The General Overseers of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG,
Pastor Enoch Adeboye; The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop
Mike Okonkwo; Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo; Deeper Life
Church, Pastor W.F Kumuyi among others, have ordered Christian students
across the country not to attend classes Arabic Studies.
This comes amid reports that the subject has been made compulsory in schools.
Vanguard reports that Rev. (Dr.) Mercy Ezekiel, the National
Coordinator of Christian Pentecostal Mission (CPM), Pastor Wale Oke and
the General Overseer of the Thronegrace Mission, Pastor Emmanuel Nuhu
Kure, were also present at the meeting.
They also called for immediate reversal of the revised Basic
Education Curriculum, insisting that Christian Religious Studies (CRS)
should stand on its own and not be part of an omnibus subject known as
Religion and National Values.
They explained that the Federal Government has no right to force any Nigerian student at any level to study Arabic Studies.
Articulating the position of the Fellowship, Omobude, who is also the
PFN National President, Oyedepo, Okonkwo and Wale Oke urged Christian
students in any part of the country to resist such imposition, stressing
that “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.”
Oyedepo added: “Government has no right to force subjects on any any
Nigerian child neither does it have the authority to drop Christian
Religious Studies at the Senior Secondary School level while asking
him/her to continue to read Islamic Studies which he/she cannot do at
university level.”