Cultism, Yahoo Yahoo, and Social Media Abuse Behind Mass UTME Failures — POCACOV
Lagos, Nigeria — May 2025
The Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) has identified cultism, internet fraud (popularly known as Yahoo Yahoo), and social media abuse as leading causes of the widespread failure in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which saw over 1.5 million candidates unable to meet the minimum benchmark.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Prince Gbemisola Obadeyi, the South West Secretary of POCACOV, expressed deep concern over the growing influence of these vices on the academic lives of Nigerian students.
“These issues are not isolated. Cultism, Yahoo Yahoo, and excessive social media use are closely linked, creating a toxic environment that distracts students from focusing on their studies,” Obadeyi said in a statement.
Cultism: A Persistent Academic Threat
Obadeyi described cultism as a persistent threat within Nigerian campuses, citing frequent cult clashes that breed insecurity and fear among students. This, he explained, discourages academic focus and often leads to expulsions, dropouts, and low retention rates.
“The ripple effect is massive—students involved in cultism may either be expelled or leave school altogether due to the unsafe environment. This increases the rate of failure in exams like the UTME,” he added.
Internet Fraud and Social Media: Digital Distractions
The POCACOV scribe also warned that Yahoo Yahoo, beyond its criminal implications, consumes time and diverts students’ attention from their books. Similarly, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) have become time-consuming distractions, affecting students’ ability to prepare adequately for exams.
POCACOV urged stakeholders in education, parents, and community leaders to join hands in sensitizing young people about the consequences of these vices. The campaign reiterated its mission to curb cultism and related societal problems through awareness and collaboration.
