The Nigeria Baptist Convention southwest Conference Presidents on the Compulsory use I Hijab in all schools in Kwara State today converged in Ilorin, Kwara state capital to show their unwavering support to Kwara Baptist Conference
Reverend Dr. Solomon Oyewale Oyeniyi the President Ogun Baptist Conference who speaks on behalf of South West Presidents said,
We are here today to encourage, comfort and empathize with our dear brethren in Kwara State.
we stand with you in this critical time and we are praying for you.
Not just our Baptist brothers and sisters who have been attacked, but other Christians who have suffered for the sake of the gospel in the weeks in Kwara State.
We cry with you, but we also demand justice, equity, and fairness from the state government and security agencies.
There is no gainsaying that Christian mission organizations, as far back as the mid 18 century, 1865 to be precise, have and are still playing significant roles in providing quality primary education in Nigeria. The evidence of this can be seen in the number of mission schools established
Within Nigeria-Kwara State inclusive.
Nigerians will recall that some Muslims attended our mission
schools and they were not forced to change their religion, people in that category served the nation
Worthy of note is the 1974 Education Law Edict of Kwara State signed by the then military administrator, Colonel Lasisi Bamigboye (Rtd) which categorically states and by interpretation, that the voluntary Agency Institutions (i.e the mission schools) are not taken over by the government but, only
the management of staff (the teachers) is the only thing the government of Kwara State is taken over.
Furthermore, the edict states that the proprietors still retain the right of ownership; names of schools remain
as given by the proprietors; religious orientation and practices in the school’s remain generally
undisturbed; the total tone of the institutions remains the responsibility of the Board of Governors of the
school as the main organ of the proprietors.
We have watched incredulously and painfully how some of our churches have been attacked and Some
of our brethren injured simply because they were asking for justice.
We saw each again on Monday, March 22,
how some churches were attacked even while their gates were firmly locked by throwing stones and
dangerous objects into their premises.
This shows that these are coordinated attacks on churches in Ilorin
and the issue at hand is beyond wearing hijabs in our schools. At least the schools were not opened that
day.
We pray that the Lord will comfort all Christians in Ilorin who have been attacked and still carry the
scars of such attacks. May the Lord heal you, may the Lord strengthen you, and may He answer us
speedily on this matter in Jesus’ name, amen.
We charge you to endure more as our victory is at hand,
the Lord will not fail us. Please be encouraged. We appreciate the leaders of Kwara State Baptist
The conference, the president and chairman, and the officers of the Christian Association of Nigeria has have
stood up bravely against arsonists and miscreants determined to destroy our heritage.
We charge us all not to give up and continue in the pursuit of justice and fairness.
One question we must ponder on is how come this is happening now? How did the past governments in
Does Kwara State manage to avert such upheaval? And that’s why we are calling on the Kwara State government to remember that its first duty is the protection of citizens’ lives and properties.
We ask the government not to forget that all lives matter irrespective of their faiths, we remind the government that
Christians too matter in this state and we deserve protection as well. Our properties like churches, schools, buses, and houses ought to be protected as we are taxpayers too. We are not just important during the election period but at all moments. Allowing thugs and miscreants to terrorize innocent citizens under the guise of enforcing hijab in our schools calls to question the duty of government in protecting all and sundry.
This should not be allowed to continue, our dear governor.
We also ask the government to toe the path of honor in allowing the rule of law to prevail. There’s a
matter in court over the hijab matter and one would have thought that the government will wait for its determination since the lower court ruled that the status quo should be maintained, we ask the government to respect this. If we all continue to disobey our courts which are legally empowered to interpret our
Constitution, there will be anarchy. This will not augur well for us all.
Nonetheless, we are making use of this opportunity to express our unreserved concern and t0 make
appeal to Kwara State government under the leadership of His Excellency Alhaji Abdulrahman
Abdulrazaq to make use of his political office:
.It is high time the Kwara State government started considering returning mission schools to the
original Owners as we have seen in Lagos and Ogun States, heaven will not fall as we built these schools originally.
As Baptists, we have shown in these two states that we have what it takes to
maintain and cater for our schools-staff and students, and we are willing to accept what belongs to
us originally.
- To be unbiased in the discharge of orders as about the wearing of hijab in the mission school since the matter is still in Supreme Court with the state surely served by the Supreme
Court and to allow the rule of law reign supreme as regards wearing of hijab in Christian mission
schools.
3, For the interest of peace and an uninterrupted educational system, any Muslim parents who want their child or children to wear hijab compulsorily should honorably withdraw his/their child or children to Muslim established schools instead of causing mayhem in the mission schools.
4, To allow the Christian mission schools to operate by the provision of the 1974 Education Law Edict of Kwara State.
- To facilitate educational policy that will engender and not endanger the peaceful coexistence in all educational facilities in the state.
- To not politicize the issue of wearing hijab in Christian mission schools as these schools have the statutory uniforms expected for all pupils and students to wear each time they come to school.
7 To curb civil and religious societies irrespective of their religious affiliations from promoting campaigns to disrupting the peace and smooth operation of the mission schools and their immediate environments.
- To mediate with fairness and justice between all concerned stakeholders to allow the pupils and students of these affected mission school are in jeopardy
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