Islamic Financing Essential to Ending Financial Exclusion in Nigeria – Prof. Alaro

Prof. Abdur-Razzaq Abdul-Majeed Alaro, a specialist in Islamic banking and finance law, believes that expansion financing could help Nigeria and Africa address the issue of financial exclusion among their populations. Speaking during the 1Oth anniversary of the Islamic Crescent Cooperative Society (Iccs) Ltd yesterday in Abuja, Alaro stated that studies had revealed that financial exclusion has a significant impact on Muslims worldwide.He stated that this is due to mainstream banks engaging in transactions that are forbidden in Islam, leaving Muslim clients with no other options.While acknowledging that the trend is changing with the presence of Islamic cooperatives, banks, and microfinance institutions, he stated that more has to be done to bring more people into the financial system.“More than 90 per cent of products and services that are available in banks are telling you to do what Allah forbids you from doing. If you want a banking product, you must key into the riba or interest-based transaction. That is a no-go area for Muslims. However, today this problem has been solved to a large extent by the availability of banking services, cooperative services, and micro finance services that are all shariah compliant. So, this is what we call financial inclusion.”While claiming that Islamic cooperatives have achieved the goal of financial inclusion, he stated that they must expand into MSMEs financing in order to avoid stagnation.Earlier, Shefi’u Kolawole Gbadamosi, Executive Chairman of Iccs, stated that the cooperative was established to assist its members and business owners in achieving their personal and commercial goals without jeopardizing their religious beliefs.Read more:Islamic finance offers reliable financing option- IsDB Boss