Ganduje, others for Islamic banking confab

Kano governor, Umar Ganduje, and his Kaduna State counterpart, Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i, are expected to grace an international conference being organized by the International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIIBF), Bayero University Kano.

While Ganduje would attend as the Special Guest of Honour, El-Rufa’i would be the chairman of the conference which holds today and tomorrow at the convocation arena, the university’s new campus. The Director of the institute, Prof Binta Tijjani Jbril, disclosed this yesterday at a media briefing organized preparatory to the conference which is 4th of its kind.

Prof Jibril said the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, would be the royal father of the day and the theme of the conference is ‘Mobilizing Resources for Social and Economic Development’.

“The theme this year was carefully chosen to suit the needs of our time, given the multifarious problems facing Nigeria and other developing countries today, most of which are linked to the non-availability of appropriate financing and inability to effectively utilize the little that is available,” Prof Jibril said.

She added that one of the critical objectives of the conference was to disseminate knowledge of Islamic banking and finance, lack of which, she said, was one of the major challenges faced by the sector.

Other objectives, among others, are to bridge the gap between theory and practice in Islamic banking and finance as well as to identify the role Islamic banking and finance could play in the socio-economic development of countries.