EXAMINATION OF WAQF AS ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF FINANCING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA

Waqf is a viable form of Islamic financial integration in the society, primarily aimed at providing relief to the less privileged persons in the society. Waqf has the inherent potential to ensure re distributive justice in the society given its numerous benefits in providing human relief, dignity, financial support, and social needs to alleviate the struggles faced by needy Muslims which includes poverty, unemployment, and lack of support. However, in Nigeria, the concept of waqf have not gotten much momentum and this could be attributed to the secular nature of the country where programmes meant to provide necessary financial supports, inclusion and alternatives in the society are subjected to so much scrutiny and criticism along the ethnic and religious ideology. Consequently, waqf has not been fully utilised to the advantage of the general public in the society despite our huge human and natural resources. Quite alarming is the progressive dominance of poverty in the country due to lack of any structural and institutional financial intervention which waqf would have adequately serve as alternative in the circumstance. Many businesses are shutting down and all the relevant financial institutions are less concern about the development and even if they were, the financial interventions they offer to the people by way of loan is not enough and sometime, ends up collapsing the business completely because of the high interest rate and the regulatory body does little or nor efforts in addressing these challenges. Human development is eroding past and youths are becoming jobless by the day, hence, the focus of this thesis. The study attempts to examine the administration of waqf in Nigeria from the existing legal provisions and how the concept, being an Islamic form of financial inclusion in the society could be applied in our secular Nigerian context to provide alternative source of financing business in Nigeria. The study also identified areas where waqf can be used for educational funds, creation of employment opportunities, agriculture, and provision of tools for entrepreneurial activities as a result of which, many Nigerian youths and adults would be fully empowered educationally, financially and socially. This research used the doctrinal method of research where both primary and secondary sources are examined which includes statutes, case laws and other legal sources. The research identified various classifications of waqf, its applicability, fundamental principles, challenges and solutions to the challenges. The research as stated earlier tries to identify the possible ways waqf can serve as alternative of financing business in order to sustain the dwindling Nigerian economy. The finding of this research is that while waqf is gaining dominance in countries where Islamic economic system, the concept has not received much applicability in a country like ours, particularly the secularism nature of the country. However, the research advocated for the recognition and adoption of waqf in our secular country, Nigeria with the view to provide alternative to long archaic conventional method financing business in Nigeria. The research concluded by recommending institutional framework to institutionalize waqf in Nigeria as a means of empowering small and medium businesses.