…Vows to resist Govt’s attempt to return the schools

The League of Imams and Alfas in Ogun State yesterday kicked against the state government’s plan to return public schools to missionary bodies, describing the proposal as “ill-advised, provocative, and unjustifiable.”

The Muslim body equally vowed to resist government plan to return the schools to the owners without due consultation with the religious body and other well meaning individuals.

Recalled that, Governor Dapo Abiodun While hosting the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev. Michael Crotty, last week, said all missionary schools would be handed back to their original owners.

Abiodun stated this when the Rev. Crotty visited the governor’s office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, with the Catholic Bishop of Ijebu-Ode, Most Rev. Francis Adesina; the Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta, Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo; and other Catholic officials.

He commended religious organisations for their contributions, while maintaining that private sector support remains critical for government to meet its objectives.

“We will return all missionary schools to their owners. It is not in our policy to do it alone. We need to join hands with private individuals and we encourage further partnership with the church to expand development” Abiodun said.

However, in a statement on Monday, the Secretary General of the League of Imam and Alfas, Iman Tajudeen Adewunmi faulted the proposed return of the school to the missionaries saying it showed a gross misreading of history and attacks on fairness, justice, and religious balance in a diverse society.

“Public schools in Ogun State were nationalized to eliminate precisely the kind of sectarian control the government now seek to reintroduce. To reverse this process is to deliberately court division, deepen distrust, and destabilise the fragile harmony that has defined our state for decades.”

“Let it be stated without ambiguity:this move is discriminatory in the effect and unacceptable in its entirety. It signals a troubling willingness by the government to prioritise the interest of a particular religious bloc over the collective rights of all citizens. Such a path is not only unjust but also politically reckless” Adewunmi stated.

They urged the state government to bury the thought of returning the schools to the missionaries, Insisting that any decision against that would be misinterpreted as not being fair enough to other religion except Christianity and a challenge to principles of inclusive governance.

” The Muslim community, which constitute a substantial and historical rooted segment of Ogun State, will not stand idly by while it’s rights, sensitivities, and contributions are disregarded. We categorically reject institutions that were built, upgraded, and managed with the resources of all to sectarian control under any guise.”

“Furthermore, we put the government on notice: any attempt to proceed with this agenda without comprehensive consultation and equitable safeguards will attract firm, coordinated and lawful resistance from the Muslim community and all well-meaning stakeholders committed to justice” he said