Ebun Olowu
The Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide in Kwara state has joined other Christian bodies in the state to kick against the use of hijab in its mission schools.
A representative of the Chairman of the church, the acting Chairman, Ilorin District Headquarters, Senior Special Apostle Elijah Fabiyi, while addressing journalists in Ilorin, capital of Kwara State, urged the state government to reverse its decision on the use of hijab in the interest of peace.
He said the use of hijab will cause disunity and erode moral values of the church.
He also called on the state government to return schools built by the church to forestall trespass capable of leading to breakdown of law and order.
It would be recalled that, in February 2021, the Kwara State government approved the use of hijab in all public schools in the state, and temporarily closed 10 grant-aided secondary schools in Ilorin, the state capital, following a crisis in the schools over the use of hijab.
The schools are Cherubim and Seraphim College, ST. Anthony College, ECWA School, Surulere Baptist Secondary School, Bishop Smith Secondary School, CAC Secondary School, St. Barnabas Secondary School, St. John School, St. Williams Secondary School and St. James Secondary School.
Muslim leaders had insisted that students should be allowed to use the head covering in accordance with the Constitution but their Christian counterparts said such negates the heritage of the missionaries who established the schools.
The state government said after considering the submissions of the major interest groups on the matter, it had decided to allow the use of the material in all public schools. The government’s statement read in part:
“Consequently, the government hereby acknowledges and approves the right of the Muslim schoolgirl to wear the hijab, and directs the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development to come up with a uniform hijab for all public/ grant-aided schools, which will be the accepted mode of head covering in schools. Any willing schoolgirl with the approved (uniform) hijab shall have the right to wear same in public/grant-aided schools”.
It also directed the 10 closed schools to reopen from Monday, March 8, 2021.
Reacting to the development, the Kwara Baptist Conference says it will not allow the use of the hijab in its grant-aided schools, describing the state governor’s order permitting the use as ill-informed.
