TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN NIGERIA STUDY ON PUBLIC RELATION AS A VERIFIABLE TOOL FOR ERADICATING CULTISM
This research focuses on using public relations as effective techniques to combat cultism in Nigeria’s higher education system. 200 employees from the state polytechnic in Iree, Osun state, make up the study’s entire population. Questionnaires were utilized by the researcher as the instrument for gathering data. This study used a descriptive survey research approach. The survey included a total of 133 respondents, including department heads, professors, senior professors, and secretaries. Simple percentages and frequencies were used to assess the tables of data obtained.
TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN NIGERIA CHAPTER ONE STUDY ON PUBLIC RELATION AS A VERIFIABLE TOOL FOR ERADICATING CULTISM
INTRODUCTION
the study’s history
Examining public relations’ history is necessary to understand how they could accomplish this achievement. The proverb of George Santayana that “those who cannot recall the past are bound to repeat it” justifies this. It is crucial to look at the history of secret cults, their mode of operations, their aims and objectives, their methods of recruitment, and their names and headquarters in Nigeria as long as this study focuses on public relations as tools for eliminating secret cult in Nigerian tertiary institutions, particularly in Osun State Polytechnic, Iree. When all of these details concerning hidden cults and public relations are taken into account, an Osun State Polytechnic, Iree-based solution may be suggested utilizing public relations as its main instrument.
Priests used to counsel their rulers on public relations matters in ancient times. They were pros at influencing people’s opinions and beliefs. Before making any significant decisions or carrying out significant ceremonial actions, the monarchs would consult them. Additionally, the priest published poetry, including edicts to rule the populace as well as lyrics of praise and mourning. When a fight was about to break out, Julius Caesar was a master of persuasion. He would mobilize the populace through various publications and staged spectacles. A daily newspaper named “ACTA BLURINA” or “daily record,” which contained official directives and other information, was also established. Since its beginnings during the second world war, public relations in Nigeria have gone a long way. In accordance with the Nigeria Institute of Public relations.
In ancient times, priests would advise their kings on public relations issues. They were experts in swaying people’s views and attitudes. The kings would consult them before taking any important decisions or performing important ceremonial activities. The priest also produced poetry, which included rules to govern the population as well as praise and lamentations. Julius Caesar was a master of persuasion when a conflict was about to start. Through different publications and staged spectacles, he would enlist the audience. It was also founded to publish a daily newspaper called “ACTA BLURINA” or “daily record,” which featured official instructions and other information. Public relations in Nigeria have come a long way from its origins during the Second World War. The Nigeria Institute claims that Before World War II, the colonial authority in the three protectorates that were combined to form Nigeria was preoccupied with tax collection and the management of a police force to uphold law and order. If there was any PR activity before to World War 11, it consisted solely of maintaining ties with the established authorities. However, the colonial administration felt the need to appoint an information officer, afterwards known as the government’s public relations officer. “The public relations office was largely established to advertise the colonial war and to motivate the youth to join the battle,” (Adebola 1992) One of Nigeria’s early practitioners of contemporary public relations, Mike Okereke, asserted confidently in The N I P R (1988) anniversary publications show that the government made use of the information ministry and efficiently used the federal level apparatus to bolster its reputation. The party in control employed the apparatus to efficiently promote its image since political culture permitted independent state-level information channels. Each state had a liaison officer, and during the Shagari government (1973–83), the ministry of information was integrated into the resident officer. The federal government continued to believe in the value of public relations in the exercise of government even after the military was established in 1983.
