Religion can distort a man’s vision. This is evident with some state governors in Northern Nigeria. As of February 28, four states have hastily scheduled school holidays to coincide with Ramadan 2025, which began on Saturday.
This break disrupts learning and the academic calendar, making it challenging for affected pupils to catch up with their peers in other parts of the country. Some students are preparing for entrance and school certificate examinations; how will this enforced break assist them?
In a digital, competitive world dominated by learning, it is a catastrophic choice to prioritise religion over education.
Citing the need for full participation in Ramadan – Islam’s holy month of fasting from dawn to dusk – Bauchi State announced a five-week break from academic activities.
Ramadan 2025 is set to last for 30 days.
Not to be outdone, Kano announced a similar holiday, which runs from March 1 to April 6/7. Kebbi is also not left out. The holiday there extends from March 1 to April 7.
In a memo on February 27, the Katsina State Hisbah Board instructed all private schools to close “for the Ramadan period”, warning that “non-compliance will not be tolerated”.
Beyond these four states, others in the North may follow suit.
This is a populist appeal – the people may applaud these governors, but no tangible results emerge from such a misleading, unscientific decision.
First, this blurs the line between religion and politics. With the Nigerian economy in dire straits, politicians are grasping at straws to gain popularity among the electorate.
Over time, leaders in the North have neglected education. Consequently, Nigeria has the second-highest number of out-of-school children globally, at 20.1 million, only behind India. Instead of addressing this figure, it is absurd that governors are disincentivising learning.
These are states under the siege of Islamic terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. There is excruciating poverty, illiteracy, high unemployment, and shabby infrastructure. Religion cannot address these sore indices. Education can.
Second, this decision prompts questions about the role of religion in Nigerian society. Nigeria is traditionally a secular state, not a theocracy. However, the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, providing state governments that have declared Ramadan breaks for schools a potential justification.
This partly explains why some states in the North have controversially enacted Sharia law and established Hisbah boards to enforce religious laws in their jurisdictions. While it is debatable, Sharia law has neither reduced crime, public treasury looting, nor immorality.
Rather, the governors have been undermining the means of production and economic assets, such as by crushing beer bottles, while openly accepting VAT from its production and sales.
The governors are merely performing for the public. Saudi Arabia, a stronghold of theocracy, has ceased its customary practice of granting Ramadan breaks. After a 15-year mandatory Ramadan break, education departments in Saudi regions now have the final say on the 2025 academic calendar.
In the United Arab Emirates, schools will remain open during Ramadan, although they are permitted to start later than usual. On Fridays, schools are to conduct online learning, a flexible and reasonable approach.
In a broader context, the break contradicts the new proposal by the Federal Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, to align with the global education system. Alausa recently suggested a 12-4 system to replace the 6-3-3-4 system.
Importantly, the world waits for no one. Science and technology are advancing swiftly. Artificial intelligence is rapidly taking over. Any society that celebrates religion over learning risks being left behind.
Thus, the North should shift its intense focus from religion and align itself with the best global education practices.
