Can Islamic finance solve the poverty challenge in Nigeria? The phenomenology approach

The global growth of 15-20 percent in the Islamic finance industry makes less sense in Africa if the industry is unable to solve the challenges of abject poverty, huge income imbalance or inequalities and unemployment or lack of entrepreneurial opportunities in the midst of plenty. Who cares if the industry is able to attract USD 3 trillion in a little while? The Islamic finance model in Malaysia, the GCC and Europe have not taken note of the poverty challenge. Why then do Africa want to tailor their model after these jurisdictions. Again we re-examine the business cases for Islamic finance or even the enlarged Islamic economic system and how it has touched the lives of the average African adult or child. One would also wonder if the financial inclusion model is sincere. More so, will the argument of Shariah compliance be sustainable where over 70 percent of the African population do not know where their next meal will come from? Nigeria then becomes a good case study for Africa because it represents the African triple heritage with features of the continent’s socio-economic setting. This paper finds comfort with a research methodology that connotes social realities, hence the desire to adopt the phenomenology approach. This work reveals my own personal and conscious research efforts as a major actor in the development of the Islamic finance industry in Nigeria through regulatory review, product development and capacity building over the last 6 years. As the years pass by, my worries broaden, yet with huge hope at the end of the tunnel. What then is the envisaged result at this very moment? The true test or achievement would be a gradual and consistent increase in the number of men and women who can now start their own businesses – from among the youths and women. As Islamic banks struggle to break-even, investors demand more profits, and target markets sits back to watch if this is not another financial scam, I find myself emerging my consciousness deep into the mines of research, of phenomenology.