Education

Terminating Innocent Souls for their Parents’ Sin: A Peep into a Cult’s World

Published

5 years ago

June 20, 2021

In December 2020, I was invited to a dockyard, and after the meeting, I asked my inviters that I wanted to catch fresh breeze outside their workshop. A huge young man in his mid-twenty ran to me, and I thought my engineer friend sent him to recall me to his office, but I was wrong. The young man stared at me with a mixture of fear and soberness for the first one minute, and nothing was said or done. I noticed that I might have hysteria if I remained on the same spot due to insecurity in the country, so I moved briskly backward. Seeing such leap, he muttered ‘Please help me, I don’t want to die’. ‘Why would you die?’ I asked after a brief silence, he began to narrate how his father joined The Ogboni Confraternity (also known as Fraternity group), and how he has become a target to be killed soon. As I drove back home that day, I had a deep thought concerning his ordeals, trauma, and fear, and then decided to share this phenomenon with the public one day.

In the 21 century, people may not believe that such incidences are still happening; but truly, they are. For clarity sake, Ogboni Confraternity has been existing for centuries and they had members across Nigeria and abroad. In recent years, one faction broke out of the main Ogboni cult group, and called their appellation The Reformed Ogboni Confraternity. This separated Ogboni group may not be as popular as the traditional Ogboni Confraternity, but it is known to be an open social class group unlike the traditional Ogboni group. However, people still classify both Ogboni groups as secret cult societies in Nigeria.

Back to the purpose of this write up, does it even make sense to join a cult group, where one pledges to sacrifice oneself in an exchange for wealth, or power? Does it make sense and civilised to be avenging the sins of one’s parents on their innocent children? Some may lampoon these questions and stand on the principle of give and take, while some may rely on the peculiar ethos of some groups (including the secret societies), which may be known or unknown to a new member prior their acceptance to such groups. However, it should never be forgotten that many secret societies especially the Ogboni Confraternity is highly surreptitious and many children of parents in this cult group may have no inkling that their parents are active members. What this portends is victimization of relatives (especially the children) of any Ogboni members who tries to quit the group. Similarly, those who are at the grave danger are children of Ogboni members who abscond from the cult group without paying their initial pledge (s) like using their first child for ritual purposes.

An online news channel named City Rovers monitored recently threw more light into this dangerous undertaking by members of Ogboni Confraternity group. A man named Yekini Ajibosho (who is now 70 years ) joined the confraternity 13 years ago (i.e. in 2008) but in 2015, he began to regret his action. He explained how he was lured to the group, and made to pledge sacrificing his first son in exchange of wealth and power. He was quoted as saying that once a member ignorantly pledged his/ her child(ren), there is no going back until the child is dead. The septuagenarian said further, “Why I’m so pained now is the fact that after joining, they’ll make you pledge different unimaginable things. The most common is your first son. You can pledge a male child as early as a day old. If you don’t have a male child, they can make it happen for you”. Ajibosho said further, “I don’t care what happens to me, I am ready to face the consequences alone. As long as I refuse to pledge any of my kids, they will have nothing to do with them that is why I came out now so that I will be the one that should be dealt with”.

Emphatically, in the 21 century, not all social acts, religious, traditional, or cultural activities are permissible unless we are to close our eyes and ignore human rights as enshrined by various chatters and conventions such as one from the United Nations, which Nigeria also signed. As the young man earlier mentioned has been made to live in a palpable fear, they have no hope of living beyond teens or adolescent as they may be struck anytime, and have their lives been terminated in their prime. In addition, many who have no hope of surviving such pathetic situation carry along their heavy heart wherever they go and keep living in a dehumanised and psychologically demented manner. Without peeping into the full details of Ogboni Confraternity and the new faction(s), as well as their modus-operandi, it is essential to save innocent children of members of the confraternity by making their father or mother who are the members of the confraternity pay the pledges (which should be themselves) and therefore save the lives of their children.

Martins Henri, martinshenri455@gmail.com, an author, and an advocate of socio-cultural, economic, and religious reformation in Nigeria.

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Education

Igbinedion University, EduTech Global Partner On Digital Education, Access

Mr. Femi Shonubi, Co-Founder/CTO – EduTech Global

Published

2 months ago

August 18, 2026

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

Igbinedion University, Okada, one of Nigeria’s leading private universities, has entered into a strategic partnership with EduTech Global to accelerate its digital learning ambitions, expand access to its academic programmes to students in the country.

Through the partnership, EduTech will provide digital learning infrastructure and technology support for the University’s Distance Learning Centre (DLC), thereby enabling learners to access quality university education beyond the conventional campus environment.

The partnership reflects Igbinedion University’s ambition to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving higher education landscape by combining its academic heritage with technology, innovation and new models of learning that contribute to national workforce development.

Speaking on the partnership, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, said the collaboration represented a significant step in the university’s ambition to produce graduates equipped for national and global impact.

He said: “At Igbinedion University, our mandate has always been to lead in producing graduates equipped for national and global impact. This partnership with EduTech Global represents a bold step into the future of higher education in Nigeria.
“By expanding our digital learning infrastructure, we are not just breaking down geographical barriers; we are actively contributing to national workforce development by ensuring that quality, industry-aligned education is accessible to every driven learner, regardless of location.”

In his remarks, Director, Igbinedion University Distance Learning Centre, Prof. Gideon Bawa, said the university was motivated by the opportunity to transform its existing processes, which hitherto were being handled manually, and build a more efficient and scalable distance learning model.

The Director clarified: “The growth recorded by institutions that have leveraged EduTech’s technology and expertise was a major factor in our decision to engage the company. We are confident that this partnership will position Igbinedion University to achieve significant growth in enrolment while strengthening the quality and efficiency of our Distance Learning Centre.”

“With this partnership, we expect to move most of our administrative and academic activities online through EduTech. This will improve efficiency, enhance the learner experience and allow our facilitators and students to engage more effectively through a connected digital learning environment”, Bawa added.

Commenting on the collaboration, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, EduTech Global, Femi Shonubi, pointed out that technology had been redefining the boundaries of what a university can offer, adding that EduTech’s role extends beyond putting courses online.

Shonubi expatiated: “Technology’s true value lies in its ability to drive tangible socio-economic impact through education. By dismantling physical boundaries, we are empowering institutions like Igbinedion University to democratise access to high-quality learning. This is about more than online courses; it is about developing a resilient, highly skilled workforce at scale to meet the demands of the modern economy.

“We are helping institutions build connected learning ecosystems that support the student journey from application and enrolment through learning, assessment and graduation. Igbinedion University’s ambition to lead in innovative education aligns strongly with what we are building at EduTech.”

General Manager, Edutech Global, Moyosore Asubiojo said the partnership arises as demand grows for flexible higher education among working professionals, entrepreneurs and learners seeking alternatives to traditional full-time campus education.

She asserted that by combining Igbinedion University’s academic competence with EduTech’s technology capabilities, the collaboration will create new pathways to quality education and workforce development while enabling the University to expand beyond its traditional geographical footprint.

Analysts believe that the partnership between the university and the tech company represents a shared commitment to making higher education more accessible, flexible and scalable, while positioning the university to compete and lead in the next generation of technology-enabled education in Nigeria and globally.

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