Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Johnson
Olawumi on Wednesday remained firm on his stand to ban use of long
hijab by Muslim Corps members.
Olawumi said the decision became imperative for safety of all corps
members in the country irrespective of tribes or religion.
He reacted to a peaceful protest organized by a Muslim group, Muslim
Youths in Da’wah at the NYSC headquarters in Abuja.
The protest was to convey their discomfort over recent ban on the use
of hijab by Muslim corps members.
National Coordinator of the group, Luqman Hassan alongside his Deputy,
Kamarudeen Adefila informed Olawumi that a major protest was prevented
because of the ban in most NYSC orientation camps in the country.
According to him, use of the hijab is an infringement of fundamental
human right of the female corps members.
The group said, “We are here to discuss with you about the incident
that happened recently in various camps across the country. We have a
guiding principle which is based on the Holy Q’uran. We are all
Nigerians and the principle which guides us is the constitution and
the African Charter on Human rights.
“Members of the NYSC are Nigerians who have contributed to the
development of this country; female corps members deserve protection
by the NYSC. We don’t believe that a female corps member putting on
hijab has done any wrong against the Act establishing the NYSC. So
they deserve the respect of the NYSC. We have travelled far and wide
and visited different camps. Why are the rights of female corps
members being infringed upon. We are here to register our displeasure.
“Many Muslim organisations wanted to protest, but we said wait a
while. In fact, we have to intervene to avoid the situation and if
Muslims march on the streets, it will attract a lot of negative
comments, but people won’t know why we are protesting”
But the NYSC DG insisted that some young Muslim ladies have been used
as medium to execute terrorist attacks especially in current Boko
Haram insurgency.
“Under my leadership, the NYSC will accord respect to every corps
member, irrespective of tribe and religion. The incident in Benue
State was caused by the use of long hijab. The security situation in
the country is tough. There is the danger of somebody using hijab for
other reasons.
“There have been cases where young girls put on hijab and eventually
turn to suicide bombers. Boko Haram members know how to get at whoever
they want as target. That is why we frown at the wearing of long
hijab. Please call on all your Muslim youths to be patient and adhere
to it, just for a short period during the camp. We frown at long hijab
because of the security implication.
“Why are you so particular on your alleged infraction on the rights of
youths without mentioning any one of such on Christian youths? Produce
your evidence, write to us and I can assure you that we will act fast.
When the incident in Benue State was reported to us, I swung into
action and ensured that the camp commandant was decamped immediately.
We are not magicians; if you have any evidence, write to us and we
will not hesitate to act,” he stated.
