The Ogun State Muslim Council has warned the Ogun State Government against any move to return mission-founded public schools to their original missionary owners, describing the proposal as a threat to religious harmony and public trust.
The council raised the concern in a statement issued by its Secretary-General, Kamal’deen Akintunde, on Tuesday in Abeokuta.
The statement followed comments credited to Governor Dapo Abiodun during a courtesy visit by the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Michael Crotty, in which the governor reportedly announced plans to return all missionary schools previously taken over by government to their original owners.
Abiodun had acknowledged the role of religious organisations in the development of education and healthcare, stating that government could not shoulder the burden of educational development alone and would require private sector participation.
However, the Muslim council described the move as an unnecessary politicisation of religion and warned that it could reopen long-settled issues over school ownership in the state.
According to the council, previous administrations had effectively resolved the matter by encouraging religious bodies to establish private schools to operate alongside public institutions.
“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 statement said.
The council argued that the schools in question had long become public assets after the original owners were compensated during government takeover.
It noted that public funds had since been used to maintain, expand and upgrade the schools over several decades, insisting that handing them back would amount to surrendering public assets to private entities.
The group also expressed concern over access to education, warning that returning the schools could increase the number of out-of-school children in Ogun State.
“It is an incontrovertible fact that public primary and secondary schools account for the largest student intake in Ogun State.
“If the state government goes ahead with this policy, many parents who cannot afford private education may be forced out of the system,” the council stated.
On religious freedom, the OMC raised concerns over the possible imposition of religious practices on Muslim students if the schools return to missionary control.
It argued that such a development could violate the constitutional rights of Muslim pupils to freedom of worship within what it described as a public-standard educational framework.
The council also questioned the timing of the proposed policy, suggesting it could be linked to recent engagements between the governor and Catholic leaders.
It warned that introducing such a policy at this stage of the administration could destabilise the interfaith harmony currently enjoyed in Ogun State.
“Inter-faith harmony is a democratic norm and any policy that threatens this delicate balance is ill-conceived,” the statement noted.
The council urged the state government to reverse course and prioritise broader public interest over what it described as sectarian considerations.
It added that any policy capable of undermining peaceful coexistence among residents should be reconsidered to preserve the social contract binding the people of the state.
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