CAN blames govt’s inaction for bloody violence over hijab at Kwara school
By Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kwara state chapter, has blamed the recent bloody violence which occurred at the Oyun Baptist High School (OBHS), Ijagbo in Oyun local government area of Kwara state on the state government, saying it could have been averted if the state government had hearkened to an earlier appeal by the Christian body.
CAN, in a statement jointly signed by its Acting Chairman, Bishop S. T. G. Adewole and Secretary, Reverend R. I. Ibitoye, recalled their letter of appeal to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on 25th January, 2022, urging him “to urgently intervene in the ongoing hijab crisis in OBHS and other Mission Schools in Oyun and Offa Local Government Areas,” saying to their dismay the appeal was neglected by the state government.
They said: “To put the record straight, precisely on 2nd February, 2022, some
Muslim fanatics with some Muslim female students of OBHS Ijagbo
staged a protest in Ijagbo town and later came to Ilorin to continue the protest at the Government House chanting slogan like ‘no school tomorrow except with Hijab’, and the following day (i.e. 3rd February, 2022) they were mobilised with dangerous weapons to unleash mayhem on the innocent Christian Proprietors; these weapons were freely used by
these fundamentalists.
“The report at our disposal indicates that an innocent passerby was also attacked and macheted by these Muslim fanatics. The individual was not a Christian as wrongfully claimed by some people. The fellow later reappeared, reinforced with his fellow thugs and retaliated, this led to serious fracas with the Muslim
protesters. It was the timely intervention of the security agents that
restored normalcy at the School gate.”
The top CAN officials added: “That at no time did Kwara CAN and stakeholders sign/concede to any agreement or policy
with the Kwara State Government on the use of Hijab as it is being claimed by the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibo Kawu. The usage of hijab in
Christian Missions schools in Ilorin metropolis was forcefully
implemented and imposed by the state government.”
They accused the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital
Development of being undiplomatic in her ways of handling the matter at
stake, adding that her action has continued to generate religious tension as she was not proactive enough when an earlier protest was staged on the 2nd
February, 2022 by some Muslims. To CAN, a prompt response would have averted that violence at the OBGS Ijagbo.
They lamented that “CAN’s efforts to sit and reason with the government on how
to foster lasting peace on the issue is yet to yield any result.”
They, however, implored Christian faithful “to remain calm, peaceful and be law
abiding in the face of any provocation, believing that all issues will
be resolved soonest, ” while urging the police to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of this heinous crime that occurred at OBHS Ijagbo.