Nigerian Nobel Laureate,
Prof. Wole Soyinka, has on Monday kicked against a situation where pupils wear
uniforms depicting their religious affiliations to schools across the country.
The Professor spoke during
the inauguration of a N750m school built by the Osun State Government in
Ejigbo. The school was named after him.
Though Soyinka expressed
happiness at the honour done on him by Governor Rauf
Aregesola, he warned against diving the pupils along religious lines by
allowing them to wear uniforms that typified their religious affiliations.
He (Soyinka) said there
should be nothing to divide pupils along religious lines, adding that the
feeling of holier than thou was one of the factors that brought about the
abduction of the Chibok girls by Boko Haram insurgents.
He said, “One of the ways
we can reduce this fatalistic sense of holiness is to reduce the element of
difference. I wish to implore that we do not distinguish our children by their
religions.”
Soyinka, however, commended
the governor for what he had done to improve the standard of education in the
state.
The governor described
Soyinka as the greatest scholar in Africa.
He said that in the first
quarter of next year, his government would also inaugurate another set of
schools in the same category.
“The state of education
prior to our coming was appalling and frighteningly so. Zoos were
better than the places where the pupils were receiving education . Many of
them were dilapidated and falling down.
“These schools were,
therefore, not encouraging any serious learning or character building. The
result was that the pupils themselves were behaving like animals.
They were forming cult groups, fighting regularly with dangerous weapons and
engaged in all immoral acts.
“These are children, aged
seven and above. My heart bleeds to see the public education system
disintegrate and become dysfunctional,” he submitted.
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