Disregard of public holiday by private institutions

One cannot but observe with dismay how some of our private institutions have made a mockery of our laws with impunity and yet want those they admit into their citadel of learning to be obedient to their stringent rules. It is sad indeed, that a private university or any other institution for that matter would choose to ignore a Federal Government declared holiday simply because the holiday is for members of another religious sect.

We cannot obey the laws in part and claim to be law abiding; to commit a willful violation of the law makes one no better than a criminal. It is a different ball game if a person decides to work on his own volition on a public holiday but can the same be said of an organization employing workers?

Allow me to quote Section 4 of Chapter 378 of the Public Holidays Act; No person shall be compelled to do any act on a day appointed by or under the provisions of this Act to be kept as a public holiday which he would not be compelled to do on a Sunday.

This implies that nobody can be authorized to perform any official duty (which he ordinarily would not do on a Sunday) on a public holiday.

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The only people according to Section 6(1) of this Chapter permitted to waive a public holiday are Director-Generals of ministries or governmental bodies. Private university institutions definitely do not fall within this category.

Why then would the controlling mind of a private university or so-called faith based university decide to embark on a flagrant violation of the law enforcing the adherence to public holidays by disregarding its observance and advertently forcing her staff and students to resume their duty posts contrary to their will?

At this point, judging by the statutory authorities stated above, we can safely arrive at the just conclusion that the disregard of a federal government declared public holiday by private universities is not only illegal but a destructive step at tearing our nation apart. There is no basis for such discrimination and such would only plunge our nation into an endless abyss of woes. Nigeria as it is today, stands the threat of being torn apart. Why aggravate the situation by refusing to observe a simple public holiday simply because it is ‘Muslim’ based? This will only trigger a negative chain of events. If universities of other sects also decide to disregard some other public holidays that do not align with their faith, what becomes of our oneness and unity as a nation? What becomes of our national heritage?

If stiff sanctions are not meted out to the violators of Section 4, Chapter 378 of the Public Holidays Act, 1979, then it will only be a matter of time before our country becomes a lawless state being torn apart into the tiniest bits of shreds

Olonade John,

Nigeria.