AFRICA/NIGERIA - The Bishops: "No to the proposal to establish the National Council of Christian education"

Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has rejected a bill seeking to establish the National Council of Christian Education, considering it unconstitutional. The bill, aimed at regulating religious education programs in all schools run by the various Christian denominations, is supported by seven Nigerian federal deputies, including Rimamde Kwewum, a member of the People's Democratic Party. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria- CBCN in a statement by its president, Msgr. Lucius Ugorji, and secretary, Msgr. Donatus Ogun, state that the bill violates sections 10 and 42 (3) of Nigeria’s Constitution. The bill was designed to certify Christian religion education instructors at basic and secondary levels; approve the content of all Christian Religion Education in all schools and accredit programmes of Christian theological institutions.
But the Catholic bishops lamented that the bill made no exemption for seminaries and other religious institutes owned by the various Christian denominations across the federation.
On this ground, the bishops claimed that the bill infringed on the rights of these various Christian denominations to provide instructions and formation according to their respective doctrines, citing Section 42 (3) of the 1999 Constitution.
Furthermore, according to the Catholic bishops, the bill "is incompatible with the secular character of the Nigerian State as enshrined in Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria". Furthermore, "as the governments at the federal or state levels have not and cannot adopt any religion as official religion, they must respect the juridical principles that govern the relationship between the State and the Church".
The bishops explained that the idea of pursuing a bill "to regulate religious studies in secular schools came up during the education summit organised in 2019 by the Association of Christian Schools in Nigeria, a body of mostly Pentecostal private school owners and some Protestant denominations".
The proposal was then discussed by the Association of Christians in Nigeria (CAN, which brings together the major Nigerian Christian denominations including the Catholic Church), which decided to pursue it by asking lawmakers to sponsor the bill. However, according to the Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, the bill "is unnecessary and impracticable because of our doctrinal differences. Our juridical autonomy in matters of education is being surrendered to the government". Finally, the Catholic bishops challenged CAN to undertake "a proper needs assessment to determine the needs of Christians in Nigeria that would require the support of the government. Asking the government to establish a Council for Christian Education because Muslims have one is counterproductive". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/7/2023)

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