A Non-Governmental Organisation, SecureWorld and Liberty Initiative for Peace, yesterday, urged the Kwara State government and all relevant stakeholders in the educational and religious sectors of the state to quickly step in and resolve the boiling Hijab crisis in Ilorin, Kwara State.
In a statement by its Executive Director, Mark Adebayo, the forum said it was disturbed watching a video that has gone viral in which Christians and Moslems were seen engaging in a violent confrontation on the issue of students wearing Hijab to Christian schools.
The statement reads: “It is quite disheartening seeing members of the two faiths clashing violently over an issue that can be amicably resolved if both sides show understanding and mutual tolerance. The Kwara State government and all relevant stakeholders who are active participants in the educational and religious sectors in the state must rise to the occasion immediately before it spirals out of control.
Leaders must not wait until a problem becomes an emergency before taking action.
The state government, especially, has vacillated too much over this crisis. Precious time has been wasted trying to wish away the crisis rather than take concrete proactive actions to nip it in the bud before it consumes the state and spread around the country which is a scary possibility.
“It is the responsibility of every government at both national and state levels to ensure unity, friendliness, and tolerance among the various religions and ethnicities in Nigeria and never to allow a simple matter degenerate into violence and bloodshed before action is taken.
We call on both sides to cease fire and allow peace to reign, while the relevant authorities find solutions to the Hijab issue. It must be realized by all involved that the future of a whole generation of students and pupils is at stake in this matter and, therefore, must be handled with the utmost care, alacrity, and responsibility.”