Christian leaders in Ogun State have blamed the government for the low level of education in the country.

Religious leaders stated that the level of education began to drop from the time the government took over the schools from the original owners.

Speaking on behalf of other clergy, Anglican Communion Egba Bishop Emmanuel Adekunle had this to say at a press conference to mark the 180th celebration of the arrival of Christian missionaries in Abeokuta who brought the gospel to the ancient city. .

The bishop, however, advised the government to return the schools to their original owners to save the sector.

Adekunle also advocated for the creation of a Ministry of Religious Affairs and explained that religious organizations introduced education in the country, and said that they have been rejected.

He said that through the proposed ministry, the religious doctrines of each religious group could be jointly known, monitored and managed by the ministry.

He said: “Having observed that since the government took over the schools from their original owners, the level of education has failed and the quality of the products of these schools has gone down.

“Therefore, it is important to recommend that in order to restore the level of education throughout the country, the government should turn over the missionary schools to their original owners.

“In addition, the government should create a Ministry of Religious Affairs, just as there is a Ministry of Education. The reason is that education was brought into the country by religious organizations, but the very organization that brought education has been so ruthlessly neglected.

“Through a ministry of religious affairs, the religious doctrines of each religious group will be known, supervised and jointly executed by the ministry.

“In the early days of Christianity in Nigeria, it was not difficult for the church to acquire free land for its development projects. Today things have changed, now it is difficult to get free land”.

In the 180 years of Christianity in Nigeria, the cleric stated that the advent of Christianity in Abeokuta in 1843 had brought civilization and development to Nigeria.

He stressed that it also had significant impacts on culture, education, politics, agriculture and health, which are currently enjoyed across the country.