C-River Floats Anti-Cultism Clubs In Schools

• To tackle cultism, criminal activities

BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – Determined to stem the rising tide of youths restiveness and engagement in cultism and other related crimes, the Cross River Government is to establish anti-cultism clubs in secondary schools across the state

A proposal that will give legal teeth to the arrangement is already before Governor Ben Ayade for approval to enable the Ministry of Education establish anti-cultism clubs in secondary schools for the purpose of positively influencing the youths and dissuading them from criminal activities.

Special Adviser on Education to the State Governor, Mr Castro Ezama who dropped the hint during a breakfast meeting with social media practitioners in the State, said government is working on the project to encourage and promote attitudinal change among youths in the State.

Ezama said the State government was seriously worried by increasing youth participation and membership of cult groups in secondary schools and tertiary institutions, noting that the alarming rate of criminality at which young men are maimed and killed daily is giving the State a bad name.

He explained that the anti-cultism clubs, whose membership shall be drawn from pupils, teachers and parents, including the chairmen of Parent-Teachers Association (PTA), will embark on vigorous advocacy campaigns on the dangers of cultism, especially among youths who at their prime should focus more on their educational pursuits.

According to Ezama, “the future of our youths can no longer be guaranteed given the rate at which no day passes without reports of unprecedented carnage, involving cult related killings.”

The governor’s aide however said; “parents have a duty and huge role to play in ensuring the attitudinal change of their children towards fruitful engagements instead of mere social ego promptings.”

He lauded Governor Ayade for taking bold and proactive measures toward curtailing cultism and other related crimes in the state through the provision of required logistics to security agencies.

Ezama assured of government’s resolve to win the war against cultism by exterminating at all cost the virus that has unfortunately spread to and taken root in secondary schools across the state.