MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

DR. ADEBAYO RAFIU IBRAHIM

INTRODUCTIONThe South-Western Nigeria is predominantly occupied by the Yoruba speaking people and it cuts across Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo States and part of Kwara State. In the 18th century, there were about fourteen major kingdoms in the South Western Part of Nigeria. They included Oyo Kingdom, Ife kingdom, Ekiti, Igbomina, Ijana, Ijebu, Ijesha, Egba, Egbado, Ketu, Ondo, Owu and Sabe kingdom (Olatunbosun, 1977:102). Yoruba myths trace their origin to Ile-Ife, an important town in Osun State. Other theories regarding their origin point to Makkah and Upper Egypt as their point of departure and the second millenium B.C as the period of their migration to Ile Ife (Coleman, 1958:25). That the Yoruba came from Makkah was confirmed by the fact that they traced their progeny to Lamurudu, which has the same pronunciation with Namruth in Arabic. However, some scholars have refuted that the Yoruba came from Makkah. Commenting on this, an historian says:

The Yorubas are certainly not of the Arabian Family, and could not have come from Meccaâ€¦that is to say the Mecca unviersally known in historyâ€¦. And no such account as above are found in the records of Arabian writers of any king of Mecca; an event of such importance could hardly have passed unnoticed by their historians. (Johnson, 1976:5)

Meanwhile, that the Yoruba came from the East has been asserted though the actual town of departure remains unknown. Johnson (1976:6) confirms that:

The Yorubas came originally from the East, there can not be any slightest doubt, as their habits, manners and customs etc, all go to approve. With them the East is Mecca and Mecca is the Eastâ€¦.. everything that comes from the East, with them, comes from Mecca and hence it is natural to represent themselves as having hailed from that city.

The actual date of introduction of Islam to South Western Nigeria is unknown. However, Balogun (1998) has confirmed that Islam made headway into the land for the first time around the second half of the eleventh century by the Murabitun mistakenly taken by some historians as Hausas. The nomenclature "Imale" given to Islam in the south-western Nigeria gives the impression that the religion came from Mali and spread by the Murabitun whom they believed to be Malians. This confirms the submission of Al-Aluri (1978) that Islam made its appearance in Yorubaland in the 13th century during the tenure of Mansa Musa of Mali. Danmole (1981) also claimed to have come accross some Muslims in Oke-Imale Ilorin who claimed that their ancestors came from Mali to settle in the town. He however doubted the authenticity of this claim since it was not possible that these Ilorin Muslims were descendants of Wangara lineages which traced their origin to old Mali:

Since a lot has been said and written on Islam in some states of the South Western Nigeria, this paper does not intend to recapitulate this. Our focus is to examine the various phases of development that Muslim education in this geographical delineation have undergone and the level of reforms in the Muslim education in the land right from the pre-colonial era to the post colonial era.

MUSLIM EDUCATION IN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA: FEATURES AND CHARACTERISTICS

The history of Muslim education in the South Western Nigeria is as old as the history of Islam in the land. As it was impossible to carry out some religious rituals without reading in Arabic, it became expedient for the Mallams spreading the religion to teach the new converts some portions of the Qur'an in Arabic and this attempt culminated in the establishment of Qur'anic schools in the area. Mosques were majorly used for this purpose, while in some cases residences of the mallams as well as tree shades were used as schools. The venues of the schools suggested why educational facilities that could aid teaching and learning were totally inadequate. Mats and ram or cow skin were the common furniture in such schools. The only recommended text by then was Qaidat Baghdadiyyah-an Arabic text for beginners which contains Arabic alphabets in various forms as well as the last juz'u of the Qur'an. It is after the completion of this text that pupils could move to learn the whole Qur'an.

Generally speaking, learning was by rote-a method, which is indispensable in learning any langauge. The school calendar was holiday free as the school was in session throughout the year with the exception of Thursdays, Fridays, Salah days and at times in Ramadan. The school programme was in no way disrupted by any persistent strike or closure and so there was uninterrupted academic session except when the Mallam was bereaved, fell sick or travelled. There was intermittent organization of feasts to mark the gradual movement of students from short chapters of the Qur'an to longer ones. This method was used to encourage lazy students to sit up. As such, on getting to chapter 105 (suratul-fil), a fowl feast is made. On chapter 96 (suratul 'Alaq) cooked beans and Eko are prepared. On chapter 87 (suratul-a'la), a fowl feast is made. On reaching chapter 55(suratur-Rahman), a he-goat feast in made. On chapter 36 (suratu-yasin), a ram is slaughtered and finally on the completion of the whole Qur'an, an elaborate feast where a cow in slaughtered is organised (Nasiru, 1977).

