Returning schools to missionaries in Osun State: A potential crisis governor Adeleke must prevent, JOMAF warns

The Joint Muslim Action Forum, JOMAF, has expressed outrage over the call to return some public schools in Osun State, South-West Nigeria, to missionaries, saying that the unceremonious agitation will lead to crises.

The Muslim forum said this in reaction to the news of a courtesy visit by the Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Most Rev. John Oyejola, to the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, at the Governor’s House, Osogbo, Osun State, where he called for the handing over of some public schools to missionaries.

In his speech to the Governor at the Government House, the Bishop reportedly called on the governor to return some public schools to missionaries as a way of resuscitating the educational sector in the state, the group said in a statement.

The statement added, “The Joint Muslims Action Forum (JOMAF), Osun State states that the call for return of school to missionaries in Osun State is not only uncalled for, it is ill-conceived, unfair, unfortunate, given malafide and an attempt to corner collective resources of every indigene of the state for the benefit of some individuals and religious groups. It is an invitation to serious crisis and the governor should be wary in threading that dangerous path.

“It may be recalled that the taking over of private and faith-based schools by the military government in 1975 was a child of circumstance. It was done at a time when many of such schools could not be properly managed and the government needed to provide subvention to the proprietors of the schools to assist in building infrastructures and other things. It was also a period when the faith-based schools especially the Christian ones were avenues for evangelization and denial of Muslim children their fundamental rights to freedom of religion. Not only that, some of those so-called Christian missionary schools were actually established as  community schools but had to be hijacked by the churches due to the need for employment of teachers all or most of who were Christians and their loyalty with their churches.

“It also needs to be added that taking over of schools by the then government was done with compensation to the original owners of those schools.

“Since the taking over of the schools about 50 years ago, successive governments have spent huge government resources in building infrastructures and training of personnel for those schools. These were done with tax-payers’ money majority of who are not Christians in Osun State.

“After the taking over of schools by government in Nigeria especially in the South-West which unarguably dominantly Muslims, the Christian churches still continue laying wrongful claim to the ownership of those schools using the influence of school administrators who are majorly Christians to continue to deny Muslim Students their fundamental rights, stopping the Muslim girls from the use of hijab and denying the teaching of Islamic studies.

“Meanwhile, succour came the way of Muslim children when they became more educated and enlightened, thereby challenging the status quo through legal means which has led to legal victory in the recent years when court made several pronouncements on the right of Muslim students to practice their religion especially the use of hijab by female Muslim Students.

“The aftermath of the challenge of the status quo in those public schools is the call for return of schools to their former owners by the Christian leaders under the pretence of ‘a way of revamping educational sector ‘ as made to Governor Adeleke by the Catholic Bishop of Osogbo Diocese.

“When we do not dispute the fact that everybody is entitled to his opinion, such advice should be made in good faith and should not be one aimed at subjugating the interest of other citizens.

“Therefore, JOMAF sees the call by Bishop Oyejola for return of schools to missionaries as an attempt to return the schools to dark old age when the right of Muslim children to fundamental right to practice his religion and manifest same was always trampled upon.

“We state clearly that Muslims in Osun are more educated, more enlightened, more sophisticated and will not take anything that is capable of subjugating them and render them a second citizen in a state where they have equal rights.”

JOMAF then called on the peace-loving governor of Osun State not to listen to ill-advice of returning schools to missionaries in order not to put the state in an avoidable crisis.