A religious threat to NYSC scheme

By ROMANUS UGWU
Recently at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
orientation camp in Benue State, there was
misunderstanding between a Muslim lady and the camp
commandant. The thrust of the disagreement was alleged
violation of the dress code by the former, who wore a long-
flowing black hijab.
Sources said the young woman was mainly to blame for
not only wearing the long hijab (Jelbab) to the orientation
camp contrary to the statute regulating the scheme, but
also for unlawfully entering the camp when she was not
one of the serving corps members.
The incident did not only consume the camp commandant,
but also assumed religious dimension with several
Muslims alleging that derobing their daughters and wives
publicly was an infringement on their fundamental rights
to freedom of worship.
They further described the ban placed on certain dressing,
especially the long hijab, as religious victimization,
insisting that the hijab is an integral and vital part of a
female Muslim’s dress, without which, female Muslim
corps members feel as if they are naked.
Fireworks
Adding voice to the call for NYSC authorities to rescind the
ban on wearing of hijab, the League of Muslims Youth in
Da’wah recently staged a peaceful protest march to the
office of the NYSC Director General, Brigadier-General
Johnson Olawumi, at the Abuja headquarters to register
their disapproval of what they described as draconian
NYSC Act on dress code.
National Coordinator of the group, Luqman Hassan, who
led a six-man team, insisted that the ban on hijab is an
infringement on the fundamental human rights of female
corps members.
His words: “We came to discuss with you the incident that
happened recently in various NYSC orientation 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 and
Peoples 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 Muslim corps members infringed
upon? We have tried to calm down our members planning
to protest but we want to register our displeasure first,
before taking the next line of action and calling a press
conference to address this issue.”
Looking beyond religion
Reacting to the religious interpretation of the ban, the
Director General had appealed to all to look at the matter
beyond myopic religious prism, but from the realities of
terrorists using women wearing hijabs to conceal
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and unleash mayhem
on innocent Nigerians.
He said: “We will continue to accord respect to the
freedom and rights of every corps member irrespective of
tribe and or religion. Secondly, your leader said that there
are lots of things happening in the orientation camp but he
only pointed out the incident that happened in Benue State
over a Muslim female corps member who wore long hijab.
“In this country, security is very key to everybody. When
parents release their children to us, it is our responsibility
that they are safe and secured when they return to them at
the end of the service year.
“In reviewing our security strategy and architecture, one of
the issues we identified is the danger that will occur if we
allow both those who want to use it for a very holy way
and for evil ways of bombing. In recent times, there are
cases where young girls wear long hijabs with IED
strapped round them for a suicide mission.
“These terrorists, especially the Boko Haram, know how to
get at their target. In most cases, all they need to do is to
blend and cause havoc. We don’t want that to happen in
any of our camps. That was why we frowned at Muslim
female corps members wearing long hijab.
“I want to seize this opportunity to urge you to appeal to
all our Muslim youths, especially those going to
orientation camps, that the restriction is just for the period
of the camping. They should just adhere to it and wear the
short hijab for purpose of recognition.
“We frown at the long hijab because of the security
implications. If you can help us communicate it down the
ladder, it is going to help the scheme and the security of
our corps members. We challenge you to document all the
areas the NYSC scheme is trampling on the rights of
Muslim youths.
“I urge you not to be particular about Muslim youths
alone, but to equally document the one meted to the
Christian youths as well. I can assure you that once you
document them and give to us, we will investigate them
and apply sanctions where necessary.”
More misunderstanding
However, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), recently
issued a press statement rejecting the purported ban on
long hijab in NYSC orientation camps, insisting in the
statement by its director, Ishaq Akintola, that the ban is
unacceptable to Muslims.
The group argued that the prevailing insecurity in the
country was not enough reason for female corps members
to be denied their hijabs, stressing: “MURIC rejects the
purported ban. It is reckless, baseless and preposterous.
The pronouncement smacks of power drunkenness. It is a
hate statement. The NYSC Director General needs to purge
himself of Islamophobia.
“On what grounds is he banning the use of hijab? Security
reason is not enough because we have examples of
armed robbers using police uniforms to rob, yet no one
thought of banning police uniform.