After the successful completion of the Qur'an, the pupil moves to the learning of aspect of Fiqh through the use of such fiqh books as al-Akhdari, al-Ashmawi, Muqadimatul 'Iziyyah, Risala and Mukhtasarul-Khalil all written by expert calligraphists.

The consciousness of the Muslims in the issue of giving their children and wards Islamic education led to the problem of manpower in most of the Islamic schools. As such, the teacher had to attend to quite a good number of students of different level and background at the same time. This usually made the class rowdy and lazy students could not be easily identified.

The rate of development of Muslim education in the South Western Nigeria was not as fast as that of Borno and Hausaland. Balogun (1998) advances two reasons for this, namely, lack of direct trade link with the Arab world and the geography of the area which by its density was frightful for strangers to penetrate. In addition to this, Muslim education at its initial stage in Yorubaland did not enjoy the royal patronage as it did in Hausaland. Except in rare cases where spiritual assistance was rendered by Muslim scholars to some town were the Muslim scholars accommodated comfortably. Oba Adele (1775-78) who supported Islam and the Muslims did so at the expense of his throne in 1780 (Al-Ilory, 1990). This is not to say that the obas did not support the Muslim mallams that came to settle in their domains; rather, the mallams were patronized majorly for healing and medication rather than education.

The Jihadists and Muslim EducationThe attempt of Afonja to emancipate Ilorin from the old Oyo Empire and its consequent effects accelerated the progress of education in the south -western Nigeria. The invitation of the jihadists by Afonja to Ilorin led to the coming of Muslim scholars from within and outside Oyo Empire to settle at Ilorin. Ilorin therefore became an important Islamic centre in Yorubaland from where Muslim scholars penetrated into other Yoruba towns. Some scholars were identified by Nasiru (1977) as those who came to Ilorin after the occupation of the town by the Jihadists. Among them are Shaikh Abu Bakr Bubi from Sokoto (d.1834), Shaikh Ibrahim alias Sare-Imo, from Bornu (d. 1870) and Shaikh Muhammad al-Takiti al-Nafawi from Nupe (d. 1900). Some of these scholars established Quranic and Ilmi schools, and from there many students form Yorubaland graduated and became renowned Ulama in their respective towns.

Sheikh Muhammad Belgore (d. 1913) was said to have established schools for fiqh, tafsir, hadith and tawhid. Gradually students who came to study in Ilorin started establishing their Islamic schools in their respective settlements. As a result of this, Islamic centres were established in such towns as Shaki, Iseyin, Ibadan, Iwo, Epe, Ede, Ikirun, Badagry, and Ilaro. Thus Islamic learning had reached an appreciable level before the introduction of western system of education to the South - Western Nigeria. Muslim Education versus Western Education:The period between the Jihad of Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodiyo and the colonial period marked a new epoch in Islamization process in Nigeria. In Yorubaland, the proliferation of Quranic and Ilmi schools was witnessed. Towns like Abeokuta, Epe, Iseyin, Iwo and Ibadan became important Islamic centres. The introduction of Western type of education which followed the coming of Christian missionaries to Nigeria geared up the Muslims to be up and doing in their Educational programme especially when they sensed that this new education programme was a threat to their religion and that it was meant to promote and propagate the rival religion - Christianity.

The Wesleyan Methodists' arrival to Badagry in September 1842 marked the beginning of the western type of education in Nigeria. This was when Rev. Thomas Birch Freeman and Mrs. De Graft first established a school in Badagry. By December 1842, the Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.) also arrived fully represented by Mr. Henry Townsend who also established two schools in Abeokuta in 1846. The American Baptist Mission and the Roman Catholic Missions (RCM) also arrived between 1853 and 1860 and a number of primary schools were established in towns like Lagos, Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Idda, Calabar, Onitsha, Akassa and Bonny. The main object of this missionary education is summed up by Boyd and King (1968:100) who wrote interalia:

The church undertook the business of education not because it regarded education as good in itself but because it felt it could no longer do its own work properly without giving its adherents, and especially its clergy as much of the formal learning as was required for the study of the sacred writings and for the effective performance of its religious duties.

Thus, in order to produce converts who could read and write, instructions were given in the 4RS - Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Religion. According to Ayandele (1966:144), education in those days meant Bible Knowledge, Christian ethics, Christian moral instruction, Christian literatures, some arithmetics, languages and craft, all geared in the direction of producing Christians who could read the Bible.

