MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF CULTISM DYNAMICS AMONG YOUTH IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Cultism is believed to be one of the major crimes in Nigeria and this has harmed the reputation of Nigerian institutions, as well as the quality of learning in Nigeria. In consideration of this, a mathematical model of cultism was developed. The model was constructed to analyze and control the spread of cultism activities in southern Nigeria. The model comprises six (6) compartments: Susceptible individuals (S), Aiders (S ), Cultists (C), Apprehended individuals (A), Escaped individuals (E), and Government efforts c (G). The model assesses control strategies by establishing a basic reproduction number which shows the spread of cultism activities. A reproduction number less than one indicates the potential eradication of cultism activities otherwise indicates persistence. The global stability was constructed using Lyapunov theorem. The numerical simulation revealed that rescuing of apprehended individuals from cultists and killing of cultists individuals seems too good for reducing cultism activities in southern Nigeria.