Nigeria’s Moral Panics in the Face of Abeokuta Money Ritual Killing

Nigerian society, like other cultures, has never been immune to various anti-social practices that have destroyed societal ideals and standards. People of low socioeconomic and political rank are not the only ones that engage in antisocial behavior. People at the top and center of the social ladder have both been involved in a variety of unlawful, anti-norm, and value-based actions. Those who feel that activities that are harmful to collective social living should not be begun and carried out successfully in every part of society are causing moral panic.

Morality Versus Moralising and Nigeria’s Social Complexity

Nigeria has seen and continues to experience a variety of immoral activities, ranging from sexually motivated illicit actions to human sacrifice for ritual purposes in the pursuit of wealth, protection from evil eyes, and a long-life span. Moral panics are being caused by people, groups, non-governmental organizations, and the news media as significant conversations about the recent spike in human killings for money ritual continue on the digital domain and in numerous physical places. Our examination of various social media posts and interactions with stakeholders reveals a crucial proposition: “wrongdoers should pause and turn a new leaf in order for society to progress and become a better place to live for everyone.”

As fantastic as this proposal is, additional investigation reveals that many of its proponents are not actually giving answers to the issue. They’re simply making observations and reactions in the framework of moralising rather than morality. While individuals have primarily used morals, our research demonstrates that the news media has placed a premium on moralising. According to numerous philosophers and sociologists, morality is concerned with holding oneself or a group of people to certain standards of behaviour and recognising when those standards are not met. Moralising is the act of condemning those who engage in anti-social or unlawful behaviour without offering answers. In this case, the evildoers are mostly blamed for their activities because the ‘correctors’ did not tell them how to cease by following accepted norms and standards.

The ritual killing in Abeokuta has revived public debate about anti-social behavior among youngsters in recent days. People became interested in seeking and reading numerous groups on social media to learn how and where youths are learning money ritual skills as a result of the killing. Through the groups and mainstream media coverage of the Abeokuta killing’s aftermath, they were able to learn certain facts regarding money rituals. Taking a moralistic stance, on the other hand, will not help Nigeria. Given the country’s complexity, a morality approach is far preferable, as previously indicated. Our analyst believes that if the morality technique is used on digital platforms and in many physical venues, it will aid the government in discovering the proper agendas from the public before launching and implementing its policy agenda.