cultism it has created in our youths? So also is the pirate which one of my Heroes Professor Wole Soyinka is reputed for being a pioneer member. I have read many of his articles and listen to this icon saying, sometimes almost ‘tearfully’, that the original motive behind the formation of that first but now infamous campus cult-the pirates is grossly different from the practice obtainable in it and the other various campus cults today. But I will say to you Ogboni leaders, Professor Wole Soyinka and other cult pioneers that campus cultism that is ravaging our campuses today is a direct offspring of your actions in the past. So instead of defending yourselves, you might want to think of practical steps to finding solution rather than mere condemnation.

There is something I must make clear, no student really enjoy being a cultist. If you have the opportunity of checking it out one-on-one with cultists they will tell you that it is not the best idea. Most cultists are there because they have to be in order to survive the life on campus. Others are merely frustrated with life and the general state of affairs in educational system and the country, and simply wish to be part of something. And once you are in, you are in, no turning back. That’s why the talk of cultist denouncing cult membership amuses me. Anyway, in case you don’t know, these guys are supposed to be very intelligent undergraduates, whose membership of a cult does not diminish their sense of intellect. Denouncing cultism is not a solution at all; it only means making cultism more secretive. I once talked with a friend who was a member of The Black Arts in AAU Ekpoma, after he went to publicly denounce his membership in 2001; he said “at least by now, they will turn away their eyes from me!” That is the notion of many of those denouncing cultism. For those of us who understand how it works we know that nobody can be safe after openly denouncing cultism. The government who is pleading cultist to denounce membership of such cults should have known it’s not the best solution after all because there will always be many others who definitely would not be interested in such drama. Of course those who would have loved to mean their denouncement will be afraid of being seen as traitors.

Even if one could feign understanding to the explanations by the government that it is confused as to what to do about cultism, forgive professor Wole Soyinka for creating something that now outgrow his control, and applaud Ogboni for their effort in reformations. How can one overlook the continued effort by Asigidi and the others who continues to influence and support student cultists in obtaining magical powers which gives them confidence in carrying out their nefarious activities? When Korano the former leader Of Ehie in UNIBEN was killed in Benin by his own Ehie cult members from the University of Lagos, he could have escaped death had he not believed in powers vested in him by Arinrin priest. He was said to have safely escaped his assailants and entered Hall 4 Hostel inside UNIBEN after gun shots and machetes fail to bring him down. His assailants could not enter the student Hostel for fear of reprisal by the students who will want to protect their own. But Korano driven by ego and belief in the protection of charms given to him by his priest came out to face his pursuers. Eyewitnesses said when he came out to meet them again one of his assailants brought an egg and threw it at him and they started shooting at him. He fell and they used their machete to hack him in bits and pieces. Korano’s heart was said to continue to beat for almost three days after! One could see that the menace of cultism is not as simple as the government and those who inspired it assume it to be.

The more disturbing is the continued fast spread of Asigidi in Nigeria. Asigidi cult have branches in all part of Nigeria, even in italy. Top politician in Nigeria are members of Great Asigidi Cult in Nigeria. The cult said to be original from Benin, now operate through out the country. Even if one could understand its presence in the Eastern States which we all know as the citadel of violent secret cults, who would have taught that northerners would buy a culture of such anti social cult with its attendant dysfunctional attributes? Although most of their members here in Kaduna are said to be indigenes of Benin but indigenes of these parts and other southerners are also fast embracing it. Some say they are protected from high offices. I do not know about that, but what I do know is that if influential people who are supposed to be of exemplary characters are part of this national shame, then it must really be something to worry about. If politician and well-placed Nigerians are part of this cult for God knows reason, then what moral justification do they have to come up and condemn campus cults, which are only extensions or variations of native secret cults. The ritual murders that abound today are attributed to cults like Asigidi who make use youths, especially students to carry out such act just as politicians recruit them for political thugery and violence. Where is our conscience as parents, as elders, and as a people? Have things gone so bad that it cannot be corrected? Where are our Imams, Pastors and traditional rulers? Where are our mothers and our true African communal virtue? I would like to believe that there are still some virtuous minds that will want to come up and do something fast about this looming tragedy. As you read this, may be the question that bug your mind now is what can we do or say that has not be done or said? May be you think it may probably fade out the way it started. Lie! Owegbe and other cults were prohibited long ago during and around the first republic, today it still hounds and exerts its negative influence and satanic practices in our society. Perhaps I have dwell well enough on the problem; I should begin to think in the line of what solution will undo these demonic trends that need urgent attention lest posterity blame us all for this impending catastrophe that may affect coming generations if not tackled head on and quickly enough.

THE WAY FORWARD

Disbanding, prohibiting or outlawing secret cults has proven not to be an effective method of curbing the social ill. This has become very apparent in the past decades of cultists rampaging in our society and campuses to be specific. My suggestion is that the federal government should set up a committee that will liaise directly with various cult leaders and encourage them to come forth and work with the government in finding solution to cult menace. The strategy is to invite the various leaders of these cults to come for a dialogue on how to form a regulatory body that will oversee the dealings of all cults. Their function will include settling disputes between individual cultists to avoid its implication on the relationship of body cults, and also source solution to disagreement between cults. The various cults should be given equal representation in this body to avoid grievances. Convincing these leaders may not be an easy task but if credible people are put in the committee they will be able to draw out the cult leaders. Their protection must be ensured or else this whole idea will boomerang. Note that the emphasis here is not on eradicating cultism itself that may come later because it will be an impossible task at the onset. They may even be encouraged to become peaceful and productive student association! The government may encourage them by giving them grant for productive economic and or academic ventures. What we are doing is to make them take responsibility on how to eradicate the violence and killings that has characterized cult movements today. I assure you if the government is able to do this, it will be well because I know that no student really take pleasure in the violence and barbarism that are attributed to cult movements today.

Comrade Mathew Oban is a truly renounced member of the Black Arts.

http://nationwidenews4naija..com.ee/2017/06/asigidi-cult.html?m=1

Chai!?

Truly renounced ke? After u told us, no one ever truly renounces?!