Dear President Tinubu, your economic policies have shortchanged the Muslim Ummah.

I greet you with uttermost respect, my prayers and loyalty are with you. I hope this message will reach you in good health.
I have listened to your National Broadcast tonight 31/7/2023 where you spoke to Nigerians about your economic policies and interventions to remedy the harsh effect of removal of petrol subsidy on Nigerians. This is indeed a good gesture and evidence that your government is listening to the yearnings of its citizens. Kudos.

As you rightly mentioned in your speech, that you will speak to Nigerians in plain language without too much economic jargons so that we understand where you stand, I will like to borrow your leaf Mr. President.

Without mincing words, the Muslim Community in Nigeria, cannot be able to benefit from the 3 major economic interventions you have mentioned, as they contain at least 9% interest on the proposed loans namely;

1 N75bn credit to manufacturing enterprises at 9% interest.
2 The fund of N500,000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum to 100,000 MSMEs
3. Provision to invest N100 billion in transportation industry, where transport companies can access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.
Mr. President, The Holy Qur’an stated categorically in Surah Baqara Chapter 2 : 278-279

…يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَذَرُواْ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ ٱلرِّبَوٰٓاْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ

“O Believers, fear Allah and give up that interest which is still due to you, if you are true Believers; but if you do not do so, then you are warned of the declaration of war against you by Allah and His Messenger….”

This is a stern warning from Almighty Allah.

Therefore, no true Muslim can go against the teachings of The Holy Qur’an in the hope of getting some worldly temporary economic benefits. Hence the 3 categories of loans stated above excluded Muslim community because of the above verse and many of its like in the Holy Qur’an.

Mr President, these interventions are aimed to cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets, then what is the government going to benefits from the added interests on the loans? Why not make it a soft loan? I urged Mr President to please look in to this issue and remove the interest on the loans.

However, if you and your your advisers insist on the interest, then we humbly request you to kindly discuss it with economic experts of Islamic finance, and see how you can make it affordable to Muslim community. There are various Islamic ways of giving loans; finance trusteeship, equity partnership or any other acceptable agreement.

Thank you and May Allah bless Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Umar Ibrahim Tafida
Azare, Bauchi State.

Hip-hop Artist, David Adeleke came under intense criticism following a music video he posted a Twitter that depicted people dancing in front of a Mosque. He, Davido, deleted the video following backlash from the Muslim community.

I will start by correcting an impression. Irate youths were said to have burnt David’s picture in Maiduguri, why? because he is an Islamophobe, anti-Islam, or what? I’m afraid that if we do not sensitize people, the case of Usman Buda who was killed by an irate mob in Sokoto will continue to repeat itself. He didn’t blaspheme, he only asked that solicitation goes to Allah alone. Some ignorant people who do not understand the religion but are ready to kill at the mention of blasphemy will attack anyone whether he is sincerely ignorant or not. For those who don’t know Usman Buda, he was killed.

In the case of Davido, the video he shared did not portray him as an enemy of Islam, rather, it is his own ignorant way of identifying with the Muslim community – something he must have learnt from the so-called Muslim singers. There are other musicians who try to ignorantly identify with Muslims by including passages of the Hadith and Qur’an in their songs.

As much as such identification is wrong and should be condemned, people who commit blunders while attempting to identify with the Muslims community should not be condemned the same way someone who outrightly disrespects the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), portray Muslims as terrorists, or parades women in Niqab smoking weed will be condemned.

Professor Wole Soyinka’s opinion that Davido owes no Muslim explains why the country could have been plunged into chaos if he was left to manage its affairs. Soyinka did not receive a Nobel Prize for Peace but Literature and there he has his respect.

As a Muslim, when I saw the movie, “Gangs of Lagos”, I felt the director misrepresented the Eyo Masquerade and I wrote against it. Twice an Eyo shot and killed which is not what they do in reality. When the Oba of Lagos asked that they remove Eyo from Gangs of Lagos, he had every right to do that.

I have watched Soyinka’s engagement at the Nexus Debate Institute where philosophy, not literature, was discussed and he wasn’t as sound as he would have been if it was about literature. In fact, he was a bit embarrassed when he wanted to make a point, gave one or two examples and said et cetera, the other person asked him for more examples from the et ceteras but he couldn’t. Soyinka is a literary icon and an elder but that does not make him an expert in other fields like managing a diverse society.

In a diverse society, people have the right to criticize what they feel is disrespectful to their culture, religion, and person. The most reasonable thing to do is to charge people to be respectful and anyone who feels disrespected should approach authorized bodies.

Davido did well by taking down the video he has shown that he is not an enemy of Islam. So, those burning his pictures should rest. Davido might have been motivated by the so-called Islamic singers who record their music videos in Mosques. They deserve every bit of condemnation that Davido got. And when you look at it, compared to the so-called Islamic singers, Davido probably shot it in a building that’s not a Masjid.

To Davido and “Islamic singers”, Allah says,

Al-Jinn 72:18

وَأَنَّ ٱلْمَسَٰجِدَ لِلَّهِ فَلَا تَدْعُوا۟ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ أَحَدًا

And [He revealed] that the Masjids are for Allāh, so do not invoke with Allāh anyone.

As they say, “ignorantia legis neminem excusat”, before identifying with Muslims or anyone in a diverse community, study them and identify with them in a way that’ll not come as offensive.

Davido did well by taking down the video and that’s enough.

Bashir Lucas Samson Lukman