The Muslim community of Oyo state Tuesday asked Governor Seyi Makinde to call the chairman of the state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) to order over the coming Daniel Kolenda crusade in Ibadan.
In a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan and jointly signed by the Muslim community chairman, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni and secretary general, Alhaji Murisiku Abidemi Siyanbade, the TESCOM chairman was accused of alleged gross abuse of office for allowing the crusade teams to be going round schools in Ibadan.
The Muslim community alleged that the crusade team of forcefully bringing out students and coercing them to listen to Christian preaching.
“For some time now, preparations have been in top gear to receive a German Christian Crusader, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda (successor of Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke), coming to Ibadan for a big crusade, tagged ‘Great Gospel Crusade. What’s bad about crusades? Nothing, really, but it is gross abuse of office for Pastor Chairman and Church Elder Permanent Secretary of Oyo state Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) to watch, while for over two weeks now, the crusade teams have been going round schools in Ibadan to forcefully bring out students, coercing them to listen to Christian preaching,” it said.
The Muslim community added: “This is impunity. TESCOM chairman should stop forcing Muslim students into Christianity. It is not acceptable. Governor Seyi Makinde, please call TESCOM chairman to order.
“This is very disheartening. On Friday 29th October, a crusade team was at Sasa Community High School, where Muslim students were deliberately disallowed from observing Jum’at by keeping them on a special Christian evangelisation assembly, specifically organised to mobilise them for the Kolenda crusade. Same has been replicated in many schools in Ibadan.”
Oyo State Muslim Community added in the statement that: ” It is unimaginable that we still find ourselves in this kind of situation, all because we have a pastor TESCOM chairman, who is either forcing school principals to implement this crusade, or he is simply looking the other way or; just flagrantly disregarding the extant circular of the Ministry of Education outlawing devotions at school assemblies.”
