AN ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC RELATION AS A TOOL FOR ERADICATING CULTISM IN NIGERIA TERTIARY INSTITUTION

Background of the Study
In the ancient times, priests served as public relations advisers to their kings. They were experts in public opinion and persuasions .The kings consulted them before any major decision or important ceremonial event were under taken. Also the priest conducted literature, poems of praises and lamentation and edicts to govern the people. Julius Caesar was a master of persuasive techniques, faced with an imminent battle; Caesar would rally public support through assorted publication and staged events. There were also the establishment of the daily news-paper called the ‘ACTA BLURINA’ or daily record containing government decrees and other information.

The public relation in Nigeria has become a long way, its beginning has been linked with the second world war. As presented by Nigeria Institute of Public Relation (NIPR) 1988 Anniversary publication ‘25years of public relation in Nigeria’ (Moor, 2001).

The colonial government before the World War II was concerned with collection of taxies and the running of a police force to maintain law and order in three protectorates amalgamated into Nigeria in 1914. If there was any public relations practice before the world war 11, It was merely maintenance of relationship with the traditional rulers world war. However, the need arose for the colonial government to set up an information officer, which was later known as the public relations officer of the government. According to Adebola (2002.p,23) “The public relations office was primarily set up to publicize the colonial war and to encourage the youth to join the war. Mike Okereke, one of the pioneers of modern public relations in Nigeria, declared reliantly in a speech that the profession is about 30 years old.

In the post independence era however, there was significant development in government public relations activities. The Nigeria Institute of Public Relation (1988) anniversary publications reveals that government took the advantage of the information ministry and utilize effectively the machinery of the federal level to build its image. Since political culture allowed autonomous country of information channel at the state level, the party in power effectively utilized the machinery to promote its image. There was liaison officer in each state and dewing the Shagari administration (1973 –83) the ministry of information became a part of the officer of the resident. Even with the advert of the military in 1983 the federal government believed in the power of public relations in the act of governance. In the private sector many organization have contributed to the growth of modern public relations practice in Nigeria. For instance, in 1949 the united African company, UAC, established its public relations department and thus became the pioneer of pubic relations practice in the private sector in Nigeria. It basic objectives were to inform business and commerce about business activities as well as to project UAC as a major Nigerian industrial, technical and commercial company involved in the stability of the economic life and progress in Nigeria (Martison, 2003).

People associated with large organization often are aware of what is happening with the institution that affect their interest and as a result, serious mis-understanding occur between management and its publics and thus, good will is scarified. To explain corporate politics, action and forcing about better understanding with workers, students, management requires public relations techniques. Public relations have grown as important as institutions recognized that they have social responsibility to serve the public. In the past corporations existed solely to make money for their owners but today, corporate function as a creator of employment, social institutions and benefactor of education, patrons of arts and advocate of good government. Modern public relations involve research, communication, complex activities and evaluation. It involves doing right and taking about it, all in a planned and systematic manner. It is not working taking about ourselves all the time without backing our takes with concrete actions. Public relations is not window dressing, visions propaganda or lies , unnecessary details and shallow gimonicks, it does not mean putting beautiful women in the front office, expecting them to perform public relations because of cult activities in the school. It is noted that cultism has now gone out of control and the cultists are carrying out all sorts of atrocities with impurity all over the institutions. The basic conditions for sustained academics culture are no more. The institution has fallen into disrepute. In place of academics rigor and search for the truth, strange, anti-social cult and inglorious fraternity have taken over our institutions.

The ideas of campus confraternity began in 1953 when Prof. Wole Soyinka established and registered the pirate confraternity. The ideas started with the formation of the eagles. A campus magazine devoted to fighting colonial regressive as represented by the Bug, a journal committed to promoting ideas of white supremacy, at the same time reducing the granted of Africanism.

Thus Soyinka, plus Olegbe, Ralph Opara Aig- innochude, Ofoghada, Armadas Oyeloda and two others came together with the establishment of pirate confraternity, which was registered at the University of Ibadan. The noble laureate wrote in a small treatise on the formation of pirates and said a one thing we agreed was that there world into be any room for colonial mentality in the club. Plans, the pirate confraternity was born. We were going to be a story of counterrevolution against colonialism”. The first invitation took place behind Tedder hall in 1953 at University of Ibadan, where Soyinka was chosen as the captain. The group had a symbol of mystery, which was krola, a kind of soft drink at the mixed with beer. The group was not really a secret cult Soyinka further noted “most of the rites, ceremonies and mysteries surrounding the club activities were later- day innovation of future generation who identified with ideals of the club at the time.

In 1942 however, there were minor skirmishes with in the privates’ fold for ideological differences. The fight was between those who embracer radical political and others who had ice-cream consciousness and also those who betrayed the ideology of the pirates ‘founding fathers, which the claimed should be substituted with indecent contact and abuse of the pirates’ status on the campus. Confrontation ensures many pirates were suspended. They formed the Buccaneer with the sole aim of destroying pirates’ legacy despites the skirmishes, the two groups maintained a relatively peaceful co-existence and even carried out humanitarian gestures, but wants took a new shapes around 1987 when pirates pulled out of university campuses after a grandiose midnight meeting at Nsukka, Enugu state. Since then cultism in Nigerian tertiary institutions have changed to terrorism, many devilish things have happened. “Nature” was murdered in cold blood at campus. Rival cult members at the Trans-Ekulu area while going to visit a friend killed another student. Similar incident like this had happened in other Nigerian tertiary institutions all over the country. Worst still, female secret cults like black brassiere; Amazon and Daughters of Jezebel have emerged like a rash (Moor, 2001).

The female secret cults are as violent as their male counterparts. Some of the names and headquarters of these secret cults are: the black bee and block cat at UNN, the buccaneers at ESUT, the sea dogs at UNEC, the Ogboni confraternity with headquarters at ESUT, the Ondo State University; the red dogs, the Mafia group with headquarters at UNIPORT; the Eckanka, the Mgbangba brothers with headquarters at UNIZIK; the black beret; the free masoning fraternity with headquarters at UNIPORT; the Vikings with headquarters at UNIPORTS; the Amazon, the daughters of Jezebel with headquarters at Edo state; black brassiere, temple of Elders, Burkina Faso revolution, Trojan horse, Neo- Black movement etc. Some identifiable causes of this cultism in tertiary institutions are:
1. Adolescent delinquency, in those days you had more matured students who even have families back home but these days the reverse is the case.
2. The triple effect of cultism on the large society some of these students are themselves secret cult members.
3. Also the free time available to these students of tertiary institution occasioned by the inadequacies in facilities and equipment are equally responsible.
4. Other reasons why some of students of tertiary institution may join, some are forces into cults. Finally the management of the students in full scale academic work hence no time for cult activities