CONSEQUENCES OF RITUALISM AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

1.1 Introduction

Ritual as a religious term implies a ceremony that entails communication with some external forces. It includes a belief/ beliefs and it is done with seriousness and solemnity. Rituals belong to the realm of the sacred, involving sacrifices, essentially (Adisa 2005). Adisa, (2005) identifies sacred and the non-sacred as the typology of rituals. The sacred could be negative or it could be positive. Rituals involve sacrifices for life crisis, death rites and customs and rituals of initiations. Non-sacred rituals involve the imitative types signifying re-enactment under the sacred types signifying re-enactment. Under the sacred type of rituals, the positive ones are always concerned with consecrating or renewing a religious object. Ritual is a set patterns or prescribed procedures and orders for carrying out religious classified (Shiyaa, 2009).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

The origin of ritual sacrifice in Nigeria and other part of Africa can be traced to the pre-colonial era. Pre-colonial African societies have offered ritual sacrifice to their deities, and for some, this occasionally include human sacrifice. The type of victim for ritual sacrifice defers from one case to another, depending on the purpose of the sacrifice and the society. Also, selection of victims for ritual sacrifice varies from one society to another. In some societies, violator of curfew declared for ritual order becomes the victim for such ritual. This is the more reason why strangers mostly fall victim of ritual sacrifice, since they are not aware of such curfew declared for the ritual order. In this case, guards that enforce such ritual order will capture the victim.

The role of ritual in enhancing group cohesion has received little empirical attention to date, in part because the complexity and historical diversity of the world’s ritual traditions has impeded the identification of common key features of ritualistic behavior. This has made it difficult to establish robust generalizations about the causes and effects of these features in isolation or interaction. Rituals have also been studied almost exclusively with qualitative designs (Legare & Souza, 2012; Norton & Gino, 2013; Vohs et al., 2013 for exceptions), limiting strong causal inferences about rituals’ impact on human cognition and behavior (Rossano, 2012). One of the greatest challenges of social group living is the problem of coordinated and cooperative group action (Tooby et al., 2006).

In Nigeria, the occurrence of ritual killings has created a sense of insecurity and distrust among individuals. A sense of insecurity pervades a setting where ritual killings occur on a regular basis. Hundreds of Nigerians have died as a result of ritual killers, sometimes known as "Head Hunters," according to Nwakanma and Abu (2020). The ritual killers roam around looking for human parts such as heads, breasts, tongues, and sex organs, which are needed by witch doctors, juju priests, traditional medicine men and women, and/or occultists for dubious sacrifices or the manufacture of various magical sections (Igwe, 2010).

In today's Nigeria, ritual killing has taken on a whole new meaning. The scene has been dubbed the "Reign of the Ritualists" by many publications (Elesho 2004). Ritual killings, according to Salisbury (2012), are seen as acts of spiritual fortification by those who engage in them. The utilization of human body parts for therapeutic purposes, as well as the idea that human body parts hold supernatural qualities that provide prosperity and protection, are all motivations for these acts. Many young people still believe, according to Igwe (2010), that charms and ritual offerings can spiritually strengthen them, improve their fortunes in business and during elections, or protect them from damage, disease, poverty, accident, death, or destruction. These beliefs have been linked to some youngsters engaging in ritual murders in order to placate deities, ask for supernatural favors, ward off misfortune, or produce magical wealth, putting their moral growth at risk.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Consequences of Ritualism among Undergraduate.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that the ritualist always go scott free without being apprehending by the security agents. This puts the citizens at a constant feeling of anxiety and insecurity. Lack of trust among individuals even among close relatives is heightened by the incidence of ritual killings. Relatives fear each other because of lack of trust which is as a result of ritual killing. In such a case, the children are restricted from going to some areas which is viewed as a den for ritualists. Consequently, these challenges have made security a pivotal issue that has culminated into national concern owing that no serious measures has been taken by the government towards putting an end to this anomie. More so, is the fact that people can no longer go about their activities due to fear of their lives all of which has foiled the propensity of the country for socio-cultural tranquility. Therefore it is against this backdrop that this study seeks to examine the Consequences of Ritualism among Undergraduate.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the Consequences of Ritualism among Undergraduate. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To ascertain the reason of undergraduate students engagement in ritualism.
2. To investigate factors that leads to undergraduate students’ involvement in ritualism.
3. To determine if ritualism among undergraduate students will have any significant effect on national security.
4. To find out whether undergraduate students’ involvement in ritualism undermine the social tranquility of the society.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Are there factors that lead to undergraduate students’ involvement in ritualism?
• Does ritualism among undergraduate students have a significant effect on national security?
• Does undergraduate students’ involvement in ritualism undermine the social tranquility of the society?
• What is the reason of undergraduate students’ engagement in ritualism?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: Undergraduate students’ involvement in ritualism does not undermine the social tranquility of the society.
• H1: Undergraduate students’ involvement in ritualism undermines the social tranquility of the society.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: Ritualism among undergraduate students does not have any significant effect on national security.
• H1: Ritualism among undergraduate students has a significant effect on national security.

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1.7 Significance of Study

The result of the study will be of relevance to policy makers, Nigeria Youths and religious bodies.

1. To policy makers, findings of the study will enlighten policy makers on the need to establish guiding principles to curtail ritual killing and establish punishment for those caught in this devilish act.
2. To government, the study will also emphasize on the need to introduce poverty alleviation program, employment opportunities and support of entrepreneur as this will go a long way in reducing criminal behaviour among jobless youths.
3. More the study will emphasize the need for to intensify teaching of moral education in schools, universities and as well encourage teachers/lecturers that teach moral education to be role model for our youths among others as this will reduce the rate of ritualism in Nigeria.
4. Empirically, the study will add to the body of existing literature on ritualism as serve as reference material to scholars and student who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on Consequences of Ritualism among Undergraduate students in Federal Polytechnic Nekeded, Owerri, Imo State.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Ritualism: Ritualism is a violent and extreme type of criminal homicide in which vital organs of the victim are excised by the slayers for use in “sacred” rites.

Insecurity: insecurity entails lack of protection from crime (being unsafe) and lack of freedom from psychological harm (unprotected from emotional stress resulting from paucity of assurance that an individual is accepted, has opportunity and choices to fulfill his or her own potentials including freedom from fear.