The Nigerian Aberration Continues: Mortgaging a Secular State to Islamic Financial Institutions.

by Eze Eluchie,

The fact that the Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari-led regime, in constitutionally secular Nigeria, intends to raise Sukuk (Islamic) Bonds from the Islamic Development Bank to finance the huge deficit in its 2016 Budget, and that some Muslim Governors of some of the component States of the Nigerian federation will be embarking on a mission to source for financial assistance and monetary facilities from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, further brings to the fore the problems the continuing non-Restructuring and non-Renegotiation of the Nigerian contraption will pose to not only the peoples of Nigeria, but also the international community, in the very near future.

Will the Nigerian Federation and other States in Nigeria, particularly those with majority Christian and or non-Muslim populations, be in any way held responsible for the farce being perpetuated by the efforts of the Federal Government (currently led by a Muslim of recorded extremist positions) and some Muslim Governors to borrow money from the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia and other strictly Islamic institutions?

Considering that some part of the aggregated revenue of the Federation which all States (including the States whose Governors are now sourcing for Shari’a complaints loans preside over) derive some of their incomes, is comprised of Value Added Tax (VAT) receipts collected from the manufacture and sales of alcoholic brew, pork products and other ventures considered forbidden (haram) under Islam, and that it will be distasteful to some non-adherents of the Islamic faith to in a sense be contributing to the financial fortunes of the IDB, how do we intend to ever extricate ourselves and our finances from the confusion of recourse to Islamic, or any religious, institutions funds?

As the delegation of Muslims led by the Governor of Bornu  State, Kashim Shettima, and comprised of the following Governors, Nasiru El-Rufai (Kaduna), Tanko Almakura (Nassarawa) and Mohammed Abubakar (Jigawa) and several other Muslims, who have just traveled out to negotiate financial facilities based on the Shari’s principles begin to discuss terms of loans with Islamic financial experts in Saudi Arabia, would it be right to require other Nigerians who neither subscribe to the Shari’a code and who probably engage in ventures which are at cross-purposes with Islamic doctrines, to be part of servicing such financial obligation whensoever they arise?.

Going by the extent of fraud, stealing and misappropriation which have befallen other loans (external and internal) sourced by these State Governors, one can state without equivocation, that whatsoever these characters are doing in Saudi Arabia, is clearly personal and probably religious, and that their States or the populations of those States cannot be held liable for such misdeeds.

The need for a restructuring and renegotiation of the Nigerian contraption is now transcending political and becoming a socio-economic imperative. The earlier we do this the better not only for our peoples, but also for foreign entities who may be tempted to continue to engage in long-term financial commitments with Nigeria.

Picture: Various denominations of the Nigerian currency (the Naira) and the Islamic Development Bank's logo.