The Christian Mission Schools started winning popularity as a result of the patronage given to them by the colonialists. In addition to this, Nasiru (1977) advances some other reasons for the prosperity of the schools in Yorubaland, namely, payment of monthly salary to the teachers from the parent body of the mission abroad, as against the economically debased mallams who depended on voluntary gifts from the public as means for their survival. Also the free education programme of the Christian missionaries was elaborate than that of the Muslims as they received financial and moral aid from Europe and could afford giving out books, slates, and writing materials freely to the students. In addition to this, appointments into government offices were made from the rank and file of missionary school leavers, as against students of Islamic schools popularly called 'Ole n te laafaa' - lazy men that follow mallam; and on graduation could only perform at Islamic social gatherings like naming, marriage and burial programmes.

The seriousness of the Yoruba Muslims in the pursuance of Muslim Education is demonstrated in their strong stick to the programme not minding the sophisticated manner and cunning approaches used by the missionaries to lure them into accepting and attending Christian schools. Some steps were taken by the Christian evangelists to divert the attention of the Muslims from acquiring Islamic Education and to entice them into accepting Christian system of education. Such steps as elucidated by Gbadamosi (1978) included house to house campaigns, contacting leading and influential Muslims and distribution of Arabic Bible free of charge. Apart from this, people like Rev. M.S.Cole, Rev. James Johnson, Rev. T.A.J. Ogunbiyi and Rev. M.T.Euler Ajayi were said to have become learned in Arabic for them to be well equipped to face the Muslims. Learning of Arabic by these Christian leaders from some Muslim teachers, in our own view manifests the level of literacy of the Muslims not only in their religion but also in English - the language they might have acquired when they were in exile.

The level of the Islamization awareness of the Yoruba Muslims in Iseyin was attested to by Governor Sir G. Carter who in spite of the extensive missionary activities mounted in the town saw only six school children attending their schools as against more than fifty five Quranic schools with 1,246 Muslim children in regular attendance; and in1893, the number increased to 1,400 Muslim children in the six Muslim schools in the area. (Gbadamosi, 1978). James Johnson was highly discouraged at the attitude of the Muslims when he toured the important Yoruba mission stations and schools in 1878. He lamented "the Mohammeddans (sic) shows no desire for the education that may be had at our schools".

Despite the laborious efforts of the Christian Missionaries, the Muslims were lackadaisical and unenthusiastic to their plea at making their children attend their schools. The Muslims could not be blamed for this. The activities of the harbingers of this system of education clearly showed that they had certain hidden agenda. Their statements about Islam, their activities and approaches demonstrated that they intended to use their schools to propagate their faith. A consideration of some of the steps taken by them revealed that Muslims would be undoing themselves should they allow their children to be trained by the missionaries. For instance, the Christians started writing erroneous and hostile texts on Islam. M.S. Cole was reported to have embarked on the translation of the Qur'an and his work did contain a number of erroneous and unIslamic assertions. Also, derogatory statements were said to have been uttered by the missionaries against the Muslims. They were being described as primitive, "obstacle to the progress of civilization and all that is pure, holy and noble." Rev. M.J. Luke was said to have declared Islam as a religion that did not do any good for the country and did not teach the people anything whatsoever (Gbadamosi, 1978). One then wonders how a reasonable Muslim could hand over his child to someone who showed great hatred and enmity to the religion he professed. Little wonder then that the Muslims were adamant and the missionaries' attempts to get them educated in Western schools were like planting a corn in a rock. This is not to say that the Muslim children did not attend the Christian schools at all, however, their number was infinitesimal. Most of the Muslim children who attended such schools did so at the expense of their religion. The few ones who did not change their religion later became useful for the Muslim folk as they constituted themselves to an important Muslim association fighting for the cause of Islam in the zone.

Period of Colonial Government's InterventionThe Christian Missionaries' monopoly of the Nigeria's education sector was interrupted by the colonial government following the promulgation of the first Education Ordinance in 1882. Ever before then, grants of money were offered by the Government to the major Christian Missions operating in Lagos. However, the ordinance cleared the air for the Muslims to acquire Western education, as schools were categorized into two namely Government schools and Assisted schools. While Government Schools were to be financed and controlled by the Government, Assisted schools were to receive government aids if or when such schools had fulfilled certain conditions laid down by the government. This option thus gave room for the Muslims to patronize Government schools rather than mission schools as teaching of religion was not made compulsory in Government schools but optional in Assisted Schools. The ordinance among others, states:

Direct religious teaching shall not form part of the instruction to be given at any Government school, but every minister of Religion, or person appointed by him, shall have free access to any such Government school, for the purpose of giving religious instruction to the children of the religious denomination to which such minister may belong, at such times as may be appointed by the Local Board of Education.

