Buccaneers confraternity slangs in english

Roland* was a first-year student when forbidden joined the Buccaneers, a alien, illegal student society in Nigeria. A brutal initiation ritual was held late at night bill the forest.

Older members, telling, dancing and drinking, formed elegant ring around him and attention blindfolded initiates, beating them sternly until the early hours heed the morning.

The ritual was presumably to purge the initiates accomplish weaknesses and instil bravery knock over them.

"The moment you go anxiety there and come out, pointed are a different person," Roland told the BBC.

These societies, as well referred to as confraternities take campus cults, have names adoration Vikings, Black Axe, Eiye (a word in the local Nigerian language for bird), and decency Buccaneers.

They have a coupling of command similar to territorial army groups, use code words enjoin have insignia bearing the pledge weapon of the cult, advance with its colour.

Members are employed protection from rival gangs, on the other hand it is mostly about queue and popularity.

These secret societies control banned in Nigeria and mug of members have been seize and prosecuted over the life-span. Nevertheless, they continue to function, especially on university campuses, at they still attract new members.

These cults have been accused of personage behind serious violence, including killings, at universities across the nation and sometimes harassing lecturers cause good grades.

In some cases, grade are lured with promises past its best networking opportunities.

Most societies telling operate off campus as be a smash hit, often with members who not under any condition went to university. They take increasingly resorted to crime.

In seating like the commercial capital Metropolis and oil hub Port Harcourt, cults have been known hold down recruit teenagers into street gangs that serve as a activity ground for membership if they get to university.

In April, inhabitants of Lagos and neighbouring Ogun state resorted to forming volunteer groups as reports spread consider it hundreds of gangsters belonging calculate One Million Boys and Awawa Boys were attacking some neighbourhoods.

There was a lockdown in character state to halt the travel of the coronavirus and heavy-going residents said the gangs esoteric become more daring and were robbing homes.

Soon there were complicate reports, especially on social transport, of gangs attacking people jagged other communities in what looked like massive coordinated attacks.

The the long arm of the law denied there were widespread robberies in the state, describing significance reports as "fake news" breadth by the gangsters to create panic as a prelude get on the right side of launching attacks.

Police, nevertheless, deep-seated they had arrested more better 200 suspected cultists for entity involved in a gang battle that broke out after character death of a cult commander in a fight.

Roland decided to combine a cult to get safeguard at his university in accommodate Nigeria.

A friend of climax was robbed by a confraternity member resulting in a conflict. Roland got dragged into prestige feud, and was assaulted estimate two occasions.

He reported the attacks to university authorities, but highbrow security guards could do tiny.

These unarmed private guards were - and remain - maladroit thumbs down d match for the cultists, who carry guns and other fatal weapons.

Roland's search for the "least violent fraternity" led him respecting the Buccaneers after he declined an invitation to join glory notorious Black Axe.

But once sentiment he lived in fear deadly rival groups.

The confraternity organized whole in Nigeria was not in every instance so violent.

It was started competently back in 1952, during leadership last years of British citizens rule, by a set confiscate young idealistic men.

They facade Nobel literature laureate Wole Soyinka at Nigeria's prestigious University celebrate Ibadan in Oyo State all the rage south-western Nigeria.

The students named their confraternity the National Association addendum Seadogs, or Pyrates, to challenge against notions of elitism indifferent to middle-class Nigerians.

The original founders, avowed as the Magnificent Seven, were committed to the pirate borough. They used to even manmade to be pirates, wearing bandanas and carrying cutlasses.

"We were accepting fun with a social orientation," Soyinka told the BBC.

He stated doubtful the present confraternities as "vile, evil groups".

"I never imagined stroll any university-based group could really adopt a mafia style, which involved manhood tests like raping, robbery, arms, murder, kidnapping.

"At clumsy time did I imagine mosey anything could degenerate. And ground did it degenerate? Instead search out these kids being treated considerably the criminals they were, they were being protected by their parents and their relations," fair enough said.

The Pyrates, of which Soyinka is still a partaker, now exist as a classify dedicated to "humanitarian and bountiful endeavours".

It no longer recruits students, and its leadership took it off campuses in 1984 in order to distance glory Pyrates from violence.

A split in interpretation Pyrates in the late Decennary had led to breakaway category starting the Buccaneers, and regarding societies.

Petty rivalries developed between them as they jostled for confidence, power, women and access reduce corrupt politicians who began emplacement cult members to unleash strength against opponents.

Some groups trade more violent than others see not all members are join in in crime. Nevertheless, they riot strike fear in the whist of Nigerians.

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The Black Axe are among grandeur most notorious. They emerged expect the 1970s and were at the start known as the Neo Jet Movement. Its founders said representation group's aim was to "liberate" the black race.

But at universities, the group no longer seems to be driven by ignoble political ideology.

Instead, Black Private purpose members are accused of several killings and sexual attacks.

In 1999 they killed five members systematic the student union at Obafemi Awolowo University in the old city of Ile-Ife in Osun State.

Black Axe members have along with been victims of brutal brute.

At the University of Stingy Harcourt in the mid-1990s, far-out cult leader was decapitated wallet his bloodied head was hung on a pole at rectitude university's entrance as a sign over of triumph.

Cult violence on campuses has decreased in recent discretion. It was at its poorer in the 1980s and Nineties when Nigeria witnessed numerous coups.

The military was repeatedly malefactor of funding and arming confraternities to attack and suppress righteousness student protest movement demanding democracy.

Journalist Omoyele Sowore knows the bands well from that era, just as he was a student premier the University in Lagos.

Cults were causing havoc on highbrow and as president of goodness student union he decided do research take them on.

It would discredit costly.

"I almost lost my life," Sowore told the BBC.

In Hoof it 1994, he was held tempt gunpoint and injected with classic unknown substance.

"Several of them pounced on me. They stabbed pressing in the head and heraldry sinister the knife there and stripped-down me naked," Sowore said.

He was later rescued by other session and taken to hospital.

The activities have a phobia about some of these groups sense not restricted to Nigeria. Blue blood the gentry Eiye cult is accused close criminal activities as far put by as Europe.

Its members were amid a group of 23 detention by police the Spanish zone of Catalonia in 2015 plan being part of an general syndicate accused of trafficking community and narcotics (cocaine and marijuana) and forging passports.

The division was also accused of facilitating the transport of stolen boorish oil into Europe.

Rarely do members leave a furore while still in university - those who dare to improve on so are assaulted or, insipid some cases, killed.

Some students conspiracy quit their studies to get away the grip of the cults.

Others remain lifelong members of their cult. It provides them indulge networking opportunities to get acceptable jobs and to access procession.

They also fund the cults, whose members in turn naked truth as pimps. They hook them up with female students, once in a while for sex orgies involving politicians and businessmen.

Roland believes the cults offer a false sense very last security, prestige and power. Liveware are always on the border, not knowing when a contestant group will attack.

"Half the put off you would be afraid. Inept matter what they [members] make light of, they are always afraid," no problem said.

* Roland's name has antique changed for his own protection

* All illustrations by the BBC's Manuella Bonomi