Campus Life & Cash: How to Build a Smart Budget as a Nigerian Student in 2026

How to Build a Smart Budget as a Nigerian Student - The Alternative Bank

Your account balance should be full of valuable numbers, not looking like a radio frequency. If you have been on campus for more than a month, you already know that campus life is expensive. One minute you are feeling financially comfortable, and the next, you are calculating whether to buy shawarma or hold on to […]

Table for Four – Episode 2 (To Sell or Not To Sell)

Table for Four – Episode 2 (To Sell or Not To Sell) - Business-Partnership-Friendship

God when? This is Zahrah’s first thought as they all walk into Chinwe’s apartment. She truly respects and admires her friend for all the effort she puts into her business, and she is thankful on her behalf that her hard work keeps yielding good results. She just wishes she knows what to do to grow […]

Your Money and FOMO: How to Build Sustainable Wealth in a World of Viral Trends

If your social media feed is anything like the average person’s, it is a constant stream of owambe, vacations, proposals, car purchases, and more. Everywhere you look, someone seems to be living the soft life. Meanwhile, you are struggling to spread your income across your monthly expenses, and there’s still black tax to pay monthly. […]

Why a Tech Detox is the Productivity Hack You Didn’t Know You Needed

Why a Tech Detox is the Productivity Hack You Didn’t Know You Needed

It’s nighttime and you’re ready for bed, but instead of closing your eyes and going to sleep, you pick up your phone and start doom scrolling, you fall asleep somewhere along the line. You wake up in the morning, and the first thing you do is pick up the phone from somewhere around your pillow. […]

The “I Do” Without the “I Owe”: Planning a Classy Nigerian Wedding on a Budget

Ever heard the saying “it’s your marriage but it’s their wedding”? In Nigeria, a wedding is rarely just about two people. It’s a multi-stakeholder merger involving two extended families, three generations of aunties you haven’t seen since your naming ceremony, and a neighborhood association that believes your “happily ever after” is incomplete without them eating […]

Travel Now, Pay Later? The Smarter Way To Finance Your Holiday

You are scrolling through Instagram on a Thursday afternoon, sandwiched between a stressful Teams call and a plate of cold rice. You scroll to a post by an acquaintance, let’s call her “Folake”, posing on a white sandy beach in Zanzibar, holding a coconut that looks more hydrated than you feel. You double-tap, comment “God […]

TOP 5 THINGS YOUR ALTBANK APP FIXES INSTANTLY!

Skip the Queue, Skip the Wait: Fix These 5 Things Instantly! What if your banking app could take the stress out of your day, solving your biggest money headaches in seconds, without queues, without calls, without the wait? Not to brag, but that’s what the altbank app does. It’s not just another app; it’s your […]

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Abubakar Muhammad Musa

Summary

Abubakar Muhammad Musa is currently a Sharia Advisor and Consultant for SHAPE Knowledge Services a consulting firm based in Kuwait. He has been involved in product development, Sharia research and approval of Islamic banking products for different clients. His work covers retail banking, corporate banking and project finance deals.

Formerly, Abubakar worked as a Researcher in different units at International Shariah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Besides his primary assignments in ISRA, he taught Shariah Rules in Financial Transactions to Chartered Islamic Finance Professional (CIFP) Masters online Students of International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), Malaysia. He also taught MBA and BBA Students different Islamic Banking and Finance Subjects at University College of Bahrain.

Abubakar holds two Diplomas with distinction, one in Islamic Law and the other in Arabic Language from Al-Imam University Riyadh. He also holds LLB (Hons) degree in Shariah from the same University. He successfully completed his (CIFP) Professional Masters Degree Programme at (INCEIF), Malaysia. He had his internship program on Islamic Banking & Finance at Fajr Capital in Kuala Lumpur. During the programme, Abubakar conducted research relating to product structuring and market development.

Abdurraheem Ahmad Sayi

Summary

Abdurraheem Ahmad Sayi is a legal practitioner and Consultant of over 16 years of active legal practice. He is currently the principal partner, A.A. Sayi & Co. (Qist Chambers) and Qadi, Independent Shari’ah Panel of Lagos State – a platform, through which he has delivered several judgments of in-depth analysis, widely applauded by leading legal and intellectual icons, including learned Judges, professors of law and Islamic Studies.

He is the Executive Director/C.E.O., ClearPath Islamic Centre (Incorporated), Lekki-Lagos and Chief Imam, SilverPoint Central Mosque, Badore, Ajah-Lagos. Fondly called Imam Sayi, Abdurraheem is the designate Chairman, Shari’ah Advisory Committee, Mutual Benefit Takaaful.

Imam Sayi has also authored a few works, some of which include: The Financial Obligations: a compendium of essays on monetary or material obligations under Islamic Law and Waqf (Charity Endowment): The Governing Principles.

He holds a Certificate on Improving Personal Effectiveness from the Lagos Business School (Pan African University) and he is a recipient of numerous awards and certificates of merits.

Abdulkader Thomas

Education:

Master of Arts Law and Diplomacy, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy.

Bachelor of Arts Arabic & Islamic Studies, The University of Chicago.

Shariah Board Experience:

Bank Muscat Meethaq (2013 – 2017)

Sterling Bank Nigeria (Since 2013)

University Bank, USA (Since 2006)

Summary

Abdulkader Thomas has over 35 years of diversified financial services experience in major markets. With a Master of Arts Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and a BA in Arabic & Islamic Studies from The University of Chicago. His areas of activity have included trade finance, real estate finance, securities and alternative finance.

As the general manager of a foreign bank branch in New York, he secured the first US regulatory approvals of Islamic mortgage and instalment credit/sale as banking instruments. Later, he secured US regulatory approval for profit sharing deposits. Abdulkader has been involved in the successful implementation of these products in the US market. With more than 17years Shariah Board Experience in Bank Muscat Meethaq, Sterling Bank Nigeria and University Bank USA, Abdulkader has worked on IFTA projects in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, and an authority on Islamic deal structures and securities.

He also serves as a director of Alkhabeer Capital in Jeddah and Chairman of Alkhabeer (DIFC). He is a member of the international advisory board of the Securities Commission of Malaysia, a published author, and an active speaker on Islamic finance.