Though the 1882 Education Ordinance paved way for the Muslims to patronize Western schools en-masse, the population of Muslim children in schools did not improve. Hence, in July 1889, a Committee of the Board of Education was set up to find out the problem of low attendance of Muslim children in schools and to offer suggestions and recommendations to the Government on how to check these problems. In its report, the committee recommended that the Governor should have tete-a-tete with the Mallams and Muslim leaders by means of educating them on the value of Western education; that Christian schools should encourage teaching of Arabic in their curricula and that the existing Qur'anic schools should introduce the teaching of the 3RS in English into their curricula. There were attempts to implement these recommendations, but with little success. First, the Missionaries who were using their education enterprises as weapon of evangelisation saw the move of introducing Arabic into their curriculum unrealistic. To the Muslims, the inclusion of Arabic in the Western curriculum was nothing but a caricature, which could not prevent their children from apostasy. In the same vein, it would be an act of adulteration for them to introduce the teaching of the 3RS in the curriculum of their Quranic schools. With the government intervention, the Muslims' attitude to Western education was improving positively and so the the Muslim education system changed drastically by means of teaching Islam in the so - called Western school system. According to Nasiru (1977), the Muslims' attitude by then led to the conversion of the best Qur'anic school at Akanni Street Lagos to the first Government Muslim School by the Lagos Government in 1896, while another Muslim schools co-financed by the Muslims and the government were established in Epe and Badagry in 1898 and 1899 respectively. Individual Muslims also joined in the founding of schools of their own. Among such founders were Mr. Idris Animasaun , Muhammad Augusto, Mr. Abu Ahmad Sadiq, Mr Babatunde Salami and Mr. Tijani.

By the time the Yoruba Muslims were confronting the Christian education with strong opposition, Islamic education was going uninterruptedly in Hausaland as the Christian missions found it extremely difficult to penetrate the North. When eventually they were able to gain access to the North, the Muslims glued themselves to their Islamic system of education and they looked at Western education with contempt. Arabic language was left as the medium of instruction in the few schools established by the colonialists in the province. Joe Umo (1989), noticed that in the 1950s, about 82% of primary schools were located in Southern Nigeria, while only 18% were in Northern Nigeria. Also, 93% of secondary schools were located in Southern Nigeria while 7% were in Northern Nigeria.

The effects of the adoption of the Western system of education by the Muslims were not palatable as such. The Qur'an and Ilmi schools were relegated to the background and prominence was given to English over Arabic as the language of instruction. Lamenting on the impact of colonialism on the Muslim educational systems, Abd al-'Alim ( 1407:171) writes interalia:

. Approximately 200 years of colonization led to a situation such that the Muslims could not even recall what their educational system was. The public was brainwashed that the main light of knowledge and the technological advancement was a gift of colonization.

To confirm the above assertion, Muslims were made to believe that their lateness in accepting Western education was a source of their backwardness and that it was only through Western education that they could prosper in life. Thus, Ahmadu Bello regretted the lateness of the Northerners to embrace Western education while addressing a group of students at the London Constitutional Conference in 1957 saying:

We are now paying the penalty for the relunctance of our forebearers to accept modern education methods. But it has been a good lesson to us and has made us strive to greater efforts to make up for this lost time (Paden, 1986:259).

The attempt to integrate Western education into the Islamic system of education and vice-versa could be considered a positive development in the history of Muslim education in south western Nigeria. However, the development was suspected to have been a step of the colonialists to penetrate into Islamic system of education with a view to diluting it. A pointer to this is the attempt by Government to impose Christian principals on the so-called Islamic schools. This was the case in the Government Muslim School in Lagos. According to Al-Iloriy(1978), this idea led the Muslims to converge together for establishing Islamic Organizations for the purpose of shaping Islamic education in the right channel. Thus, the Ansar-Ud-Deen society was formed in 1923, Zumratul Islamiyyah in 1926, Nawairu Deen Society in 1934, and Ansarul-Islam Society in 1945. The schools established by these organizations were to a very large extent Western in nature but were Islamic only by their names and by having Islamic Religious Knowledge as a teaching subject in their curricula. Thus a period of Westernization of Muslim education set in. The influence of this on the Muslim educational reform is that it helped in producing graduates who are western in outlook, orientation and attitude. The influence of the Christian education which they received in the garb of western education is aptly described by Blyden (quoted by Sulaiman 1979:61) when he writes:

Owing to the physical, mental and social pressure under which the Africans received these influences of Christianity, their development was necessarily partial, and one-sided, cramped and abnormal. All tendencies to independent individuality were repressed and destroyed. Their ideas and aspirations could be expressed only in conformity with the views and tastes of those who help rule over them. All avenues to intellectual improvement were closed against them and they were doomed to perpetual ignorance.

