Ogun set to address dearth of IRK, Arabic teachers in schools

THE Ogun State government has said that plans are underway to address dearth of Islamic Religious Knowledge (IRK) and Arabic teachers in public primary and secondary schools in the state.

The state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, stated this at the Hijrah 1441 celebration organised by the state chapter of the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO), held at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta.

The governor, represented by his deputy, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, said the issue had been brought to the attention of the concerned stakeholders like the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and it was being looked into.

“Most of your requests as the National Association of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) are already known to us since we took office. I can reliably tell you that the concern that you have with the IRK and Arabic teachers is being looked into by TESCOM and SUBEB to make sure that we have equitable distribution of dividend of democracy,” he said.

The governor hinted at the Okowo-Dapo, a scheme that would give interest-free loans to grass-roots women across the state for business purposes which, he said, would be launched in a few days.

The programme, according to him, is a replica of the Federal Government’s Trader Moni programme and will give a start-up loan of N10,000 and then N100,000 if the applicants are faithful in payment.

“In the next few days, different sectors would start to register in order to take part in this programme,” he said.

Governor Abiodun congratulated the Muslim faithful on witnessing the start of Hijrah 1441 and solicited for support, especially in prayers, in order to achieve his good governance policies.

Earlier in his welcome address, the state coordinator of NACOMYO, Dr Solih Amolegbe, had noted the significance of Hijrah in the lives of Muslims, saying it was an occasion to remind the faithful of the period of steadfastness during the migration of the early Muslims under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad in the face of tribulation of Makkah’s pagans.

He  said NACOMYO, as the apex body and rallying point for all Muslim youth organisations in the state and the country at large, called on Muslim youths in the state to eschew violence and be law abiding citizens so as to enable the government to achieve its statutory responsibilities.

Speaking on the theme of the New Year celebration, “Historical Value of Hijrah on International Integration,” the guest lecturer, Dr Saheed Olurotimi from the Department of Foreign Languages, Lagos State University, emphasised the need for re-education, reorientation and rededication for the achievement of national unity and development.

He called for “an ethical revolution occasioned by a gradual psycho-social evolution of the Nigerian mind through a carefully planned and faithfully implemented multisectoral social re-engineering of the micro and macro systems of the nation.”

On the lessons of Hijrah, he said Nigerians must be ready to move mentally and attitudinally from their comfort zone, noting that there was a price to pay for progress.

Highlights of the event were the presentation of 1441 Hijrah personality award to the Ogun State Head of Service, Mr Olanrewaju Bisiriyu, for his “indelible” contributions to NACOMYO in Ogun State and a march past by students of Islamic schools.