Why Nigeria must adopt Islamic banking –Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi II has made a case for Islamic banking, saying it is the best model for an economy like Nigeria.
Sanusi gave this charge on Saturday at the third Annual Holiday Convention of the Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP) at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry.

Justifying the need for the adoption of the Islamic banking model, the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said non-Muslim countries like Cote d’ Ivoire, Senegal and Gambia are beginning to reap the benefits of Sukuk, one of the financial product under the Islamic banking model.

The monarch who delivered a keynote address via video recording, called for increased awareness on the Islamic banking, stressing that the benefits of the system are largely untapped.

He urged Muslims to invest into Halal products and services including game reserves, Cinemas, among others.
These, he said, can help the Islamic banking system to thrive and drive the economy.

In his remarks, Dr Bashir Oshodi, Sterling Bank PLC Head Islamic Banking, said over 100 million Nigerians are living below poverty line in the country.
Citing a research by some group, Oshodi said Nigeria, Tanzania, Congo and Ethiopia have been projected to become extremely poor by year 2030, adding that these countries have more Muslim population.

“Islamic banking, if well harnessed, would ensure large numbers of people are economically independent,” he said.
Waxing philosophical, he said people like Aristotle, Adam Smith, Alfred Marshall were all proponents of interest-free banking, stressing that these icons could not be wrong.

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Echoing similar sentiments, Jaiz Bank Plc Head of Corporate Affairs, Al-Hassan Abu Kareem lamented that Muslims are the least beneficiaries from their operations.
This, he said, is due to ignorance on the benefits inherent in it.

He urged scholars to avail themselves of the opportunity of the training sessions organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which he said, would help them understand the real perspectives of Islamic banking and how it can be fully integrated into the society.

“There was one our non-Muslims customers who collected N2 million naira loan and he was the first to get that from us when we started initially. Accidentally, it was the period when there was media advocacy against Islamic banking and Jaiz bank. After getting the loan, he showed it to his church members and that was a positive testimony for us,” he said.
GMP Board of Trustee chairman, Abdul Akeem Oyewale, urged Muslims on creating awareness, getting education and training on the Islamic banking system.
He urged Muslims to register for online courses that could avail them of the basic knowledge of the Islamic banking system.

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