Era of Intermarriage Between Muslim and Western Education:

The acceptance of Western education by the Muslims marked another step in the Muslim educational reform in south western Nigeria. It made the existing Qur'an schools realise their shortcomings and the need for them to borrow ideas from their western counterparts. As such, some proprietors of these schools started fashioning their schools after the western style by introducing school fees, classifying their students, using well prepared syllabi, starting their lessons in the morning, using attendance registers and having students and the teachers furniture in their schools. However, the certificates of such schools are only recognized in some Arab countries for the purpose of gaining admission into their universities; and to gain employment in other local Arabic schools as teachers. Some of these madrasats become prominent that they receive grant from foreign Islamic countries to run them.

The move to make Muslim Schools compete favourably with their western counterparts made some of these schools introduce Islamic Studies and English language into their curricula. Mahd al-Azhari in Ilorin introduced English language as a teaching subject. The Arabic Institute of Nigeria Elekuro Ibadan which was established by Shaykh Murtadha Abdus-Salam also introduced Islamic Studies and English language into the school curriculum and even organised afternoon lesson for interested students to pursue western education up to GCE level.

The Arabic Training Centre (Markaz Ta'limul 'Arabi) Agege of Late Shaykh Adam Abdullah al-Ilori equally modernized the school along Western line though with no western subject introduced. Other schools established along the same line are Al-Adabiyyah school for Arabic and Islamic Studies at Owo, and Alhaji Badru deen's Amin Arabic Training Centre at Iwo established in 1968. It has to be noted that the contributions of some of these erudite scholars to Muslim educational reform had earned them fame and privilege both within and outside the country. Shaykh Muhammad Kamalud-Deen Al-Adabiyy for instance was conferred with M. F. R. title by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1963. He was also conferred with the Egyptian most prestigious National Merit Award for Art and Science in 1992 in Cairo, Egypt. The able scholar was conferred with honorary doctorate degree by the University of Ilorin recently.

Despite the fact that many Islamic institutes adjusted their curricula, many Quranic schools remain adamant. They consider this as a move to imitate the 'Christian' system of education and teaching English Language as a school subject as a way of promoting 'Christian' Language. Such schools are observed as lacking the most basic educational requirements and low in standard. Begging which was a feature of the students attending such schools in the pre-colonial era still persists, though this has been modified in the south western part of the country especially in Yorubaland where begging is tactfully done by distributing handbill or letter to mosques requesting for alms. However, these Qur'anic schools are credited for their survival despite all odds in the following words of El-Miskin (1997:10):

It is an educational system that has survived in spite of the fact that it has been excluded from educational budgeting for these schools to survive at all without the multi-billion naira budgeting enjoyed by the western oriented schools is not a minor achievement.

The dwindling patronage of Qur'anic schools by Muslims due to their inadequate facilities to meet the challenges of western system of education calls for the establishment of Islamically oriented nursery schools. Except in rear cases, most Quranic schools operate only in the afternoon for children after attending the normal western school system. The financial constraints facing most of the Qur'anic schools due to their 'free education programme' forced many of these schools to fold up or rather transform to Islamic nursery primary schools where fees are charged and parents are ready to pay. Many conscious proprietors of these schools are putting all hands on deck to ensure the Islamicity of their schools. Apart from teaching conventional subject, some Islamic related subjects are equally introduced into their curricula

It should be noted that the National Policy on Education encourages private individuals, organisations and communities to establish private schools. It exclusively leaves the provision of pre-school education to private and volumtary enterprises on the basis that every society has the right to determine what it hopes and wishes its young and innocent citizens to learn. So, as the Christans are using this opportunity for their 'catch them young' evangelisation programme, the Muslim proprietors are trying to present their pupils with a set of knowledge which will be Islamically oriented. Morning assembly is conducted under strict Islamic condition, male pupils separated from female counterparts. Moral talks on Islamic values are given to the pupils while Islamic songs are the only recommended songs in the schools. Zuhr prayer is observed congregationally in some of these schools, while students are encouraged to imbibe simple Islamic etiquettes in and outside the school. To aid this, some Muslim scholars started writing texts on various subjects from Islamic perspective. Among such texts are "Etiquette of Daily Routines for Young Muslims" and "Model Songs of Praise for Pupils of Nursery and Primary Schools" written by M.G. Haroon and M.O. Abdul-Hamid respectively. Others include "Islamic Poem with Allah's Names" and 'Ibaadah Colouring Book" authored by Mallam Abdur-Razaq Zakariya and Mallam Ade Busairy respectively.

