Pentecostal church leaders across the nation on Thursday rejected the revised Basic Education Curriculum by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).
The curriculum, they said, is unacceptable because it collapses Christian Religious Studies (CRS) as part of an omnibus subject known as Religion and National Values.
The church leaders insisted that CRS should stand alone as a subject to foreclose the possibility of some states acting against the interests of Christian students.
They spoke with reporters at the end of the 2nd quarter National Executive Council of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Lagos.
The well-attended meeting attracted Pentecostal leaders like General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo; Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); Bishop Mike Okonkwo, National President of PFN, Bishop Felix Omobude; its vice, Bishop Wale Oke; National Secretary, Apostle Emmanuel Kure and other state chairmen of the body.
Omobude said the fusing of CRS into Religion and National Values was without justification while the explanations of NERDC were also unconvincing.
He said: “There is really no need nor is there any justification for the needless confusion and uncertainty the NERDC has created which has opened up the implementation of the curriculum to the whims and caprices of people with vested interests who want to impose their religious preferences on students.
“Collapsing CRK as only a part of Religion and National Values forecloses the opportunity of the subject being studied at the tertiary level by students who might so desire and this is unacceptable to us.”
While applauding the compulsory study of foreign languages, Omobude however stated more languages such as Spanish and others beyond French and Arabic should be included in the curriculum.
The expansion, he said, will allow students “enjoy greater flexibility in foreign language study and not be compelled to study a language they have no interest in, as its being reported in some states.
“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,” the PFN president added.
Oyedepo maintained the revised curriculum was targeted against Christian students, calling for its reversal to guarantee religious harmony across the nation.
“What we are saying is that it is not acceptable to the Christian community. If students cannot study CRK in secondary school, it means we won’t have it at the tertiary level,” he reiterated.
On calls for restructuring, Omobude restated commitment of Pentecostal Christians to a united Nigeria.
He, however, called on the federal government to do all it can to assuage the fears and concerns of agitators through enthronement of true federalism.
“We urge the government to pay attention to the calls for restructuring and find a way to push for further devolution of powers while adopting an all-inclusive approach to governance and development in the country,” he added.
He condemned the quit notice given by northern youths to indigenes of South East extraction in the north, saying all Nigerians have the right to “live anywhere without fear of harassment.”
“Those who beat the drums of war should not be forgetful of our pasts. We cannot afford to go through the path of war again as a nation,” he stated.
Okonkwo called on northern elders to call their youths to order, saying the quit notice was a declaration of war against the south.
The PFN argued nomadic cattle-rearing has become outdated, urging states to “build ranches and develop reserves where cattle owners can manage their animals without travelling long distances where they stray into farms, destroy crops and constitute nuisance and threat to other communities.”
