CAN Wants National Assembly To Drop Hijab Bill

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN has called on the leadership of the National Assembly to suspend a bill before the House of Representatives seeking to institutionalise the use of hijab in the country. CAN said the bill was ill-timed and uncalled for.

The bill titled “Religious Discrimination (Prohibition, Prevention) Bill, 2021” according to the sponsors, the bill seeks to provide a mechanism for enforcing certain provisions of the Constitution and other international laws that recognize the right of females to adorn hijab in both public and private establishments in Nigeria.

“We wonder what the sponsors of the Bill seeks to gain from it other than to compound the security problem and the wearing of hijab in public and Christian schools,” CAN said in a statement issued by its General Secretary, Joseph Daramola

According  to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the “National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.”

“To what extent does this controversial bill seek to promote peace, order and good governance? Has dress code become part of the Exclusive Legislative List? While the citizens are expecting the National Assembly to make laws that will address the lopsided appointments, insecurity, unemployment and economic predicament, our lawmakers are interested in making laws that seek to promote one religion. This is totally unacceptable in a country with multiple religions.

“Candidly speaking, it is not the wearing of hijab that is our problem, it is the legislation of the wearing of it in private schools, especially of the schools whose proprietors have different culture to that of wearing of hijab.

“If anyone travels to Rome, it is common saying that he or she should do as the Romans do since he was not forced to come! If any Christian pupil goes to a Muslim School, he or she should abide by their practices there and vice versa.

“Why should a Muslim student come to a Christian school which operates under different dressing culture and insist on her own culture? That appears provocative and disrespectful! Legislating the wearing of hijab in private schools would lead to the trouble that those who started it may not be able to handle.

“Abandoning school uniform for religious dressing is going to divide the students along religious lines and further polarize our society. Should the children of Ifa worshipper ( god of divination )wear Ifa costume to the school as well, etc? Is that not going to bring confusion? Will the wearing of religious dress make one student brighter in class than the other? What are we legislating for?”

“It was the government that couldn’t provide enough school that came in subtly to partner with us but now going another mile to take over completely. Can the government own what they did not spend their money to build?

“Those who took over our schools did not tell us that our religious traditions and culture would be eradicated. We call on all Christians in every legislative house, including the National Assembly, to arise and speak for the Church if they have not compromised their faith for political reasons and if they failed to do so, God Himself will ask them of their stewardship one day and equally fight for His Church.”

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