VOICE OF PROPHECY Vol. 1, No. 3, December 2016

DR. PANAM PERCY PAUL - MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH

What follows is a timely message that Dr. Panam Percy Paul released to the church and asked all and sundry to distribute it widely. 

THERE IS HOPE FOR THE CHURCH EVEN IN THIS SEASON OF PERSECUTION AND SEEMING HARDSHIP 

I have heard from so many, and also read many articles concerning the plans of Islam and all their threats but no one seems to go beyond that to tell us the plan of God and the church. Everyone seems to entertain a deep fear for now and the future. I wonder why.

But as I waited on the Lord I keep hearing words of Hope. The Lord also revealed His victory strategies for the church. We've heard about the Church in Turkey and Europe generally and all these stories seem to convey is FEAR.

But here is the Word of The Lord. “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.” The Lord made me realise that we have hijacked the church from Him. It's no longer HIS church. We call ourselves PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER...... We refer to the church as MY CHURCH.... and to the congregation as MY SHEEP, MY CHILDREN. As long as it is not the Lord's Church, then certainly the gates of hell will always prevail against it.

This is what we must do. We the Senior Pastors and Bishops must deliberately repent and hand over the church to the owner. We must throw away all the titles that rob us of the presence of God. NONE OF US IS QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF ANY CHURCH. We must resume our basic functions as APOSTLE, PROPHET, EVANGELIST, PASTOR AND TEACHER. As simple as this may sound, it makes us to switch places with the Lord and give back to Him what was HIS in the beginning.

Secondly, none of us owns any Ministry. It is the ministry of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Thirdly, we must be humble. Today, most Ministers get highly offended when they are not introduced in certain ways and by certain titles. That's idolatry.

Today, the shepherd is so far away from the sheep. We had more power when we all called ourselves simply as BROTHER or SISTER. A strange spirit has overtaken us. We think of ourselves more highly than we ought. We fence ourselves from our members with very heavy security and bodyguards just to create a false sense of importance. Our Lord Jesus was so HUMBLE AND DOWN TO EARTH. We have reversed the protocol of the Kingdom of God. The GREATEST must be the SERVANT of all.

Finally, we must LOVE EACH OTHER AS OURSELVES. We must be sensitive and responsive to the needs of others and attend to them as if they were ours. This is Ps. 133. Acts 2. Acts 4. THEY WERE OF ONE HEART AND ONE SOUL. NO BODY CONSIDERED THAT WHAT HE HAD WAS HIS. THEY HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON. NOBODY LACKED ANYTHING.

This is the kind of Church Jesus built. This is the church that even hell cannot prevail against.
2 Chronicles 7:14 rings a loud bell.

“If my people who are called by my name shall:

1.      HUMBLE themselves

2.      PRAY

3.      SEEK MY FACE

4.      TURN AWAY FROM THEIR EVIL WAYS...”

The Lord said He will do the following.

1.      HEAR FROM HEAVEN

2.      FORGIVE THEIR SIN

3.      HEAL THEIR LAND

We need to Follow God's order of priority - HUMILITY IS THE FIRST... not prayer. GRACE HAS CHARACTER. It is expressed as HUMILITY, LOVE, and FELLOWSHIP.

When we all repent and walk in love and humility and care for each other.... THE GATES OF HELL CANNOT PREVAIL AGAINST US. It's time to start looking for those who offended us and tell them I FORGIVE YOU. .... Don't wait for them to come to you.  THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS IS AFRAID OF A UNITED CHURCH.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks.

ASSAKIO CROSS SIGHTING

Assakio is a quiet village situated about 30 minutes drive from Lafia town in Nassarawa State. In the night of September 28, 2016, at about 8:00 pm, a 15-year-old Muslim girl by name Hajjara Hussaini, saw a bright light that hit the ground from the sky. The light left an impression on the ground in the shape of a cross. Hajjara, though frightened, claims that she also received a message from God at the same time. She said a Bible verse was given to her and that she would be able to perform miracles after the sighting. However, her parents didn’t permit her to return to the sight but took her out of the village instead. The cross-like impression on the ground happens to be within a mosque premises and has remained visible there since then up to the time of our going to press.

