PFN leaders at the briefing on Thursday
Hehehe.......... While
addressing newsmen at the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria
Headquarters in Lagos on Thursday, the General Overseer of Living Faith
Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, said government had no right to force
subjects on anybody.
Arising from an emergency meeting in Lagos, on Thursday, the
Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, and the General Overseer, Living
Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo have warned the Federal and State
Governments against attempt to force Christian students in secondary
schools to offer Islamic Studies.
Speaking while addressing newsmen at the PFN Headquarters in Isolo,
Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Oyedepo said government had no right to force
subjects on anybody, saying that by stopping Christian Religion
Studies, CRS, at the Senior Secondary School level, it automatically
meant that it would not be embraced at the tertiary institutions.
“You cannot force our students to study Islamic Studies or Arabic Studies,” he said, citing a case in Kwara State where a Christian student was beaten and forced to take Arabic Studies against his will.
Speaking, PFN President, Dr. Felix Omobude said the PFN was
concerned at the contention and controversy that had attended the
revised Basic Education Curriculum, especially the unnecessary collapse
of Christian Religious Studies as part of an omnibus subject known as
Religion and National Values.
“We note the explanation by the Nigerian Educational Research
and Development Council (NERDC) on some of the issues raised. However,
the PFN maintains that whatever the case, there is really no need nor is
there any justification for the needless confusion and uncertainty the
NERDC has created which has opened up the implementation of the
curriculum to the whims and caprices people with vested interests who
want to impose their religious preferences on students.
“The PFN calls for an immediate reversal of the change of
curriculum so that Christian Religious Studies can stand on its own as a
separate subject just as it has always been. Collapsing CRK as only a
part of Religion and National Values forecloses the opportunity of the
subject being studied at the tertiary level by students who might so
desire and this is unacceptable to us.
“On the question of the compulsory study of Foreign languages,
as the curriculum has laid out, the PFN urges that the window be opened
up to more languages beyond French and Arabic to accommodate other
languages such as Spanish, etc. so that our children can enjoy greater
flexibility in foreign language study and not be compelled to study a
language they have no interest in, as its being reported in some states.
We are aware of orchestrated plans to subtly use this policy as a means
of forceful religious indoctrination and we maintain our stand against
it,” Omobude said.
On killings by Fulani herdsmen, Omobule stated that the PFN was
concerned that a lot of the instances of killings across many parts of
the country was linked to Fulani herdsmen who seemed to find it so easy
to kill, destroy farms and houses, yet were able to evade apprehension
by security forces.
“We call for adequate and appropriate response of government to
put an end to the activities of these killer Herdsmen across the
country. We urge the Federal Government to take the issue of security
more seriously especially the spate of kidnappings all over the country.
“The PFN restates its position that nomadic cattle-rearing has
become outdated. It urges the government of states, where cattle rearing
is a part and parcel of their culture, to build ranches and develop
reserves where cattle owners can husband their animals without
travelling long distances where they stray into farms, destroy crops and
constitute nuisance and threat to other communities,” he said.
On Southern Kaduna crisis, the PFN president said the body was
worried at developments in the area, especially the lack of prompt
response to guarantee the security of lives and property.
“The PFN calls for more attention to be paid to the plight of
the victims of the Southern Kaduna crisis. A delegation from the PFN
recently paid a visitation to Southern Kaduna and made a presentation of
N15 million worth of relief materials to the different groups,
irrespective of ethnicity or religion. From this visit, we can see that
there is much more that urgently needs to be done for the people of
Southern Kaduna and urgently too. We call on the Federal government and
Kaduna State government to immediately improve on their rehabilitation
efforts,” he added.
On restructuring, Omobude said PFN noted with concern the
restiveness in different parts of the country and the increasing calls
for a break-up of the country on the part of those purporting to speak
for ethnic groups.
“We restate our belief in the unity of Nigeria and a commitment
to one Nigeria where people of different faiths and tongues can
continue to live together as one. However, we call on the government to
do all it can to assuage the fears and concerns of everyone and ensure
the practice of Federalism in its true form. We urge the government to
pay attention to the calls for restructuring and find a way to push for
further devolution of powers, while adopting an all-inclusive approach
to governance and development in the country,” he added.
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