ACN Nigeria Project Visit – Day 9
From Zaria, we drove the 50-mile journey south to Kaduna, the major trade centre that serves as an important transportation hub for the whole of the north-west. We were to be the guests of Archbishop Matthew Man’oso Ndagoso of Kaduna, a great friend of ACN, whom we’ve helped as his diocese has reeled from waves of persecution that have marked the life of the local Church in very profound ways. The Archbishop breaks the news that in an unprecedented development all schools – both public and private in states including Kano, Kebbi, Bauchi and Katsina would close for the month-long season of fasting and spiritual growth. The decision means the unexpected closure of Catholic and other Christian schools across these states being forced to close affecting thousands of students. The closure would deprive all such pupils of schooling in a region where poor education is driving unemployment and worsening poverty.
It’s a bomb-shell and later I would speak to Bishop Gerald in Katsina who would go on to tell me: “The announcement to close the schools came as a complete surprise to us. We must understand that education and religious obligations are not strange bedfellows or mutually exclusive. They go hand in hand. He and other bishops would come together to issue a joint statement from Nigeria’s episcopal conference to express their ‘deep concern’ about the sudden closure of the schools. For us listening to Archbishop Matthew articulate his concerns the night the news broke, the development served to remind us that the violence and other forms of persecution we saw yesterday in Zaria diocese is matched in terms of impact by forms of discrimination wrought by the oppressive hand of the state. Early on during out visit to Archbishop of Kaduna’s House, we had pointed out to us that next door is a large mosque and madrassa (Islamic school or seminary/Islamiad). In former times, there was a Catholic school on this site. Reports say that for 20 years or more various state governments in the north including Zamfara and Soktoto have had a budget to build mosques and yet getting permission to build churches – let alone apply for government funding – has been extremely difficult if not often times virtually impossible.
A generation ago, government leaders had indicated that Shari’a law – introduced in multiple states in the north – would “fizzle out”. Now, there is pressure being brought to bear to expand Sharia south. Sobering thoughts as we settled in to our accommodation for the night.