Ogun League of Imams, Alfas oppose planned return of schools to missionaries

By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The League of Imams and Alfas in Ogun State, has rejected plans by the state government to return public schools to missionary bodies.

The body described the decision as “ill-advised, provocative, and unjustifiable.”

It would be recalled that on Friday, Governor Dapo Abiodun, while receiving the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev. Michael Crotty, accompanied by the Catholic Bishop of Ijebu-Ode, Most Rev. Francis Adesina; the Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta, Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo; and other Catholic officials during a courtesy visit to his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said all missionary schools would be returned to their original proprietors.

He acknowledged the contributions of religious organisations, but contended that the government could not achieve its objectives without the private sector.

Reacting to the proposal, the Secretary General of the League of Imams and Alfas in the state, Imam Tajudeen Adewunmi, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta on Monday, said the policy was not only a gross misreading of history, but a dangerous affront to the principles of equity, justice, and religious balance in a plural society.

“Public schools in Ogun State were nationalised to eliminate precisely the kind of sectarian control the government now seeks to reintroduce. To reverse this progress is to deliberately court division, deepen distrust, and destabilise the fragile harmony that has defined our state for decades.”

“Let it be stated without ambiguity: this move is discriminatory in effect and unacceptable in its entirety. It signals a troubling willingness by the government to prioritise the interests of a particular religious bloc over the collective rights of all citizens. Such a path is not only unjust but also politically reckless,” Adewunmi stated.

They demanded an “unconditional abandonment of the policy”, insisting that anything short of it would be interpreted as a calculated disregard for fairness and a direct challenge to the principles of inclusive governance.

“The Muslim community, which constitutes a substantial and historically rooted segment of Ogun State, will not stand idly by while its rights, sensitivities, and contributions are disregarded. We categorically reject any policy that seeks to cede public institutions that were built, upgraded, and managed with the resources of all to sectarian control under any guise.”

“Furthermore, we put the government on notice: any attempt to proceed with this agenda without comprehensive consultation and equitable safeguards will attract firm, coordinated, and lawful resistance from the Muslim community and all well-meaning stakeholders committed to justice.”

The Muslim community asserted that government must continue to unite, not divide; to protect, not to provoke; and to take the state forward, not drag it backwards into an era of exclusion and sectarian dominance under the watch of those entrusted with leadership.