Sometimes in the first term of the 2019/2020 session, a few female Muslim students started wearing the hijab consistently within the school premises which a handful of teachers frowned at, thereby asking them to take off their hijab as it doesn’t conform to the school’s dress code. The students would take off their hijabs only to put it on again when out of sight of such teachers. This went on until it was brought to the attention of the Muslim teachers who then decided to meet the school principal (Mrs. Gbadegesin P. A) in order to address the issue before it snowballs. But the principal maintained that she can NOT allow the use of hijab by the students as other students of different religious inclinations could start to also wear their religious apparels too, and she added that the schools within the vicinity, where hijab is allowed, are schools whose principals FAILED to give BERET to students (after collecting money for such) hence their resort to using the hijab in lieu! However, the students seemed resolute in their resolve to keep wearing their hijab despite the persistent harassment from some teachers (notably Mrs. Omonya, Mrs.Akingbade, Mr. Isara, Mrs. Omongbale, Miss Oshodi, Mrs. Gomez), till a particular day on which Mrs. Akingbade brazenly stormed an SS3 science class giving instructions that the hijab-clad girls take off their hijabs, which the girls(miss Ayinde Afusat and miss Sekoni Nofisat) stiffly resisted, hence they were accused of being rude, disrespectful. The ensuing confusion led to a bitter altercation between Mrs. Akingbade and a female Muslim teacher, Mrs. Musa. Later on in the day, aparent of one of the two girls, Mrs. Ayinde (mother of miss. Ayinde Afusat), was invited to the school as her daughter was apparently reported to have disrupted the peace of the school because of the hijab. Unfortunately, the parent swallowed hook, line, and sinker every premeditated false allegations and malicious reports given to her that it was one Mr Musa (a further mathematics teacher) who indoctrinated the girls to be wearing hijab, among other unsubstantiated claims, which even the girls denied outright to the dismay of the school authority (The principal, Mrs. Gbadegesin, Vice Principals Mrs. Ojo, Mrs. Adegboye, School Counsellor,and SS1 year tutor, Miss Fapohunda).Mr. Musa was called upon to come and clear himself as they watched as the woman used uncharitable words on Mr. Musa, with even a threat of physically assaulting him. The woman (Mrs. Ayinde) fuming with anger over the presupposition that her daughter Afusat was being brainwashed by Mr. Musa, as being wickedly alleged by those scheming against the use of hijab,removed her daughter’s hijab and those of the other girls, threatening to burn the hijabs! Rather than subside, the issue was later escalated to the office of the Tutor General/permanent secretary (TG/PS) district six, who summoned six of the nine Muslim teachers in the school, and without a single christian teacher, viz: 1. Mrs. Musa (Account teacher) 2. Mr. Musa (Further mathematics) 3. Mr. Asifa (IRK/Arabic) 4. Mrs. Aderemi (Yoruba) 5. Mr. Murtadha(Visual Arts) 6. Mrs. Shittu (Yoruba). At the meeting, the TG/PS asked why Muslim teachers were agitating for the use of hijab in the school – though he acknowledged the fact that the LASG allows the use of hijab by female Muslim students in public schools – and after the teachers all denied being instigators, and the principal sensing that she might be running foul of existing Government directive on hijab, quickly made a sudden U-turn that she has no issue with hijab, that WHOEVER WANT TO USE HIJAB, SHOULD USE IT, but that she has issue with the further mathematics teacher who was too close to the students especially female students.
In Mr. Musa’s defence, he stated: 1. the preponderance of students who are willing to learn are the females and there’s no way they would be sent away if they need help with their mathematics lessons because of their gender. 2. The principal had on several occasions referred female students to Mr. Musa for extra coaching in math, for free! 3. It’s a blatant lie that Mr. Musa organises extra math classes for girls only in the staff room as being peddled,rather he attends to weak performing students in the early mornings and sometimes after school irrespective of the learners’ gender, faith, social background, FOR FREE, a fact attested toin a Commendation letter issued by the same principal to Mr. Musa, earlier and he was even nominated as the best teacher for a district award in the first term, all this before the hijab matter! But at the end of the encounter with the TG/PS, while he still reiterated that hijab shouldn’t be an issue, however, Three Muslim teachers were redeployed from the school. 1. Mr. Musa 2. Mrs. Shittu 3. Mr. Asifa.
Follow up: But the students are still barred by authority from wearing the hijab, threatened, harassed and psychologically molested, that they were the cause of the Muslim teachers transfer from the school, and more worrisome is the report that miss Oshodi is telling the girls that since they are hell-bent on wearing the hijab, then they have been marked and being awaited in their exam results!
Similarly, one Mrs. Mebulugba (a food and nutrition teacher) has stipulated that any hijab-wearing student should stay away from her food and nutrition/catering craftroom, which is the venue for her classes.
It should also be noted, however, that Mrs. Shittu has since been returned to Omole Senior Grammar School. Allah isour source of strength.