Since the incident, people have been trooping in from far and near to behold the strange phenomenon. It is reported that some of the villagers tried to erase the impression by digging it up and by covering it with sand but it kept coming back. The spot has therefore been cordoned off with a ring of stones.

Some of the visitors to the site claim to have received miraculous healings of their ailments after they prayed at the site. Two of our members visited the site and confirmed the event. They also brought back pictures and video interviews with residents. The phenomenon has remained unexplained to date.  

WATERED-DOWN WATER BAPTISM

Photo: I am baptizing one of the GGSS Chibok students now in Jos

Introduction

The Lord Jesus instituted two sacraments for the New Testament church – the Holy Communion and water baptism. While the Holy Communion is complied with in the main, except for some church denominations that have placed unnecessary conditions for participation in it, the practice of water baptism is being taught and carried out in such a manner that its significance has been lost.

The Doctrine of Water Baptism is one of the important doctrines in the Bible, yet we have relegated it to an inconsequential thing and rendered it of minor spiritual significance.  This is most unfortunate. This article is intended to show the proper place of water baptism in Christianity in the hope we will make amends where we have been in error.

Water baptism was taught and practiced in the New Testament only. In the Old Testament, baptism was observed only in types and shadows. The Bible teaches that some of the events that took place before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and before the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, were foreshadows of the real things, the antitype, that would take place in New Testament church: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come”. (1 Cor. 10:11). “For the law having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things” (Hebrews 10:1a).

The Doctrine of Baptism

Apostle Paul included “baptisms” among the six elementary doctrines of Christ in Hebrews 6:1-2. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

Notice that baptism here is in the plural form. This is because there are different types of baptism taught and/or practised in the Bible. For example, 1 Cor. 10:2 talks of some people being “baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea”; Acts 19:4 says that John “baptized with baptism of repentance”; Jesus said in Matthew 20:22, “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Our discussion, however, shall be limited to the baptism that forms part of the Great Commission in Mathew 28:19 where Jesus commanded His disciples saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

The word baptism in Matthew 28:19 is not a translation but a transliteration of the Greek word “baptizo”. The root meaning of the word was derived from the action of immersing a vessel completely in a fluid, especially water, with the aim of filling it up in order to draw out a full measure. Sprinkling adults with water or baptising infants, therefore, do not qualify as water baptism and are not even taught in the Bible.           

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). And again, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5). The water here refers to water baptism. By this scripture, Jesus, taught that entry into the Kingdom of God, that is, salvation, is achieved via water baptism and the Holy Spirit.

But doesn’t Eph. 2:8 teach that we are saved by the grace of God through faith only? May be so, but remember that James 2:19-26 also teaches faith must be accompanied by works. Faith without works is dead. Faith must be proved by some works. Abraham believed God but had to prove it by offering his son, Isaac. Rahab the prostitute believed in the God of the Israelites but had to prove her faith in Him by taking action to ensure the safe exit of the twelve Israeli spies.

Though Romans 10:9-10 says that belief with the heart and confession with the mouth leads to salvation, some action to prove this faith is required. Hebrews 11:6 says that we cannot please God without faith, but some works would have to accompany that faith according to James. Submitting to the sacrament of water baptism is the work required by God from a believer to prove his faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Remember that we earlier established that Jesus said entry into the Kingdom of God must be by water and the Spirit.    

In the book of Acts, every case of belief in Jesus Christ, without exception, was followed by water baptism immediately. The 3,000 persons who believed on the day of Pentecost were immediately baptised. Paul was baptised in Damascus by Ananias on the third day after Jesus arrested him. Philip preached to many people, including Simon the sorcerer, who believed and were baptised immediately. Immediately the Ethiopian Eunuch believed, he asked Philip to baptise him in a nearby river. Jesus Himself insisted that John the Baptist should baptise Him. Does this not suggest that water baptism is an integral and necessary part of the New Testament salvation process?

When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 people were convicted of their sinful ways, they asked him what they must do next. His replied, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). Repentance must be followed by water baptism in order for God to forgive sins and send the promised Holy Spirit.

