The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has warned that the rising wave of drug abuse, cultism, thuggery and hate speech on Nigerian university campuses poses a grave threat to national security and the country’s democratic future.
The group sounded the alarm at a public lecture organised by its Students’ Wing (CNG-SW) at Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi (MOAUM), Benue State, where speakers described campuses as emerging flashpoints capable of fuelling wider national instability if left unchecked.
National Coordinator of CNG, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, said the decay of values on campuses could undermine Nigeria’s future leadership pipeline, stressing that universities now mirror the country’s deepening ethnic, religious and political divisions.
“If drugs, cultism and hate speech are allowed to flourish on campuses, we risk producing leaders who are morally weak, intolerant and prone to violence,” Charanchi warned, describing the situation as a national emergency rather than a student-level problem.
He linked the spread of drug abuse, particularly the use of tramadol, codeine and cannabis to rising criminality, campus violence and leadership failure, noting that substance abuse often fuels cult clashes and thuggery.
Charanchi also cautioned against the growing use of ethnic and religious narratives to manipulate students, urging youths to resist identity-based politics and reject hate speech.
“Leadership must unite, not divide. Our diversity should be our strength, not a weapon,” he said.
Adding a broader national perspective, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at MOAUM, Prof. Benjamin Ahule, warned that Nigeria was dangerously tolerant of hate speech, noting that persistent stereotyping and inflammatory rhetoric could plunge the country into deeper crisis.
“If hate speech continues unchecked, Nigeria risks sliding into a situation similar to Rwanda,” Ahule said, attributing many of the nation’s conflicts to ethnic and religious intolerance.
In separate presentations, lecturers from the Department of Sociology linked campus social vices to wider societal failures.
Dr. Stephen Anyo described drug abuse and thuggery as “mutually reinforcing threats” that weaken democratic stability, citing peer pressure, unemployment, poverty and the collapse of family values as key drivers.
Dr. Tersoo Shaminja warned that hate speech, often dismissed as jokes or online banter, was steadily eroding trust and unity within universities, cautioning that campuses were increasingly reflecting the divisions in the wider society.
“Universities should be spaces where differences educate, not divide,” Shaminja said, urging student leaders and unions to promote inclusive leadership and dialogue.
Representing the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Chief Superintendent of Narcotics, Julian Idoko, called for drug screening for prospective students and a return to communal values to curb substance abuse on campuses.
Also speaking, the Ter Makurdi, Chief Vincent Ahule, represented by Chief Solomon Juku, warned youths against abusing social media to insult traditional institutions and political leaders, urging students to lead by example.
Earlier, CNG-SW officials to include Yoosu Kenneth described the lecture as timely, calling on students, authorities and society at large to work together to stem the tide of drugs, violence and hate speech threatening Nigeria’s campuses.
