ISLAMIC COOPERATIVE SOCIETY (ICS): AN ALTERNATIVE WELFARE SCHEME FOR MUSLIM CIVIL SERVANTS IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Conventional Cooperative Society (CCS), is commonly in existence in many of the government ministries, agencies and parastatals in Nasarawa state, if not all. It is a way for pooling and saving funds among the civil servants in order to utilize and benefit from their savings before or after retirement. The aim of this research, is to create awareness among Muslim civil servants of Nasarawa state and to propose ways towards of Islamizing these cooperative societies and their activities. The method adopted in this research is qualitative through library and interview techniques. It is noticed that there is an element of usury in the practice and operation of non Sharī’ah compliant cooperative societies in state and most of the participants are unaware of the existence of Islamic Cooperative Societies. Muslims in all sector of work, be it private or government should steer in establishing Islamic Cooperative Society that would be Sharī’ah compliant, which can serve as an alternative in boosting their economic prosperity and welfare. It is important to note that, this paper can alert Muslims to give priority to the teachings of religion, researchers and scholars from different professions like Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Islamic Law and Islamic Studies can benefit from this article. It reveals that some Muslim civil servants are ready to introduce Islamic Cooperative Society in their places of work. Muslims should influence management of Conventional Cooperative Society, so as to eliminate any form of usury. Islamic scholars should orient Muslims on the need to strictly follow Sharī’ah in all financial transactions.