Bishop Kukah fumes as universities in Northern Nigeria ‘forbid’ churches in school premises

Concerned about the increasing occurrence of racial and religious bias in Nigerian universities, particularly in the country’s north, is Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese. 

Kukah claimed that the majority of Northern institutions have forbidden the Christian community from establishing worship places on their grounds in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday. 

Bishop Kukah also took issue with the region’s academic institutions’ declining diversity and merit-based policies. 

He said:“A mosque was constructed at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I delivered a convocation lecture in Calabar three weeks ago. After my lecture, the Chief Imam of the University came to congratulate me.

“But as I speak to you, Usman Dan Fodio, who is over 40 years old, Bayero University, and other universities in Northern Nigeria have decided to close their doors to the possibility of churches being built in the universities across this country.

“All this fanaticism we are seeing is expressed in public life. If students in the university or at the point of their growing up are not allowed to integrate and interrelate, and if churches or mosques cannot be built across this country, then there is a problem.”

The Catholic Bishop underlined that ethnic and religious considerations are becoming increasingly significant in Nigerian colleges, leading to a deterioration in diversity and meritocracy.

“There was a time when Ahmadu Bello University had lecturers from different parts of the world. Now, look at what has happened to our universities across Nigeria. Our universities have become just mere incubators of ethnic jingoism.

“So, I do not know which funded Federal University that you will name that has a Vice Chancellor that is not a local boy.

“So the universities themselves have become playgrounds for the ambitions of the local elite. The question is, why should a place of worship be a problem for a university? Whether it is for the Muslim students in Calabar or the Christian students in Sokoto.

“I approached the Minister of Education about this. I have a letter from the Nigerian University Commission. The universities in northern Nigeria have refused to implement this recommendation,”Bishop Kukah said.

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