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Opinion: THE NOISE IS UNCALLED FOR:

 



I  can't fathom why  JA'IZ Bank's partnership with the Plateau State government on the rebuilding of  the Terminus Market has become such a hot debate. Why should that cause such a hype? Is it the name 'Ja'iz' or what? Why do we sometimes  deliberately choose to wallow in endless  stupidity even in the face of glaring facts? Who is better off when the market is eventually rebuilt? The Bank or Plateau and Plateau people? 


This hate and foolish sentiments_which caused the burning of the market in the first place, are the reasons the State has remained desperately poor despite the potentials with which it is blessed. Ja'iz Bank is an interest-free Bank and has operated on that principle ever since_and thereby given  its customers fairer incentives compared to others. The fact that it is so-called and operates on Islamic banking principles doesn't make it a strictly Muslim affair. The Bank has customers and share-holders across board and has operated successfully in non-Muslim states and in fact countries such as Britain. Why is Plateau a no-go? If you need a loan to start up a business and a bank assures you of one that is interest-free_ which thereby maximizes your prospects for success  and profits, wouldn't you go for it without minding the  name of the bank? Do you automatically become a Muslim by accessing such a loan?


I can understand why the partnership of the state government and  JA'IZ  doesn't seem to bode well with many people_here on the Plateau_ we're not business-minded and can therefore afford stupid sentiments while contemplating business options_which is inevitably why we have lagged behind in economic indices while others have marched on. Otherwise the hullabaloo is senseless and unfounded. 


Plateau State has been worse-off since the infamous destruction of the Terminus Market by faceless enemies of the State and her inhabitants about twenty years ago.  No financial institution, company or business entity has since then  stepped up with the sort of fair and flexible terms which JA'IZ has presented to the State government. It_the Bank, is only leasing out 60 per cent of shops_when eventually rebuilt to prospective interested parties/owners as a way of recouping what it has invested in the project, with government retaining 40 per cent, after which government regains full ownership of the Market. This in my opinion would  actually minimize  unbearable financial inconveniences on the government_disguised as 'interest'_which would  not be the case if a different bank was involved. Isn't it a win-win for both parties?


Unlike the baseless propaganda being peddled by hate mongers, there's no 'Islamization agenda' any where. It is simply a deliberate initiative by the state government to restore the lost economic glory of the state.  Don't fall for their antics.

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