Category: Stories

THE TALE OF SIX CITIES Season 1, Episode 6 (SOKOTO SILENCE)

SOKOTO SILENCE (Dust That Never Settles) Sokoto has a quietness that Lagos would misunderstand. Not empty, quiet. The kind of quiet that carries history, prayer, and watching eyes. The wind moves slowly here, as if even air respects elders. Amina arrives without announcements. No Instagram. No loud reunion. She tells only Sola and Imran. Her […]

THE TALE OF SIX CITIES Season 1, Episode 5 (PORT HARCOURT CURRENTS)

Port Harcourt isn’t Lagos. It carries a different kind of heat. Not the festival heat of Lagos. Not the dusty pressure of Abuja. PH heat feels industrial; oil, engines, metal, money. The air smells like fuel and saltwater, and the city moves like it knows someone is always watching. Tari Briggs watches a container truck […]

THE TALE OF SIX CITIES Season 1, Episode 4 (ONITSHA FIRE)

Onitsha doesn’t do slow beginnings. By February, the “New Year” grace period has officially expired. While the rest of the world settles into a routine, Onitsha wakes up like a drumbeat. The festive dust has settled, the resolutions have been tested, and the market is back to its raw, unyielding rhythm. Engines cough, horns bark, and […]

THE TALE OF SIX CITIES Season 1, Episode 3 (New Year, Old Chains)

Dapo Ekwueme loved the sound of a workshop in full swing. The hiss of the welding torch, the rhythmic clang of hammers against steel; it was the sound of things being built. But today, the workshop was too quiet. It was December 31st. In Warri, the air was thick with woodsmoke and the sharp crack […]

THE TALE OF SIX CITIES: Season 1, Episode 2 (Abuja Shadows)

Abuja doesn’t shout like Lagos. It watches. The roads here are wide and silent, with hedges trimmed like the city is perpetually waiting for an inspection. In December, the tension in the capital tightens. It’s the “End-of-Year Squeeze”, the season of last-minute budget approvals, frantic contract signings, and “favors” being called in before the calendar […]

THE TALE OF SIX CITIES: Season 1, Episode 1 (Lagos Heat)

Lagos in December isn’t a city; it’s a mood you can’t escape. The heat hits differently when the “Detty December” energy kicks in. Third Mainland Bridge is basically a parking lot decorated with brake lights, and the air smells like a mix of exhaust fumes, perfume, and a faint blend of the smells of different […]

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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.