The Muslims' awareness that their relevance in this age of industrialisation and scientific and technological advancement depended mostly on their pursuance of western education beyond primary school level, culminated in the establishment of private secondary schools not only to complement the efforts of the government but also to carry out their educational reform. Of such schools are Ad-Din International College Ibadan, Ibikunle Lawal College, Ile-Ife, Al-Huda College Ila-Orangun and many others. The Muslim International School Iwo is jointly established by twelve different jama'ah which for decades had been championing the cautse of Muslim education in Nigeria under the auspices of the committee of Muslim International school (COMIS). Among the leading committeee members are Prof. A. B Fafunwa, Prof. T.A. Balogun, Prof. T.G.O. Gbadamosi, Alhaji Lateef Okunnu, Alhaji R. G. A Oyekan Prof. A.F.B. Mabadeje, Prof. (Mrs.) Saida Mabadeje and a host of others. The aim of COMIS is to establish educational institutions anywhere in Nigeria to be known as Muslim International Schools with the objective of providing qualitative education with strong Islamic emphasis. This is equally one of the objectives of the Nigerian Association of Model Islamic Schools (NAMIS) which is the umbrella body of all private Muslim nursery, primary and secondary schools.

Muslim Educational Reform: Tertiary Institutions Experience

The atavism of Islamic Studies and Arabic Studies in the nation's university education system marks the beginning of a new Islamization process in Nigeria. In addition to the establishment of primary and secondary schools by some Muslim Organizations, the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies was established at University of Ibadan in 1961 with the aim of meeting the growing need and desire of Nigerian students to study Arabic as a language and Islam as a religion. In 1963/64 session, the Department introduced a year programme leading to the award of Certificate in Arabic and Islamic Studies for the purpose of providing admission opportunity into the Department for degree programme. Also, in 1975/76, a Two-year Diploma course was introduced for the award of Diploma in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Certificate obtained from this programme qualified one for direct admission into the Department for Degree programme provided the candidate had five 'O' Level credits including English (JAMB Guidelines 1988-98). In 1976, the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies was established in the University of Ilorin, but it was later changed to Department of Religions when Christian Religious Studies was introduced. Elements of Islamic related courses are also introduced into the Departments of Religions of the University of Ife (now O. A. U), Ondo State University Akungba Akoko and some others.

It behoves one to say that though the inclusion of Islamic related courses into the university programme was a desirable development, the way and manner it was handled had some negative effects on the educational reform of the Muslims. First, this method confines Islamic Studies into studying Islamic rituals and history alone. The departmentalization of Islamic and Arabic studies equally restricts the spread of the tentacle of the programme into other disciplines thereby giving the impression that Islam has no say in other disciplines. The tatty face of this system of educational reform is also realised when considering those handling the courses. First, some courses were handled by non-Muslim Islamists whose main aim as Doi (1984) put it, was to show Islam merely as a heresy of Judaism or Christianity. For instance at University of Ibadan, out of the three lecturers that were appointed to teach Islamic studies, Dr. B. C. Martins and Mr. J. O. Hunwick were Christians, Same was the case at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) where a Jewish lady was employed to teach courses in Islamic Studies.

Apart from this, most of the universities adopt English as the medium of instruction. The Muslims thus rely on secondary sources to tap their needed information while Arabic is relegated to the lowest ebb. The shortcoming of this step is aptly put by Shehu Sokoto (1991:76) who writes:

One of the serious defects of teaching Islamic Studies through English medium and sources is the production of half baked Islamists. It is now rampant to find graduates in Islamic Studies who cannot recite the Qur'an.

The inability of an Islamist not versed in Arabic opens the risk of reliance on texts written by orientalists whose works are hostile to Islam. Such fallacious and contumacious books are capable of polluting the minds of Muslims against Islam.

