It is not a strange scenario for Kwara State to be a multi-religious state like other part of the country and as well as other part of the world. The most dominating religion in Kwara state being Islamic and Christianity religion. I will not in any way write this article in favouring one religion than the other but I will write as a peace loving citizen of Nigeria.
Kwara State is a state that has most percentage of her population to be Muslims and other percentage to be Christians in the current statistics. In the state there are different categories of Schools Namely; Islamic Schools, Missionary Schools and Community Schools, which are also generally classified according to the ownership factor as Public and private schools.
Public schools are financed and staffed by the Government of the state and hence we can say the schools belong to the government regardless of the category it belongs.
I Appreciate Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrasaq for his relentless efforts and peace loving and problem solving techniques but with due respect I don’t think the solution is a long and lasting one. Because many citizens that are non-Muslims might not really attribute the Governor’s selfless act as a peace loving act rather they might think he does that because he is a Muslim.
Let me use Offa a local government in Kwara State as a case study in my Article. Missionary schools in Offa, such as Anglican Comprehensive College, St. Clares Girls College to mention the few do have a Church in the premises of the school but not a mosque to show the school belong to Christians, so Muslims willing to perform act of worship resort in to using a classroom or under a tree for the act. So it is impossible for a rule that favours the Muslims to actually hold if we are to be realistic.
Taking another school in the same part of Kwara state like Ansar-u-deen College or Nawar-u-deen College, this school does have a designated mosque but not church. Christians willing to perform act of worship/fellowship will have to use the classrooms. So here the rules favouring the Christian are also likely not to hold.
To set a long lasting solution to this kind of misunderstanding the government of Kwara cannot set a rule favouring one side to the other side. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) thinks the schools (Missionary schools) belong to them and likewise the Muslim Society of Nigeria (MSN) also thinks the Islamic schools belong to them.
As I have earlier said, my aim is to provide possible solution that will promote peace in the said State. So the following are the possible solutions to the problems
• Muslim students should go to Islamic schools and Christian Students to Missionary schools, so no argument of change of Rules, and then if a student decides to go to where both will be mixed he should go to Community school. Although this is not the best solution, it will reduce the conflict rate.
• Since Government is solely responsible for all the said schools, all the schools both Islamic and Missionary can be changed to community schools and renamed such that the names do not show the school belong to any side and a Mosque and a church be built in the schools to favour both sides and also system of staffing the schools should also be changed. Because in missionary school 80 to 90% of the staffs are Christian and also the same in Islamic schools.
And lastly each side of religion should learn to respect each other. The problem caused by religion in Nigeria does more damage that problem caused by Ethnic difference. I hope the lingering problem be extinguished as soon as possible and I pray to Almighty God to bring a long lasting peace to Kwara State and to Nigeria at large.
Long live Kwara State!
Long live Nigeria
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