Kastina State University has released a memo effectively banning christian association from operating on the campus premises.
The memo went viral on social media after some observers drew the attention of the public to a questionable part that prohibited all other associations aside the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) from operating on campus.
“Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) is the only religious association allowed to operate on campus,” the memo said.
The rule amounted to a clear discrimination on religious grounds and clear contravention of provisions of the Nigerian constitution.
In response to growing criticisms over the content of a memo issued by the Umar Yar’Adua University, the Dean of Students Affairs at the Katsina university has maintained that there are presently no Christian associations on the campus.
Section 38 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The right also entails the freedom of worship as well as a right against being compelled to participate in any religion contrary to one’s belief while attending any place of education.
The Nigerian constitution in section 40 thereof, equally guarantees the freedom of peaceful assembly and a right to associate with other persons.
The decision of the Katsina university to allow only the Muslim students society operate on its campus as reads from the surface of the memo could also be seen as an attempt to subvert the intention of Section 10 of the constitution that guarantees that Nigeria shall be a secular state.
