Sanusi & Sharia @ CBN. Com

Sanusi & Sharia @ CBN. Com
By Sam Onimisi

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is now a household name in Nigeria, not just because of his signature emblazoned in the country’s currency, but more for his controversial reform in the banking sector of the economy since his appointment over two years ago. He appears to enjoy the eye of the storm and relish in needless controversy. Last month, the Central Bank Governor issued a guideline titled “FRAMEWORK FOR THE REGULATION AND SUPERVISION OF INSTITUTIONS OFFERING NON-INTEREST FINANCIAL SERVICES IN NIGERIA”. It took me time and some efforts to obtain this guideline and I spent some time studying the document upon which I intend to make some comments. Before then, I want to be sure that my readers have rudimentary knowledge of the subject matter, as most of them may not have taken time to read the guideline as I did. Now, lets go.
Before Western or Arabic civilization, the African had what may be called a non-interest banking system through which financial transactions are conducted. This is today conveniently called Non-Interest Financial Institutions, NIFI. It is a practice that abhors interest on lending as its main feature; a system, which makes profit and loss a joint liability of the ‘bank’ and its customers. Before the advent of modern banking, there were people who were charging very high interest rate known as usury and so, at the advent of Judaism which preceded Christianity, the Bible forbade usury in Exodus 22:25, a prohibition repeated in Leviticus 25: 36. This serves to validate the African practice of non-interest banking through esusu, opa, ajo and adashi by various Nigerian ethnic nationalities. This is the periodical monetary contributions of a fixed amount and for a fixed time-period by a group or a number of contributors who takes their own turn as beneficiaries. It has no interest and losses are shared between the contributors and the managers of the fund. Therefore, non-interest financial institutions are not new in Nigeria, as it has come a long way from time immemorial. Even when the system developed and has its interest charging elements, people also took advantage of it as reflected in the Scriptures as captured by Mathew 25:27. While it lasted, both Christians and Muslims took advantage of non-interest banking as well as interest charging banking, inspite of the scriptural prohibition as may be obtained in the Bible and the Quran.
As a matter of fact, the General Ibrahim Babangida administration in an effort to assist the poor, enacted a decree known as the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act, 1991 i.e., BOFIA. Inspite of his credentials as a devout Muslim who took Nigeria into the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC); or learning from the crisis that surreptitious entry into OIC brought to Nigeria, Babangida prudently ensured that terms such as ‘Christian”, “Islamic” “Central” “Biblical” or “Quranic” are expressly excluded from the name of any bank that would be registered for the purpose of non-interest financial business. However, the recent guideline issued by the Central Bank on the subject speaks of “Sharia Banking” all through the document. In addition, the Governor of CBN also proposed to establish a “CBN Sharia Council” whose function would be to serve as an advisory board to guide the operation of the non-interest banking, which of course, would now be ‘Sharia or Islamic Banking”. This is certainly against the spirit and letters of the BOFIA 1991 as enacted. This Sanusi “innovation” is bound to generate unnecessary agitation and bad blood for reasons stated here under.
Nigeria as a multi-religious polity has no need for state owned or regulated religious banking as it will be patently a discriminative financial system. There is the fear that the collective funds of Nigeria would be used as a weapon of a back door Islamization of the country unless Sanusi will follow it up with the establishment of an Ecclesiastical Banking Council in the CBN. Our experience of the OIC crisis of 1987 and the year 2000 Sharia crisis ought to have cautioned Sanusi against a Sharia Council in the CBN. But since he is bent on foisting it on the country, he must go the whole hog by establishing its Christian and Animist equivalents. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi may not be a purer Muslim than Professor Muhammed Yunus of Pakistan whose ingenuity gave birth to a variant of non-interest banking known as micro-finance banking. Yet, Professor Yunus’ banking invention is much sought-after and is very successful everywhere it is being practiced as conceived – without a religious bias like the one Sanusi is forcing on our throats.
If Sharia Banking is seen as a cure-all solution to the poverty of a segment of Nigerians, this should be left to the private sector and Muslim investors or entrepreneurs who should invest their funds in establishing Sharia-compliant banks devoid of riba and haram-both of which are forbidden in Islam. Moreover, using riba-riddled and haram infested oil money to establish Sharia Banking is nsot a holy way to entrench Islam or help Muslims – especially by a pure Muslim like Mal. Sanusi. If Nigerians were participating in non-interest banking and also in interest charging banking, and have continued to do so from time immemorial up till now, no one must be allowed to draw a discriminatory wedge between them for whatever motive or purpose – using his public office. It is quite legitimate for Sanusi to embark on schemes to impress people of his impeccable Islamic credentials, especially if he is planning his post – CBN future whether as governor or as emir of Kano. However, it must not be at the expense of public peace and inter-religious harmony in the country. At this time when ethno- religious crisis is at its worst in Nigeria, Sanusi’s Sharia Banking must be put on hold or turn over to the Nigerian Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs and the CBN should not be used for a religious Jihad by some other means. I am not in position to judge the value of Sanusi’s reforms in the Banking sector or its beneficial effects on the national economy, but a discerning mind should be able to smell a religious bomb in the process of detonation at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Nigeria can very well operate non-interest financial institutions devoid of religious or sectarian strife, just as we were all taking advantage of high interest banking services. However, if any particular religion prefers something extra, they could go ahead and organize Ecclesiastical, Shango and or Sharia compliant financial institutions-all for themselves –without involving our common wealth. We have had examples of government involvement in religious affairs without rancor, and the first of this was the government-organized pilgrimage to the Holy Lands of Jerusalem and Mecca. The second example is the building of the National Ecumenical Centre for Christians and the National Mosque for the Muslims. These are programmes based on equality of the faiths or government good sense of equity or secularity. Unless we are set to divide the country along religious line, the Central Bank of Nigeria has no mandate, no legal backing and is under no moral burden or compulsion to establish a Sharia Council in CBN – just because Malam Sanusi the Bank’s governor is an authority on Sharia jurisprudence. Afterall, we know that Sanusi was not appointed on the basis of his Sharia credentials but on the fact of his being a qualified economist/banker. Professor Charles Soludo was there before. Infact, we had an older Joseph Sanusi as governor and none of two ever sought to dilute non-interest financial institution with religious sectionalism. A stitch in time saves nine, so says the old adage and I suppose Lamido Sanusi knows this. Let us all be guided by the common good of all.
Whenever the Sahel North suffers from deforestation through desert encroachment, the government always rises to the occasion to ameliorate the effects on the people. Quota system of admission into tertiary institutions was introduced in favour of a particular people whose educational needs called for such a policy funded from the common purse. The Federal Government also established the Nomadic education programme for those whose culture or economic pursuits entails being perpetually on the move and this is being faithfully implemented from the federal budget. Actually, it was Professor Mary Lar, a Christian who invented the nomadic education system, propelled only by the compassion for a segment of Nigerians, and not based on religious sentiments or preference. And of recent, the almajirai system of education was inaugurated to take off the street Nigerian children who choose to go against their religious injunction by begging on the streets – and this also will be funded from the government’s budget – the common purse. Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti was a great pediatrician, who as minister of health introduced a healthcare delivery system for which he earned national honours; he was neither a Christian nor a Muslim, but every Nigerian child became beneficiaries of the programme. Nigeria surely needs a modern system of non-interest financial institutions, a concept, not new to us and for which a previous government enacted a good law. Sanusi should either adhere to this law or forget his sectarian project.