The national executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has criticised the recent decision of the Osun State government to mix Muslim with Christian pupils in missionary schools, describing it as a move by Governor Rauf Aregbesola to Islamise the state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, National General Secretary of CAN, Reverend Dr. Musa Asake branded the action part of Aregbesola’s grand plan to systematically silent Christians in the state. He urged the state government to reverse the action or face stiff resistance from the association.
“We’ve been following the events in Osun State. To get to this point where they’re trying to bring some Muslims to mix them with Christian students is a ploy. There is no pretence about it and we are going to resist it. I totally disagree that the Islamisation of Osun State is not peculiar to the education sector alone. They have an agenda,” read a part of Musa’s statement.
“If you follow the event in that state and the way the governor is going about doing his own things, he has an agenda. Why is he particular about Christian schools? If he really wants to promote education in that state, why can’t he build other schools? Why is he particular about Christian schools? We Christians can no longer fold our hands and allow them do what they want.
“Forty years ago, under the supervision of a Christian minority head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, someone, somewhere brought the idea that mission schools should be taken over. Now watch! Forty years later, under the supervision of another Christian minority president, Goodluck Jonathan, Almajiri schools have been introduced.
“The school is strictly for Muslim children. These people are never concerned about the Christians. After they took over missionary schools, they’ve not introduced Almajiri schools. They’ve placed Christians as second and third class citizens.”
He reiterated that this time around, CAN will not allow it happen in Osun State, as it is a ploy to tarnish the entire educational system by bringing the mix up. It claimed that there is an agenda behind it and assured that the CAN chapter in Osun State would not just fold its hands and watch.
“The Christians in the state have closed down the schools and my word to the state chapter of CAN is that they must not relent. They must not allow it happen. The governor was elected by both Christians and Muslims. For him to pay attention to the only the welfare of Muslims, it’s absolutely unfair,” he said.
“We won’t allow that to happen. I challenge all the Christians in the state to rise up and say no. That educational policy can be implemented in any other place, but not in mission schools. The time has come for all the mission schools taken from churches to be returned to them. CAN will no longer fold its hands and allow this happen.”
On other matters, CAN urged the government to call fulani herdsmen who have been allegedly involved in series of deadly attacks on natives across the country to order.
“I’m at the centre of the whole thing. I’m a northerner. I’ve been suppressed. No one thinks about me as a northerner because I’m a Christian. If you look at what is going on, they are only using fulani herdsmen to destabilise these areas. They want to take over everything. They want to make everything Islam. It will not happen,” Musa continued.
“Innocent souls are dying. The way the killings are going, I don’t see any energy from our leaders to solve this problem. No one is saying anything about those that have been killed? Our northern governors going and saying that presidency must return to the north, is that the issue right now? I expect these northern governors to be having sleepless nights and trying to put an end to this. I don’t hear that.
“Northerners have ruled this country and put us in this mess we are in today. Whenever these same people talk about the north, they’re not talking about Christians. Christians must open their eyes. As a northern Christian, I’m not regarded as anything. When they talk about power coming to the north, Christians are not in the picture.”
