Masquerades Invade Osun School

The unending crisis dogging the introduction of the same uniform for students of public schools in Osun State by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola-led administration took a new turn on Wednesday, as some students of Baptist High School, Iwo, mobilised masquerades to their school premises, in a protest.

It was reliably gathered that some students of the school also adorned themselves in masquerades’ regalia, a development that halted academic activities in the school for several hours.

Credible sources informed the Nigerian Tribune that traditionalists, in collaboration with some students, arranged for masquerades to invade the school, in a bid to champion the cause of the traditional worshippers in the ensuing saga over the introduction of same uniform in schools.

It will be recalled that the same students of the school had caused stir on Tuesday, when majority of them came to the assembly ground in hijab, cassocks, choir robes and traditional veil.

The state government had, last year, introduced same uniform for all public school in the state, as part of the resolve to kick-start reclassification of schools.

As a result of the development, the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Osun Baptist Convention had registered their displeasure against the decision.

Before the latest development, pockets of crises had been recorded at the school over the use of hijab by female Muslim students school.

Security personnel were said to have been deployed in the school on Wednesday to prevent breakdown of law and order, just as officials of the state Ministry of Education were sighted in the school, exploring measures to address the crisis.

Commenting on the  development, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, said the state government had been briefed about the crisis, assuring that efforts were ongoing to tackle it, with a view to restoring sanity back into the system.