Former Minister of Transport and Aviation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope has warned Governor Rauf Aregbesola not to plunge Osun state and the South West into unnecessary war which he would not be able to handle by the time it starts.
The Ilesha born septuagenarian politician, gave the warning yesterday when he spoke with Daily Sun on the religion crisis rocking Osun State, and made it clear that bringing religion into politics have done too much havoc in Nigeria.
Babatope said : let the governor not bring religion into politics because South West have always been co-existing as Christians and moslems and we don’t need any governor to come and be promoting one religion over another.
“Let him have very good dialogue with the Christians community and face the governance that he was elected for, because promotion of Islamic religion over Christianity was not part of his campaign promises.
“Let him concentrate on how to pay his workers salaries and work on how he will never owe salary again instead of this distraction he is occupying himself with.” he added.
Babatope lamented that a lot of workers are suffering in Osun State, where he now lives, and explained that the governor should be concerned about the suffering of these government workers and the people of Osun who are lamenting daily.
According to the former minister, religious crisis have caused a lot of bloodshed, in Kano, Jos, Kaduna, Bauchi and many other place in the North until it graduated into Boko Haram.
“Aregbesola should not sow such seeds of religious competition in the minds of young people in the South West now so that they will not grow up to start promoting religion crisis.
“Is it this hijab or uniform wearing that will make them to become brilliant students, promote the standard of education and let them become useful to the society?” he asked
He then advised all governors in Nigeria to develop large heart of seeing themselves as governors to all and not for a particular religion, ethnic group or political party, saying good leaders don’t lead that way, except such leaders don’t want to succeed.
Female muslim and Christian students had started wearing hijab and church garments to school to promote their Islamic and Christian religions in some schools in the state.
This followed the judgement of Osun High Court that female Muslim students in the state are allowed to wear hijab to public schools, which some Christian leaders and owners of missionary schools like Baptist High School, Salvation Army Middle School, felt it was a subtle method to start promoting Islam in their mission schools.
To this end, they urged their Christian students to as well wear their church garments to school, which Governor Aregbesola allegedly kicked against, saying any student caught wearing unapproved uniform to school will be expelled.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the state have kicked against the governor’s action, saying if he is encouraging Muslim students to wear Islamic apparel to christian missionary schools he should not stop Christian students from wearing their Christian apparel to the such Christian missionary schools.