Many businesses in the private sector have helped Nigeria’s contemporary public relations industry to expand. For instance, the United African Company, or UAC, formed its public relations department in 1949, making it the country of Nigeria’s business sector’s first use of public relations. Its primary goals were to inform business and commerce about business operations and to portray UAC as a significant industrial, technological, and commercial enterprise in Nigeria that contributes to the stability and advancement of the country’s economy. Many times, those connected to major organizations are aware of the institutional developments that influence their interests, which leads to severe misunderstandings between management and its constituents. Goodwill is therefore scarified. Public relations tactics are needed to explain company politics, force greater understanding among employees, students, and management. Institutions have acknowledged their social obligation to serve the public, and this has resulted in a growth in the importance of public relations. In the past, companies only served to generate profit for their owners, but today’s businesses also serve as employers, supporters of social institutions, funders of education, patrons of the arts, and proponents of good governance. Research, communication, intricate tasks, and assessment are all part of modern public relations. It entails acting appropriately and going about it in a planned and methodical way. Speaking about ourselves constantly without demonstrating our claims with real-world deeds does not work. Public relations isn’t only for show.It does not entail placing attractive ladies in the front office and expecting them to handle public relations due to cult activities in the school, superfluous details, and superficial gimonicks. The school administration had established that cultism had gotten out of hand and that cultists were committing all manner of crimes and spreading impurity throughout the institutions. The fundamental ingredients for a thriving academic culture are no longer there. The institution’s reputation has suffered. Strange, anti-social cult and inglorious fraternity have taken over Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, replacing academic rigor and the pursuit of the truth. Examining incorrectly,
Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, is currently plagued by banditry and several vices. Among the vexing issues are:
Why does Osun State Polytechnic have cultism?
Can anything be done to stop it?
It is important to outline a historical context on how the cult was started in Nigeria’s elite institutions before attempting to respond to these problems.
In 1953, Professor Wole Soyinka founded and registered the pirate fraternity, which served as the inspiration for the college fraternity. The eagles’ configuration served as the catalyst for the concepts. A college publication committed to combating the Bug, a publication committed to promoting white supremacy while simultaneously lowering the value of Africanism, as an example of colonial regression.Soyinka joined forces with Olegbe, Ralph Opara Aig-innochude, Ofoghada, Armadas Oyeloda, and two other individuals to form the pirate fraternity, which was officially recognized by the University of Ibadan. In a brief essay on the origins of pirates, the noble laureate stated that we all agreed that colonial mindset had no place in the organization. Plans were made, and the pirate fraternity emerged. We were to be the tale of a counterrevolution against colonialism. In 1953, behind Tedder Hall at the University of Ibadan, Soyinka was selected as the captain and the first invitation was made. Krola, a type of soft drink that was combined with beer at the time, served as the group’s emblem of mystery.
The majority of the rituals, ceremonies, and secrets surrounding the club’s operations, Soyinka continued, “were later-day innovations of future generation who associated with the goals of the club at the time. The organization was not actually a hidden cult.”
However, there were small clashes due to ideological disagreements among the privates in 1942. The conflict was between those who supported radical politics and those who had an ice-cream mindset, as well as those who had abandoned the founding fathers’ philosophy of the pirates, which they said should have been replaced by inappropriate behavior and exploitation of the pirates’ standing on campus. Conflict ensured that several pirates were put on suspension. They created the Buccaneer with the express purpose of annihilating. Legacy of piracy Despite the fighting, the two sides managed to coexist in relative harmony and even engaged in humanitarian deeds, but things changed in the late 1980s when university campuses were abandoned by pirates following a grandiose midnight gathering in Nsukka, Enugu state. Since then, many horrible things have occurred, and cultism in Nigerian higher institutions has evolved into terrorism. On campus II, “Nature” was brutally slain, and rival cult members in the Trans-Ekulu neighborhood killed another student as they were traveling to see a buddy. Similar incidents like these have occurred across the board in Nigerian higher institutions. Even worse, there are female-only hidden cults like Daughters of Jezebel, Amazon, and black brassiere. have shown up suddenly. Equally brutal to their male counterparts are the female hidden cults. These secret cults go by various names and have headquarters in various locations, including 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 bere People in this region will be informed about this packed program.
A program evaluation will be carried out to determine if it was successful or unsuccessful, as well as to determine whether a different course of action would be appropriate. The following factors can be linked to the cultism at Osun State Polytechnic in Ireland: I Adolescent delinquency. Back then, there were more mature students who even had families at home; today, this is not the case.
Some of these pupils are themselves covert members of cults, which has three negative effects on society.
Additionally, the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree students’ leisure time caused by inadequate facilities and equipment bears some of the blame.
There are further causes for certain Osun State Polytechnic, Iree students to join or be coerced into cults. Last but not least, the administration of the pupils in full-scale academic labor thus no time for cult activities
SITUATION OF THE PROBLEM
At Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, the fundamental elements for an academic culture that can last have been compromised. The institution has lost its good name, and its former offerings are no longer what they once were. All academic pursuits are being negatively impacted by cult activity.
