By Our Correspondent
Abeokuta, April 15, ’26 (TNZ) The Ogun State Muslim Council (OMC) raised alarm over the state government’s attempt to reignite the controversial issue of returning mission-founded schools, previously acquired by the government, to their original missionary owners.
TheNewsZenith reports that the whistleblower is contained in a statement issued by Asiwaju Kamal’deen Akintunde, the Secretary-General of the Council, on Tuesday in Abeokuta.
OMC expressed strong reservations regarding the planned return of the schools, describing the move as a troubling “politicisation of religion”.
Akintunde further stated that the move “is an unnecessary ‘religionalisation of politics’ that serves no clear public interest”.
TheNewsZenith reports that the OMC’s reaction is coming on the heels of Gov. Dapo Abiodun’s announcement on Friday that his administration would return all missionary schools to their original owners.
Abiodun made the announcement when he received the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev Michael Crotty, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The governor, in a statement on Friday, acknowledged the contributions of religious bodies in the education and health sectors.
He added that the government could not do it alone, hence the need for the private sector’s participation.
However, in another statement, the OMC scribe, Akintunde, argued that the previous administrations had settled the matter of school ownership effectively.
“The established consensus encouraged missionary bodies to establish new, private schools to operate alongside the existing public school system.
“This is a model that has functioned successfully until now. The Council premised its opposition on four critical pillars:
Public Investment and Compensation:
The OMC reminds the State Government that the original owners were duly compensated at the point of takeover.
Furthermore, these institutions have been maintained, upgraded, and expanded for decades using taxpayers’ funds.
Handing over public assets into private hands, therefore, constitutes a subversion of the public trust.
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Increase out-of-school children
It is an incontrovertible fact that the government public primary school is the largest intake of primary and secondary students in Ogun State.
If the state government go ahead to reinvent the return of school, it will further increase the out-of-school children in the state.
This is because many parents and guardians who enrolled their children and/or wards in public primary and secondary schools could not afford to send them to private schools.
Threats to Inter-faith Harmony
The Council noted with concern that this policy change, coming during the twilight of Goc. Abiodun’s administration carries grave implications for the religious peace and harmony currently enjoyed in the state.
“Inter-faith harmony is a democratic norm and any policy that threatens this delicate balance is ill-conceived or advised,” TheNewsZenith quotes from the statement.
Infringement on Religious Freedom
OMC raised an alarm regarding the fate of Muslim students in such schools.
The return to missionary control would inevitably lead to the imposition of religious practices contrary to the faith of Muslim pupils.
This will ultimately violate their constitutional right to freedom of worship within a public-standard educational framework.
A Call for Retraction
The Council questions the timing and motivation behind this announcement, which followed a recent visit by a delegation of Catholic Priests to the Governor.
It wondered if this policy is a response to specific clerical demands or a strategic electioneering tool.
“While acknowledging the governor’s pretext that “government can not do it alone,” the OMC maintains that partnership with missions should not involve the surrendering of public heritage.
“OMC hereby enjoins the state government to have a rethink and rather prioritise the overall public interest.
“The government should reverse this planned policy to prevent a breakdown of the social contract and the harmonious coexistence of the “Gateway” people,” TheNewsZenith further quotes Akintunde as stating. (TNZ)
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