Affiliation Method: A Means of Muslim Educational Reform

At this juncture, it needs to be said that the Muslim educational reform in the south western Nigeria, especially after the colonial era is more of integrating western and Islamic education together. As such, some Muslim individuals, or organizations take to establishing schools and affiliating such schools to some government recognised institutions. As such some of these colleges are able to run Certificate and Diploma Courses in Arabic and Islamic Studies. This step is taken by these institutions following the failure of the Ministry of Education to give them recognition. An example of this is the defunct Osun Islamic Theological College Osogbo, a College organized by the Zumratul Hujjaj, Osun North East division of the then Oyo State. At the inception of the College, an application letter for the establishment of the college was written to the Ministry of Education. The school was not given formal approval because "the curriculum and syllabus of the College did not belong to any sector of the government's educational programmes" Hence, the College Management applied for affiliation to the University of Ibadan. However, the requirement standard of the university was too cumbersome for the college to fulfill, and so it changed gear and sought same from the Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto. This was granted in September 1991. The curriculum for Diploma candidates of the Osun Islamic Theological College reflects a positive sign of integration of Western system of education with Islamic education (see Appendix A ) students are exposed to thorough Islamic courses which might serve as an effective strategy for Islamization in their future career. The College, though died prematurely, was able to achieve the objective of creating opportunity for the products of Arabic schools to further their studies and it checked the unprogressive attitudes and prejudices some Muslims had for acquisition of western education which they saw as inimical to their religion. Therefore the pairing of western and Islamic education makes acquisition of western education attractive to the Muslims while graduates of this institution are able to relate meaningfully well with their immediate environment.

Other institutions affiliated to University of Ibadan for Diploma in Arabic and Islamic Studies are Sulaiman College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ososa, Ijebu Ode; Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Olodo, Ibadan; Mufutau Olanihun College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ibadan; and Ansaru-ud-Deen Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Isolo, Lagos. The Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies, Ilorin which was established by the Kwara State Government is another right step in the Muslim educational reform in the south western Nigeria. However, there is the need to review the programme of studies in the College from Islamic perspective.

The shortcoming of the method of pairing Islamic disciplines with western disciplines could better be explained in the view of the principle of conditioning which was discovered by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist who lived between 1846 and 1936. In his experiment with a dog, Pavlov discovered what he called classical conditioning - a process in which a neutral stimulus, by pairing with a natural stimulus acquires all the characteristics of natural stimulus. In carrying out his experiment, he put an hungry dog in a cage. He then gave the dog food, to which the dog salivated. He called the food Unconditional Stimulus (UCS) and salivation Unconditional Response (UCR). Next, Pavlov presented a neutral stimulus - (e.g light) an object that will not naturally elicit salivation along with food and the dog salivated. After several trials like this, Pavlov removed the natural stimulus (i.e food ) and presented only neutral stimulus (e.g. light). Surprisingly, the dog started salivating to this. Thus, the light alone was able to elicit salivation because of its repeated pairings with food. From this, one asserts that Islamic Studies naturally elicits response from the Muslims Later western disciplines were paired with Islamic education and thus was accepted by the Muslims. After several trials with this, Islamic related disciplines are gradually been withdrawn from the school systems by a number of factors or principles, yet the Muslims don't realise this and they continue responding to western education gradually forgetting their natural and unconditional stimulus, Islamic Studies.

To drive home this assertion, there are evidences that when Muslims had become fully addicted to western education, they did not only patronise it, but even sponsored and clamoured for it where one had not been established. In Yorubaland, the Ibadan and Ijebu-Ode Muslim communities also requested for the establishment of western oriented schools without any consideration for its consequence on their religion.

It is sad to note that in recent time, Islamic Studies which was introduced into the western school system to elicit positive response is now suffering amongst other school subjects. In his assessment of the teaching of Islamic Studies in secondary schools in Oyo State, Aderinoye (1993), exposed the poor condition of the subject in some schools, ranging from its non-inclusion in the school time table, rejection of Islamic Studies teacher posted to some schools to requesting the Islamic Studies Teachers posted to the school to teach Social Studies or History. Agbetola (1988), equally lamented the status of Islamic Studies' teaching in Ondo State schools despite the moral and financial contributions of the Muslims towards the establishment of such schools. In Osun State , virtually all Islamic Studies teachers had been retrenched by getting their appointment terminated in the government's bid to make the State science oriented. The return of schools to their various owners by the Lagos State Government is another set-back in the history of Islamic learning in the State. The recent proliferation of private universities whereby Christians are taking a lead is another indication that Islamic education in Nigeria will be at a halt especially in these institutions that would be attended mostly by Muslims.

