Withdrawal of Lagos BECE Exam Timetable: Heads would have rolled in saner climes — MURIC

The Muslim Rights Concern has said that heads would have rolled in saner climes following the withdrawal of the Lagos State Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) timetable on Tuesday following public outcry.

MURIC ascribed the incident to Islamophobia, dereliction of duty, and licentiousness. 

‎This was contained in a statement on Wednesday by the Executive Director of the Islamic rights organisation, Prof. Ishaq Akintola. 

‎The statement reads: “The Lagos State Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE)  timetable which was released yesterday showed that Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) would be taken on Friday, 3rd July, 2023 from 12 – 2.10 pm. 

‎”However, the public outcry which greeted the publication forced the authorities to withdraw it this morning with a promise that a revised version would be released ‘shortly’. No reason was given for the withdrawal.

‎”MURIC frowns at the poor handling of the BECE examination timetable. It reeks of Islamophobia, dereliction of duty and licentiousness. The failure to mention the timetable’s fatal clash with the Muslims’ Friday prayer period as the reason for withdrawing the offensive circular portrays official hypocrisy.

‎”We are surprised that despite all the past hullabaloo over the slating of examinations, official meetings, public events, etc at Jumu’ah prayer periods, BECE still went ahead to schedule an examination of such magnitude from 12 noon to 2.10pm on Friday. It is preposterous.  

‎”It is noteworthy that the circular withdrawing the satanic timetable was not dated. This circular somersault would not have been necessary if there had been inclusivity. But Muslims were not consulted by officials and we doubt if the board or the timetable committee has any Muslim member or members.  

‎”This is what we mean when we tackle governors who sideline Muslims in political appointments. They usually end up shaving the heads of Muslims in their absence. The piano can give you a sort of music, but for melody and rhythm, you must use both the white and black keys. For peace and harmony in society, Governors in the South West need to ensure that qualified Muslims and Christians are given political appointments.

‎”This satanic timetable is the handiwork of extremist Christians in BECE. Such religious fanatics in ministries and government agencies are determined to make life unbearable for Muslims. They are programmed to hate and hurt their Muslim neighbours. At least we have enough evidence of extremist churches who preach hate and encourage their members to target Muslims with anti-Muslim behaviours and demands. 

‎”Contrary to popular belief, there is no religious tolerance in Yorubaland.  Muslims are constantly facing religious persecution for practising their faith. This incident is another solid evidence of the desertification of religious tolerance in the South West. It is Yoruba Muslims who have been sustaining the peace while quietly taking the heat. 

‎”There is evidence of dereliction of duty on the part of BECE leadership for failure to properly monitor the activities of the time-table committee. Heads would have rolled in saner climes but it remains to be seen if there is sanity in BECE. 

‎”To BECE, the Lagos State Government (LASG) and the Federal Government (FG), our position is this: since examinations cannot be fixed on a Sunday, all examinations fixed on Friday should end by 12 noon and that should be all for the day. Respect begets respect. Yoruba Muslims have been enslaved by their Christian neighbours long enough.

‎”We said it before and we will repeat it here. Nigeria was wired, engineered and structured for Christianity by the colonial masters. The whole system is structured to favour Christianity at the expense of Islam. Our recommendation above may form part of ongoing restructuring exercise if the authorities so wish. 

‎”As we draw the curtain, we recall the dark days of colonial repression of Muslims when there was zero religious freedom for Muslims. Those were the days when Muslim workers must go to work even on Salah day! 

‎”This is exactly what Christian officials (particularly in the South West) are trying to replicate and perpetuate. MURIC will continue to resist this inhuman treatment using every constitutional means at its disposal regardless what labels the oppressors give us: fundamentalists, extremists, fanatics, terrorists, slaves of the sultanate, the list is endless.”