Return Mission Schools To Owners, FCT Baptist Conference Urges Govt

President of the FCT Baptist Conference, Rev. Dogara Gwana, has called on the government to return mission schools to their owners.

He made this call on Thursday at a press briefing heralding the 7th annual conference of all the Baptist churches in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Gwana explained that this move would allow the owners of these mission schools to restore sanity to the system and rescue them from the state of decay some of them have fallen into since their takeover by the government.

He expressed displeasure over the recent decision of the Supreme Court to allow the wearing of hijab in public schools, noting that several schools established by some Islamic organizations which were taken over by the Federal Government when the Christian missions’ schools were taken over had been allowed to maintain their traditions and cultures while their Christian counterparts were denied such liberties.

The President of FCT Baptist conference, therefore, said it was expedient for the government to return the mission schools to their owners.

He said, “The recent Supreme Court’s decision on the wearing of the hijab in public schools does not go down well with Nigerian Christians especially the Nigerian Baptist Convention.

“All over the country, there are some schools that were established by some Islamic organizations which were taken over by the Federal government when the Christian missions’ schools were taken over.

“Yet till today, those schools with the Islamic origins are still maintaining their traditions and culture. But their Christian counterparts are being denied such rights.

“This is why we are joining the Nigerian Baptist Convention in calling for the return of all Christian schools that were taken over by the government during the military era.

“Returning those schools will help their original owners to restore sanity back to the system. The departure of the missionaries from running those schools remains the foundation of the dwindling fortunes and standards. We therefore call on the government to return these schools to the original owners to run them with the original intended mission and purpose.”

While addressing a myriad of other national issues, Gwana said that the spate of attacks on churches and their clerics due to religious intolerance and pervasive insecurity was increasing exponentially.

He also decried Nigeria’s biting inflation and the shutdown of the universities. Consequently, he appealed to the Federal government and the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities to return to the negotiating table with the sole aim of rescuing the future of our younger generation.

Gwana condemned the attempts by some political parties to field presidential candidates and running mates of the same religion and urged political leaders to show deliberate commitment and interest towards rescuing the country and the supporting the common man.

“We call on the presidential candidates to aim at healing the country and apply wisdom in the actions they take towards selecting their running mates,” he added.