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General News of Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Hijabs will not be accepted in Christian schools - CAN

Young girls wearing a hijab Young girls wearing a hijab

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has emphasized that the wearing of hijabs will not be accepted in Christian schools.

The association made the statement in reaction to a bill seeking to prohibit religious discrimination against adherents and practitioners of different faiths and beliefs in the country.

According to CAN, the passage of the bill into law will generate confusion, division and chaos among citizens.

Hon. Said Musa Abdullahi from the Niger State paid a courtesy call to CAN to get their support into passing the bill titled, "Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention ETC) Bill 2021" into law.

Section 4(1) of part B of the bill read: “A person shall not, directly or indirectly or by any combination of the two, be intimidated, harassed, victimized or discriminated against on the basis of religious belief or activity or on the ground of manifestation of religion or religious belief or any other ground of a characteristic that people who have or engage in the religious belief or activity generally have; and on the ground of a characteristic that people who have or engage in the religious belief or activity are generally presumed to have or manifest which may include wearing religious emblem, head cover, hijab, scarf, habit, decent and modest religious dress”.

President of CAN, Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle said, "We have laws already that can take care of discrimination. And if anyone is discriminated against, the court is open. The bill if passed will enforce discrimination rather than war against it.

“The bill is causing wahala. You don’t sit on my nose because you have a right to sit down. Beyond your good intent to solve a problem, we may be creating many other ones. There is no mutual respect.

“Your name will go into history as one who disregarded the rights of the Christians to promote their own in their institutions. “Why do we have not to wage war against ourselves? Why do we want to wake up a problem which is sleeping?

“Wearing of hijab has not made any student more intelligent. Piety is in the heart. In a multi-ethnic nation like ours, school uniform creates uniformity, classless.

“Once you pass that bill, be prepared for a state of confusion”, he said. The CAN president recalled the crisis in Kwara State, saying that a legal backing to a bill will escalate the situation.

“I met with the Governor of Kwara State here in Abuja, in Aso Rock, and I told him, ‘Do you know that this problem had been before you? But the governors before you managed it with wisdom and through many other means…persuasion, getting closer to the people, etc.

“Now, the problem I see in us, especially the radicalisation of religion that is now coming, which has been heating up the polity, is that there has been no Islamic school established for Western education where the Muslims who established it has not helped that community to develop. And there is no Christian institution established in any place that has not opened up that place for development. If that is at the bottom of our hearts, why do we now have to wage war against ourselves on what has been working?

“For Kwara State, many people, great rulers in Kwara now went to Christian institutions in that place. I asked, ‘Is this the way to pay back the Christian institutions which provided an opportunity for you? It is part of what you are today.’ And when did the Christians in that location start to be destroying Kwara communities? No time! So, why should anybody wage a war in terms of wearing dress against them? What would have been more respectful is that in all the public institutions, yes, wear hijab; nobody is fighting about or against that. But to now say that in your school also, we must put that there; It will not be respected."