Mssn response to hijab issue in Osun 28th June 2016

Our Country, Our Dear Country and Our State of Osun.

1. The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, B-Zone (Southern Nigeria) heartily felicitates with the entire Muslim ummah of Nigeria in general, and the Muslim ummah of the State of Osun in particular on the successful prosecution of the rights of our girls in the courts of law where it was established that our girls are also a part in the Nigerian project with their rights and privileges guaranteed.  I pray that Allah (Glory be to Him in His majesty) reward, in abundance, all those who worked assiduously to ensure our children's inalienable rights remain protected for generations yet unborn. 

2. The Muslim students society of Nigeria (B-Zone, Southern Nigeria) carefully notes certain interesting development subsequent to the judgment from the Osun state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria and certain elements in the mainstream press. Some of these developments are, in our view, normal and some of them tend towards the absurd. We are happy though, that with backroom interventions of well meaning Nigerians from all walks and all faiths,  responses are now getting guided by maturity and enlightenment.

3. In all of the above, a few things however continue to confound the society such as follows:

i. Why is the Osun State chapter of CAN so interested in how our children dress?

ii. Why should ordinarily respectable journalists and editorial boards of some print media organizations try to hijack the responsibility of appellate court in reviewing and invalidating judgement of a competent court of law delivered after more than three years of legal battle where all respondents (including Osun state CAN) had ample opportunity to present their cases before the court? Is religious bias this strong in the subconscious of the Nigerians that even men of repute are unable to control themselves given the right circumstance? 

iii. Why did the Muslims need to go to court in the first instance over a piece of cloth draped over the head of their daughters? Is there still a Nigerian who does not know that female Muslims wear the hijab? What is the struggle over? Hate or maybe just lack of exposure?

4. Fellow Nigerians, we own this country together; Christians, Muslims and other religious ideology adherents. We may spend our time over which religion have the larger population but we will only be wasting everybody's time.  With our broad divides no religion is going to push out any other one in any foreseeable time. All the efforts of the Christian missionaries to convert Muslims to Christianity over the last decades in the southwest has not worked; Islam is only waxing stronger, from Lagos to Ekiti. The churches are also still very full all over and waxing strong despite the efforts of the Alfas. Is it not time for us all to wake up to reality and adopt a live-and-let-live approach? A perpetual sense of compulsive inter religious competition or simply, a poor sense of priorities cannot be the guide for our actions in this century and beyond.  

5. Now, certainly there will always be areas where the Muslims and Christians disagree and we should talk about those and address them. However the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria does not believe it is in the interest of any religion that we perpetually fight over everything from the absurd to the bizarre. If we do that, we practically hold down the development of our collective society to the benefit of none. And God will ask us about that when we eventually meet Him.  

6. May we clearly state that since every successful litigant will not be deprived the fruit of his labour, Muslim female students in Osun State have started the use of hijab in public schools in Osun State and will continue to do so. The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria will not hesitate to institute a contempt proceeding against anybody or group including but not limited to principals, teachers, headteachers that dare to deny any of our female members the use of hijab in defiance to the judgement of the court. It is certainly not also the business of the society what clothes non-Muslims wear to school.  We have been relating with catholic sisters over decades with no history of complaints from the Muslims. 

7. It may however not be fair to complete this message without noting that while the CAN of Osun may have gotten themselves caught in an embarrassment web on this issue at this time, it is not only this group or other Christian groups that get themselves caught in the web of parochialism.  It happens to Muslim groups too at times. If we must learn to live together and create a progressive community where our children can live together and learnt to appreciate and tolerate our differences. Indeed, we must all learn to manage our parochial tendencies. We need to do that for the betterment of our dear nation.

8. And to those few gentlemen of the press who struggled with biases unsuccessfully, our view is that you can do better than the low blow you delivered to your profession at this time. You are supposed to be important part of development of sane and lawful society, we think that role demands more responsibility than what was demonstrated in the past few weeks. We are unequivocal to say you owe that responsibility as a duty to your children.

9. On a side note to our dear Lagos State Governor, Itesiwaju Eko, l'ojewalogun. Insha Allah our daughters will be part of that itesiwaju with their beautiful hijabs.

10. Finally, I will like to congratulate all well meaning Nigerians on this occasion. We all need to use it as a test of our objectivity, our ability to rise above our base tendencies and our ability to progress together despite our differences. 

Long live the Muslim Student's Society of Nigeria
Long live the State of Osun.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Mushafau Alaran. (Al-Hajj)
President (Amir), The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria B-Zone (Southern Nigeria)

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