By Opeyemi Muhammed
Some Muslim scholars under the umbrella of the League of Islamic Leaders in Mushin, Lagos have come together to address the high cost of living by establishing a common market system called the Market of Convenience (MFC).
TheNewsZenith reports that the scholars held a one-day sensitisation programme for religious leaders on the need to embrace MFC on Saturday in Lagos.
The convener of the programme and Chairman of MFC, Alhaji Musoddiq Sanni, urged religious leaders to patronise the market.
Sanni said Muslim communities established the market to assist the Federal Government in reducing economic hardship for Nigerians.
He said that Almighty Allah mandates a lawful (Halaal) lifestyle for the Muslims. And Allah also restrains them from living an unlawful (Haram) lifestyle.
The chairman explained that the MFC venture is an alternative market for Lagos residents.
“This is where they can do shopping for food items and maintain Allah’s do’s and don’t.
“The platform has been working immensely with the effort of prominent like-minded Muslims to ease the difficulties facing Lagosians, especially during festive periods.
Qur’anic injunction on market
“There is a need for a platform like this MFC as Allah has commanded us in the Qur’an to maintain justice and fairness during business transactions.
He advised Muslim leaders in the Ikeja division to form a branch of the market to make the purchase of items easier for the community.
Sanni also urged the religious community leaders to form market associations and register the same with the government.
He added that the League of Islamic Leaders and the Islamic leader are both recognised by the government.
He emphasised the importance of forming a corporative society, adding that interested mosques could get desired recognition from the government through the corporative society.
Sanni highlighted some of the investment and market transactions the group had undertaken since last year.
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“To reduce inflation, we went directly to the farmers during the 2023 fasting period. We bought rice from Kano and sold it at N58,000 for 50kg as against N78,000 in the open market.
“During the last Eid-el-Kabir festival, we also went to the north and bought rams, we sold the rams at N150,000 per head and the buyers testified.
“The size of the rams we sold cost N250,000 in the open market,” TheNewsZenith quotes Sanni as saying.
After sensitisation, he said the League of Islamic Leaders would devise a blueprint for operating the special market under Sharia (Islamic Law).
Sanni said that the meeting was reconvened in January to evaluate how the idea had been implemented in their various communities’ mosques.
He said that a mosque in the Abesan community in Lagos donated money to start the lawful cooperative business.
“We have registered the Market of Convenience with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the League of Islamic Leaders in Mushin Area, Alhaji Sulaimon Olanijo, urged other Muslim groups to embrace the new market system.
This, he said, would help to reduce hardship facing Muslim communities and to support the Federal Government agenda.
Olanijo said that with the cooperation of the Ummah (Muslim community), “it is possible to establish an Islamic foodstuffs market.
“Such opportunity would compliment the government’s efforts at reducing poverty in the society,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Council of Imam, Ikeja Division, Abdul-Rahmon Abdul-Azeez, commended the convener of the programme.
Abdul-Azeez lamented that prices of foodstuffs have skyrocketed. He added that harnessing the market of convenience would go a long way to reduce hardship in the country.
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