“The DG and his like are hiding under the security
challenge facing Nigeria to implement a hidden agenda to
stigmatise Muslims and embarrass our daughters and
wives who wear hijab. Is he aware that female Muslims in
the British police use hijab on top of their uniform? Can he
tell us how the hijab disturbs a corps member’s uniform?
Does the DG know that hijab is an integral, nay, most vital
part of a female Muslim’s dress? Does he know that
female Muslim corps members feel as if they are naked
when disallowed the use of hijab? Is he aware of the
psychological trauma such female Muslim corps members
go through? How can we spend a lifetime training our
daughters to dress decently and you dehumanize them in
your camp? How dare you?
“We will use every constitutional means to stop this
religious apartheid against Muslims in the name of
discipline and regimentation. Why must Muslims face
persecution everywhere in Nigeria? Why can’t the Nigerian
system accommodate and integrate the Islamic culture?
Why can’t Nigerian officials allow Islamic trademarks to
stand pari passu with British colonial and Christian
culture?”
Other religious threats
The debate and brouhaha over the ban on wearing of long
hijab is certainly not the only religious problem confronting
the NYSC scheme. In a chat with a director of the scheme,
he confirmed that Christian hardliners popularly known as
“born-again”, equally posed serious concern.
“After reviewing the entire security situation in the country
with all the state coordinators, we gave marching order
that nobody should use long hijab. We hinged our decision
on the new development of the graduates from the South
refusing to serve in the North because terrorists dressed in
long hijab might disguise as corps members to detonate
bomb in the camp.
“NYSC has a responsibility to ensure that everybody
mobilized for the scheme returns to his/her parents after
the exercise. Besides, it is practically impossible to
perform all the rigorous camp activities during orientation
wearing long hijab.
“Participation in NYSC is not compulsory, except when
you need the discharge certificate for employment.
Anybody can decide not to take up the employment
requiring the presentation of the discharge certificate.
“What would those protesting the ban on long hijabs say
of NYSC if peradventure, there is a bomb blast at the
NYSC orientation camp? It is by God’s grace that we have
not had such incident, but we can hinge it on the security
measures we have put in place to avert it.
“It is not enough to whip up sentiments, portraying the
scheme as insensitive to religion, especially to Muslims,
without knowing that we even bend the rule to wake up by
3.00am to cook and ensure they eat at the right time of
5.00am during Muslim fasting in camp.
“The problem of dress code is not peculiar to only Muslim
corps members, we also have the same challenge from
Christians. We have had cases of born-again Christians
refusing to wear trousers. They would turn our trousers to
skirt but we will turn it down. We have even decamped
many of them based on their refusal to wear trouser.
“Again, there are members of Jehovah Witness Christians,
who vowed never to take oath because it is against their
religion. We had no option than to decamp them because
oath-taking is the most integral part of the orientation
scheme.
“Every corps member must subject to the oath and pay
allegiance to the federal government. Obedience to rule is
the first law in religion and anybody, who cannot obey the
rules of a constituted authority, has no reason to be part
of it.
“Beside these problems, there is another one which if we
had not used our ingenuity and wisdom to handle, would
have degenerated into a religious crisis. We have had
cases of Christians and Muslims wanting to erect
structures along Christian and Muslim denomination
instead of worshipping in the churches and mosques we
built for them.
“It will amount to creating more problems allowing
different Muslim sects and Christian denominations to
build structures in the camp. We had to wield the big stick
to curtail the proliferation of churches and mosques in the
camp”, he said.
Fixing the odds
Since it has become difficult to interpret the NYSC Act on
dress code without religious sentiment, it would be in the
interest of the country and the scheme for Nigerians to
consider the overall benefit of such regulation in view of
the prevailing security situation in the country and the
world.
It is debatable whether the management of the scheme
should bend the rule to accommodate all the religious
differences, especially when such will not disturb the corps
members from the rigorous exercises in the orientation
camp.
However, to ensure that the scheme lives up to the
objectives of its establishment 42 years ago, Nigerians
must put behind them religious sentiments and address
the more practical problem of rejection of corps members
seeking primary assignment or reducing graduates from
Nigeria high institutions to tea ladies and men.