- Sanusi *
Former Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi, has accused some Nigerians of manipulating religion to cover the truth.
Sanusi, also a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, spoke on Sunday in Lagos at the 5th National Discourse of The Companion, an association of Muslim men in business and the professions with the theme: Islamic Finance Experiment in Nigeria: Gains, Challenges and Prospects.
Reflecting on the controversy that trailed the introduction of the non-interest financial system otherwise known as Islamic banking, he said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made spirited efforts to douse arguments that it was an Islamization attempt but some individuals would just not be persuaded.
“We tried our best to explain. If people choose not to explain, we can’t stop because of those people. Now Islamic banking, 10 years ago the conversation in Nigeria is very different 10 years down the line from what it was 10 years ago.
“We had people who know the truth or don’t want to know the truth but who chose to manipulate religion for other reasons.”
The former emir who is an expert on Islamic Finance said the benefits of the Islamic banking model are enormous.
The guest speaker, Prof. AbdulRazzaq Alaro of the Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin, debunked the insinuation that Islamic banking has an agenda to Islamise Nigeria.
He said Islamic Finance has helped states in achieving developmental objectives while there have been many gains for the government and the people of Nigeria.
“Those of us in the industry know that many of the customers, board members of Islamic financial institutions are non-Muslims and this is contributing to peaceful coexistence,” he said.
National President of The Companion, Engineer Kamil Olalekan said the topic was chosen to enlighten the public on the benefits of Islamic banking, adding that it aligns with their goal of strategic and community engagement.