The
Christian Association of Nigeria has strongly kicked against the floating of
the SUKUK Islamic bond by the Federal Government.
It alleged
that the move has further confirmed its fears that the government was planning
to Islamise the country through the back door.
CAN, in a
statement on Tuesday in Abuja by its General Secretary, Rev. Musa Asake,
demanded the abrogation of the laws and framework behind the bond and
threatened to seek legal redress if that was not done.
CAN said
Nigeria was a secular state and the government was expected to be neutral on
issues involving religion.
It said,
“The Christian Association of Nigeria has been protesting against this
aberration since the Osun State Government, under Governor Rafiu Aregbesola,
embarked on this violation of the Constitution.
“Rather than
stand in the defence of the constitution, it is disappointing to note that the
Federal Government is pursuing what is an outright confirmation of an
Islamisation agenda.
“The recent
floating of Sukkuk Bond by the government is not only sectional but illegal and
a violation of the Constitution. Every law that has been promulgated to back
the Sukuk issuance and promote an Islamic banking system in Nigeria is ultra
vires, illegal, null and void.”
“Therefore,
the manipulations and scheming to smuggle the country into a full blown Islamic
state should stop; these manipulations became apparent with the smuggling of
Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic Conference in 1986 by the Ibrahim
Babangida military junta,” Asake said.
“The FG must
dismantle all legal and institutional framework established to promote Islamic
financing in Nigeria.
“We affirm
that the territorial integrity of Nigeria is undermined through the issuance of
Sukuk in the country. We hope that the government shall desist from its
policies of unbridled religious sectionalism,” CAN said.
But the
Federal Government in its reaction denied any plan to Islamicise country.
The Minister
of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the financial initiative was
borne out of the need to include people who were opposed to interest-yielding
enterprises.
He said,
“Sukuk is not an attempt to Islamise Nigeria in any form. On the contrary, it
is an attempt at financial inclusiveness. The difference between Sukuk Bond and
other bonds is that if you invest in Sukkuk bond, you earn no interest.
“So, the
scheme appeals to many people who don’t believe that money should gather
interest. They, however, engage in profit sharing in the sense that if the
government makes a profit from the bond, they give the investor a part of it
but if the government makes no profit, the investor is not entitled to
anything.”a
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