Averting religious crisis in Osun

LAST week,Osun state was in the news again for a
wrong reason. A High Court judgment which
allows female Muslim Students to wear face
coveringsor hijab on their uniform pitched
Christians against Muslims.

The court held that it is the fundamental rights
of the female muslims to wear hijab – even
when that promotesdifferentiation and not
uniformity the students. What would have
degenerated to a face-off between the adherents
of the two religions was averted by security
agents.

Students of Baptist High School Adeeke Iwo, who
wore church garments and choir robes on their
uniform were denied entry into the school
premises by security men on Wednesday June
15, 2016, while those who wore hijab were
allowed into school. Governor RaufAregbesola
had on the previous day threatened violators of
school rules and regulations with expulsion.

Justice Jide Falolaof Osun state High Court
delivered the controversial judgment in a case
instituted by Muslim community against the
State Government on the right of female Muslim
students to wear hijab on their uniform.

Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Osun
chapter, had filed an appeal against the
judgment. Claiming residual proprietary rights,
Osun CAN warned that enforcing Justice Falola’s
judgement in missionary schools takenover by
the state in 1975, would lead to breakdown of
law and order.

The secularity of Nigeria is guaranteed under the
1999 constitution. It allows adherents to protect
and propagate their religions unhindered. No
public policy should however be perceived to
covertly or overtly accord one religion an
advantage over the other under any
circumstance.

We agree with Governor Aregbesola that those
who are dissatisfied with the court judgement
should seek redress through the due process of
the law. This is true because a court judgement
is valid until it is set aside by a superior court.
We fault the statement credited to the Chairman
of the State Universal Basic Education Board
(SUBEB), Felix Awofisayo who said that the
government will enforce the court verdict in all
public schools as hasty and unfortunate. It
suggests the voice of Jacob but the hand of Esau.

The truth is that the hijab controversy is a
needless one amongst a people who have
adherents of Christianity, Islam and traditional
religion in a proper mix. Governor Aregbesola
should concentrate on governance instead of
divisive religious acrimony.

He should deliver the much needed dividends of
democracy to the people of Osun.There are
more important issues that demand attention
such as overdue appointment of commissioners,
running a democraticallyelected local
government, payment of workers salaries and
accumulated pension arrears. Osun does not
deserve this distraction, mischief and tension.
Religious crisis is alien to thesouthwest.

We appeal to Christian and Muslim leaders in the
state to embrace peace. We recommend that an
out of court settlement should be explored and
Parties should abide by all agreements reached.
We commend the maturity of school authorities
in handling the sensitive issue. We also
commend the comportment of students both
inside and outside classrooms despite their
differentreligious inclinations. We urge parents
and guardians to desist from making utterances
or engaging in acts capable of inciting their
children and wards.