Sometimes, during the day, students are drawn to hostels, classrooms, bus tops, etc., and gang raping becomes the norm; Because the murdering of students by members of cults is no longer news, it is crucial to eliminate this issue in many higher education institutions, particularly Osun State Polytechnic in Iree, which serves as our case study. Given the various levels of government and the overall control that all Nigerian tertiary institutions now have over them, public relations as problem-solving communication is expected to enlighten Osun State Polytechnic, Iree students as to what is required of them in an academic community like Osun State Polytechnic, Iree. Some of the screening questions during the ministerial nominee on June 22, 1999, in the senate floor, focused on the economy, education, as well as cultism and overall educational system disintegration. Students at Osun State Polytechnic, the general population at Iree, and even the government should take on the task and offer the administration unwavering support for the implementation of the admirable program in order to properly address this issue. There is no question that the cult problem at Osun State Polytechnic would materialize if these programs are properly packaged and implemented. These are some of the study’s limitations:
Name information of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree informs the public about the issues and risks caused by cultism at the school.
Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, has subpar policies and programs. Management of OSUN STATE POLYTECHNIC, IREE, warned the students against cultism.
inadequate actualization of the students’ support for the fight against covert cults and encouragement of them to do so.
new initiatives to support students in resisting pressure from peers to join covert cults.
1.3 STUDY’S OBJECTIVE
These are some of the goals of this research project:
to determine the degree of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree students’ ignorance of cultism and its causes.
to evaluate the degree of the pupils’ actualization and promotion of the fight against cultism.
to evaluate the management of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree’s policies and programs regarding cultism to the students.
to ascertain whether there are any laws that can assist students in avoiding entering covert cults.
1.4 HYPOTHESES FOR RESEARCH
The researcher developed the following research hypotheses in order to successfully complete the study:
H0: There is insufficient actualization of and encouragement of the students to participate in the fight against cultism.
H1: The pupils are adequately actualized and encouraged to assist the fight against cultism to a certain level.
H02: The management of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree’s policies and programs regarding cultism are insufficient for the students.
H2: The Osun State Polytechnic, Iree management’s policies and programs regarding cultism are enough for the students.
1.5 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER STUDIES
The importance of this study cannot be overstated since it will uncover the origins and underlying factors of this issue and propose long-lasting answers for Osun State Polytechnic, Iree in particular, and the whole country. This research is important because it will make Osun State Polytechnic, Iree management, and other educational institutions aware of the value of public relations as a great tool for handling any issues that may arise inside their schools, regardless of their implications. The research is equally important since it will enable one to understand the operating principles of those covert cults across the country. Their names and places of business are also included by this investigation.
The study will demonstrate when public and private entities recognized the value of public relations in business, which makes it relevant.
Last but not least, it will address and emphasize the areas where individuals have misconceptions regarding public relations.
1.6 The study’s scope and limitations
The study’s focus is on public relations as effective weapons against cultism in Nigerian educational institutions. The study’s scope was constrained due to a constraint the researcher encountered;
a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
c) Organizational privacy: Limited Access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities
1.7 TERM DEFINITION
Any group or sector that the organization engages with or has relationships with as part of its businesses or practices is referred to as the public.
Public relations is a purposeful, planned, and ongoing attempt to create and preserve a sense of trust between a company and its audience.
Anything that makes doing one’s job easier is a tool.
Eradicating is a means to utterly destroy something or put a stop to something.
Cultism is the formation of a religious organization by a group of individuals who have a shared set of beliefs. Activities associated with cults typically take place in secluded settings because they do not allow practices that violate morality, such as eating human flesh.
Tertiary education includes college, polytechnics, and universities. It is the third level in significance, rank, and order.
1.8 HOW THE STUDY WAS ORGANIZED
For ease of comprehension, this research paper is divided into five chapters, as follows:
The first chapter is devoted to the introduction, which includes an overview of the study, its historical context, explanation of the problem, study objectives, research hypotheses, relevance of the study, its scope and limitations, definition of words, and its historical context. The theoretical foundation for the investigation is highlighted in Chapter 2, therefore the analysis of relevant literature The third chapter covers the study’s methodology and research strategy. The gathering, processing, and presentation of data are the main topics of Chapter 4. Chapter 5 provides a summary, conclusion, and study recommendations.
