When Oyo state government was hard of finance, primary and secondary schools in the state resorted to writing questions on chalkboards during exams while pupils and students were asked to tear sheets of paper, copy the questions and write the answers. However, one observation that escaped us was that none of the Christian/Muslim missionaries still laying claims to the schools they founded but have since been taken over and being funded by the state governments, provided funds to the schools to print question papers for use during examinations. The missionaries feigned unconcernedly while the state government and the school authorities bickered over running grants and accountability.
Most buildings in these government schools have become dilapidated while pupils and students sit on bare floors to receive learning. Yet, these entitled missionaries have done nothing to renovate the buildings and provide chairs.
Pupils and students in these government schools are indigent. Their parents are so poor to the extent that they barely provide single meal a day for their wards let alone provide school materials like textbooks. In primary schools, it takes the intervention of Federal Government through UBEC to distribute textbooks to the pupils. State governments also provide textbooks for secondary schools under their jurisdiction. Yet, not once have these entitled missionaries purchase school materials and distribute to pupils and students to at least lend credence to their claims that the schools belong to them.
Let’s recall that in the old Oyo state, late Chief Bola Ige founded many secondary schools, with some carved out of the existing schools then. Many of these schools were named after the missionaries. In Molete axis, some of the secondary schools founded by Bola Ige included St David Grammar School, Olubi Memorial Grammar School, Anglican Grammar School, Community Grammar School, among others. The question which however arises is this, will Christians claim that the schools are theirs because they are named after some Christian denominations? If there are schools established by Bola Ige and named after any Islamic sect, will Muslims claim the schools as theirs?
These issues are being raised now against the agitation by missionaries from both sides of Islam and Christianity, preventing each other to exercise their respective religious demands on the excuse that a school named after a Christian missionary cannot allow Muslim pupils and students to perform their religious demands, and that a particular school named after an Islamic sect would disallow Christian pupils and students to uphold their religious doctrines. The initial founders of these schools, taken over and being funded by governments, must face the reality that the schools are no longer theirs. As long as the government continues to tolerate religiosity in the country against the spirit and letter of the 1999 Constitution which declares Nigeria as a secular state, meaning that the country MUST not give recognition to any religion, child adherents of each religion have rights to exercise their religious demands that aren’t at variance with the spirit of teaching and learning. Meanwhile, if any of the missionaries feels so strongly about recovering their schools, the courts are there to adjudicate between them and the governments. One, however, doubts that any missionary can shoulder the responsibility of running schools on free education basis, especially with the huge salaries and allowances public school teachers take home every month from governments.
The Kwara state hijab imbroglio leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth that we are still obsessed with an issue that has no direct bearing on teaching and learning when there are consequential challenges ailing our educational system at all levels. The government of Kwara state has ordered that the schools where the problem began from be reopened. The churches where the government schools are domiciled refused to allow Muslim girls with hijab entry into the schools. The Muslim parents felt aggrieved and they insisted that their wards must be allowed entry. Chaos resulted and properties were destroyed.
The point here is that any of the missionaries, Christian or Islamic, has lost moral and legal rights over the schools. The schools are public properties and government reserves the legal rights to enforce its policies. Muslims in Kwara state are alluding to the several court judgements, allowing Muslim girls to use hijab in schools. Christians in the state are insisting that the state government flouts the law, allowing hijab to stay in schools since the matter is still in the Supreme Court. Both arguments appear tenable except that there has been no stay of execution order from any court against the hijab usage. Where do we go from here? What problems do Christians have with Muslim girls wearing hijab since it’s not forced on any girl? For the sake of peaceful coexistence, can’t Muslims jettison the idea of hijab usage in schools for now until issues are resolved in court?