Finally, one needs to express the disappointment of the Muslims who out of the precarious conditions of the Quranic schools and their poor learning environment opted to find solace in western school system. The shortcomings always attached to Quranic schools are raising their ugly faces in the western school system also. The ex-Minister of Education, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu rightly observed that many schools could not boast of desks, dusters, chalk and staff quarters, while overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated structures remained the typical feature of primary school system. The pathetic nature of the current process and practice of schooling in Nigeria is also discovered in the 1992 national survey of basic education conducted by UNICEF and the Federal Government of Nigeria where it was discovered that in primary schools 12% of primary school pupils sit on floor, 87% have over-crowded classrooms, 3% of the schools have no chalkboards, 38% of the classrooms have no ceiling, 77% of the pupils lack text books and 30% of the pupils have no writing materials (Akindiji, 1997).

CONCLUSIONSo far we have made the historical survey of the Muslim educational reform in the south-western Nigeria. We can easily conclude that the Muslims in this zone are yet to solve the problem of bifurcation of knowledge created by the adoption of western system of education, the zigzagging from one system to another not withstanding.

However, the courage of standing to the task of establishing schools is well saluted, though not yet to the number of expectation. What these schools need is to embrace the current Islamization of knowledge undertaking so that they may succeed in teaching the so-called secular subjects from the Islamic perspective. The proposed Al-Hikmah Universtity is a welcome development in the history of Muslim education reform in the south western zone of the country. It is hoped that when this universtiy finally take off, it will assist in Islamizing the secular disciplines and this will boost the image of Islam and Muslim education in the zone.

REFERENCES

Abd al-Alim. A, (1407) "The Impact of Colonialism on the Muslim Educational System". Al-Tawhid, Vol. IV 1407, No. 3

Aderinoye R.A. (1903) "Towards Effective Teaching and Learning of Islam Studies in Secondary Schools in the Oyo State of Nigeria: A case study" Muslim Education Quarterly.Vol. 11. 1993. No. 1.

Akindiji J.O (1997) "Higher Education and Funding", Journal of Educational Research and Development, Vol. 1. 1997.

Al-Aluri, Adam (1978) Al-Islam Fi Naijiriyyah Wa Shaykh Uthman bin Fudi al - Fulani. (n.p.).

Al-Aluri, Adam (1990) Nasim Saba fi Akhbaril-Islam wa 'Ulama' Biladi Yuruba (Cairo; Maktabat Wahabat).

Ayandele E.A (1966) The Missionary Impact of Modern Nigeria 1842-1914 (London: Longman).

Balogun S.U (1998) "Islamization of knowledge in Nigeria; The Role of the Sokoto dynasty" Hamdard Islamicus Vol. xx1 Oct. - Dec. 1998, NO. 4.

Coleman J. S. (1958) Nigeria: Background to Nationalism(California: University of California Press).

Danmole H.O. (1981) "The Spread of Islam in Ilorin Emirate in the 19th century" NATAIS, Vol. II Dec. 1981, No. 2.

El-Miskin, T. (1997) "Islamic Education in Northern Nigeria and the Crisis of Subsistence". A paper for National Conference on Begging and Destitution at Arewa House, Kaduna, held between 5th and 7th December 1997.

Fafunwa, Babs. A (1982) History of Education in Nigeria(London: George Allen).

Gbadamosi, T.G.O.(1978) The Growth of Islam Among the Yoruba 1841-1908 (London; Longman Group Ltd.)

Jamiu, S.A (2001) "Islamic Education in Nigeria. The Historical Perspective" NATAIS Vol. 5. May 2001, No. 1.

Johnson S. (1976) The History of the Yorubas(Lagos: C SS Bookshops).

King E.J & Boyd, (1968). History of Western Education(London: Adam and Charles Black).

Nasiru, W.O.A (1977) "Islamic Learning Among the Yoruba (1896-1963)" An unpublished Doctoral thesis of Dept. of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan. Ibadan.

Olatunbosun. P.O (1979) History of West Africa (From A.D. 1000 to the Present Day) (Ilesha; Fatiregun Press and Publishing Company).

Paden, J.N. (1986) Ahmadu Bello Sardauna of Sokoto(Zaria: HudaHuda Publishing company).

Shittu - Agbetola, A A. (1988) "19th -20th Century Situation of Islamic Education in Ondo State of Nigeria". Journal of Arabic and Religious Studies, Vol. 5. 1988.

Umo, Joe (1989) "Political Economy of Nigerian Education, 1960 - 1985" in Tekena N.T & Atanda J. A. et.al (Ed) Nigeria Since IndependenceVol. 3. (Heinemann Education Books Nig Ltd)

(Published in the Muslim Educational Reform Activities in Nigeria, Ed. Baffa Aliyu Umar et. al), IIIT (Nigeria) & Faculty of Education Bayero University, Kano, 2005. Pp. 128 - 142).

Resources

Top Categories

Product

Company