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President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Monday called on the National Assembly to enact tougher laws against cultists and those engaging in examination malpractice.
Jonathan made the call at the opening of a two-day workshop organised by the University of Ibadan, in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission.
The President who was represented at the event by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, said the eradication of cultism was a national project for all stakeholders in the country.
He observed that campuses of higher institutions of learning had been turned into a breeding ground for cultists, an avenue for the practice of immoralities and a base for grooming terrorists.
Jonathan who called for a ``re-orientation of our children'', stated that government had invested much in the education sector and would not allow such investments to be wasted by some misguided youths.
He said that government would leave no stone unturned in its efforts to curb the activities of cultists and their sponsors.
``Cultism is anti-development; there is no way a society can transform with cultism.’’
He said the workshop, with the theme ``Eradicating Cultism in Nigerian Institutions: Major Stakeholders’ Role and Experiences”, was apt because of the need to tie all loose ends because of the current security challenges facing the country.
Jonathan also commiserated with the students and management of Bayero University, Kano, over the recent attacks on the campus by the Boko Haram sect, adding that ``no one will be allowed to impose a regime of fear on our collective psyche''.
In her address, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, decried the activities of cultists on campuses, noting that it was the biggest challenge facing the education sector.
Rufa'i said that it was time to address the issue as the youth were critical to the realisation of Nigeria's Vision 20:2020.
She said the Federal Government would do everything within its powers to maintain the rule of law everywhere.
