IT is with total disappointment that we received the news that authorities of the Umaru Yar’ Adua University (UMYU), Katsina, have outlawed “any other religious or tribal association” on its campus except the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).
This dangerous directive will confront returning students to the university for the current semester beginning Januaryon 30, 2017. A memo entitled: “Re: Registration of Students Clubs/Associations” signed by the University’s Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr Sulaiman Kankara, said all tribal and local government associations have been outlawed except the MSSN.
Media reports have it that this step taken by the university appears to be in line with the mindset of the Katsina State Government which only recently approved N64 million for the construction of a Jumat (Friday) mosque for the state-owned Hassan Usman Polytechnic without extending the gesture to any other religious group.
Though we recognise the fact that Muslims constitute the majority in Katsina State, it is not a justification to deny citizens their constitutional right of association and assembly.
Section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 forbids the adoption of any state religion, while Section 42(1) guarantees all citizens freedom from discrimination on the basis of ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religious or political affiliations. The UMYU is an institution built and run with public funds under the laws of the Federation.
It is, therefore, bound to extend equity and all constitutional rights to all citizens under its jurisdiction. It is a great irony that a university established by a former President of this country (Alhaji Umaru Yar’ Adua) and later named after him when he died is portrayed as a symbol of institutional illegality and violator of the constitutional entitlements of some sections of its community. We call on the authorities of this institution, especially the Vice- Chancellor, Professor Idris Isa Funtua, to immediately ensure the directive is reversed to allow all groups their right to associate and interact peacefully.
Should the university’s authorities fail to do the needful, then the Visitor, Governor Aminu Bello Masari (a former Speaker of the House of Representatives) as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), must quickly intervene.
It is very sad that a supposed citadel of learning and knowledge like a university would so flagrantly violate the constitutional rights of sections of its community without regard to the potential harm or crisis it is capable of creating. Katsina State, being the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, should not allow the stigma of religious intolerance and discrimination blight its image.
It should be a shining example of accommodation and highest regard for the laws of the land.
END
Please go and read the original memo properly, the action was taken to prevent the proliferation of several Islamic groups in the institution. They also went further to state that no christian group has come forward or applied for registration and that only one would be recognized. It’s really not targeted at Christians. Thanks