Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has insisted that it will not accept the Sukuk bond describing it as a form of islamisiation of the country.
The general secretary of CAN, Rev. Musa Asake, in an interview with The Punch, said the body would go to court if need be claiming that it would not accept it.
According to Rev. Musa, “Section 10 says no government, state or federal, should favour one religion. But if you observe the things that are happening in this country, they are happening in favour of a particular religion. The Sukuk loan is a Sharia-bond loan. Sharia is Islamic. That is why we sought to get the attention of the government.”
While calling on the government to reverse the N100 billion Sukuk bond, he assured that Christians would keep on speaking until the right thing is done.
“All those things that they said would benefit us, have they benefited us? All the money that has been collected in billions, where are they? Who is having those monies? Or is it just paper report? If we are really serious, the management of our economy should take us to a higher ground so that we would be able to survive.
“I don’t have complete trust in our government when they keep telling us that this thing is going to help us, but instead of helping, we are back to square one; even worse than where we were. That’s my concern, and I would rather we follow our constitution and do the right thing.
“Like I said earlier; when it comes to money in Nigeria, I’m concerned. Look at the road that has been taking lives between Abuja and Lokoja; and lots of other roads that are killing people all over the place. So many governments have told us they are going to fix it. But has it been fixed? Or is there magic in Sukuk loans that is going to do it now? I don’t think so. I think the Sukuk loans will follow the same path and end up in people’s pockets.
“All I’m saying is that Sukuk is a Sharia loan, meaning Muslim loan, and that is why we are talking to the government and not to any individual. We do not have any issue with any Muslim; we are talking to our government that is representing Christians, Muslims, atheists, traditional rulers, and basically all Nigerians. That is why we are getting their attention; not to engage ourselves with any particular group.
“From the little I know about Sukuk bonds, anything that money is used for, is shared with Saudi Arabia. It’s an Islamic thing and I believe that if this money was from a Christian perspective, the Muslims would not agree. So, all we’re saying is that the government is supposed to be for all Nigerians. Don’t fight one religion. We have written and we are going to take steps.”
It is reported that the federal government released the proceeds of the N100bn Sukuk bond for the financing of 25 road projects being handled by the federal ministry of power, works and housing across the country.
