The Great Ife Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, has issued a firm warning against cultism and cult-like activities on campus. In a statement shared with our correspondent on Sunday, union leaders expressed deep concern over the emergence of “certain cult-like movements and activities by some individuals on campus.”
The statement, signed by the President Omoboriowo Isaac, Secretary General Babatimehin Kínfẹ́ọsi, and Public Relations Officer Aka Daniel, reaffirmed the union’s steadfast opposition to such activities. “The Great Ife Students’ Union maintains a zero-tolerance policy for cultism and cult-like activities on Obafemi Awolowo University campus. The union holds in high regard the sacrifices of George Iwilade (Afrika) and the OAU 5, and we remain committed to ensuring their legacy is not dishonored,” they said.
OAU has long been recognized as a cultism-free campus, a reputation the union is determined to uphold. “OAU is renowned as a cultism-free campus, and we are resolute in sustaining this legacy,” the student leaders stated.
They urged all students to “desist from cult-like activities and remain vigilant against individuals promoting such practices” and warned that any individual, whether student or non-student, involved in cultism would face the full force of the law.
This stance against cultism is rooted in a tragic past: the July 10, 1999 cult attack on the campus, which resulted in the brutal murder of five students, including George Iwilade, who was then the union’s Secretary-General. Every year on July 10, the students’ union holds memorial events to honor the slain students and reinforce their commitment to a cult-free campus.