The Great Commission Is To Preach, Baptize and Teach

We have titled Jesus’ last instructions to His disciples before He ascended into heaven the Great Commission. While Matthew’s account simply says those who believe the gospel should be baptised, Mark’s rendition says those who believe and are baptised shall be saved. (Mark 16:16). Mark makes baptism a condition for salvation. The instructions are to preach, baptise believers and then teach them. However, many churches insist on teaching first (for up to one year in some cases, and even pass some written and oral examination) before water baptism is administered on a believer. Why these churches choose to violate the scriptures is surprising.  

Baptised Into Jesus Christ

Romans 6:3 says we are “baptised into Jesus Christ” while Gal. 3:27 says we have put on Christ because we have been “baptised into Christ”. Again, 1 Cor. 12:13 says “we are all baptised into the one body”. Though a fellow human being dips us into the water, at the moment of being dipped, the God performs a spiritual operation of regeneration in our souls and places us in the body of Christ (See Col. 2:11-13). Therefore, the actions of the man baptising us is not what births us into the body of Christ but the unseen spiritual work done by God while we are inside the water. We thus become one body and one Spirit with Christ. That is why in Christ there is no tribe or race or gender or slave of free or rich or poor. There is only “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:4-5)  

Warning About Church Tradition

Though Church traditions and rules have their advantages, the Bible warns about those of them that may have been couched along the lines of human philosophy and the traditions of men and not the teachings of Christ. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Col. 2:8).

The Doctrine of Baptism as taught today by many churches has left out a lot of important elements. To preach salvation without recommending immediate baptism for for hearers who believers, or to teach that baptism does not save us or take us into heaven, or to teach that baptism is done just to fulfil all righteousness, or to conduct water baptism only once or twice in a year where people have been accepting Christ every week, or to sprinkle believers with water, is to water down water baptism.  

Physical Circumcision versus Spiritual Circumcision

“In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses”. (Col. 2:11-13)

We are told in these verses that entering the body of Christ is through spiritual circumcision. This spiritual operation is carried out by God Himself. As we subject ourselves to water baptism due to our faith in Christ, God does it. From being spiritually dead in sins and not physically circumcised, through this spiritual operation, God forgives us our sins and changes our sinful nature into a righteous one.

Physical circumcision was required when a Gentile converted to Judaism under the old Abrahamic covenant (See Esther. 8:17; Acts 13:43). The new and superior covenant in the blood of Jesus, abolished that Old Testament practice, which was a type and a shadow of the real thing we now have in Christ. That type and shadow has been replaced by the anti-type, which is water baptism as evidence of faith in Christ. The comparison of water baptism with physical circumcision is a biblical truth not understood by many Bible scholars.

The Repentant Thief Crucified with Jesus

Many people are confused about the case of the thief crucified alongside Jesus who repented on the cross and Jesus told him that the two of them would be in paradise that day. We should realise that these crucifixion events took in the Old Testament era. Jesus had not yet died and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given. All dead saints then went to paradise and not heaven. Such saints include Abraham, David, Elijah, Esther, Rahab, Mary Magdalene and all the other faithful people we read about in the Old Testament up to the day of Pentecost when the church of God was born by the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

The repentant thief, therefore, couldn’t have been “baptised into the body of Christ” at that time. Baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit had not even been taught. Only John’s baptism unto repentance, which did not save but was only a preparatory step, was being practised then. The repentant thief’s soul had to go to paradise and stay there till Jesus died and went there to move him and the souls of other righteous dead to heaven. Paul said once he dies, he would be with Christ immediately and this applied today for all of us. We can therefore safely assume that paradise is empty right now.

To Fulfil All Righteousness

Jesus told John the Baptist to baptise Him, though He had no sin, in order to fulfil all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). Righteousness means right standing in the eyes of God. This means that Jesus needed to take that step before God would do the next thing – send the Holy Spirit to Him. Immediately He submitted Himself to water baptism, the Father in heaven released the Holy Spirit to Him. He then started His earthly ministry. Without getting water-baptised Jesus wouldn’t have been given the Holy Spirit by the Father and wouldn’t have been able to carry out His ministry on earth.

What about us? We definitely need water baptism in order to fulfil God’s conditions for the release of the Holy Spirit too or our salvation process would be incomplete. The Holy spirit is the power of God needed by us for the work of God on earth. No wonder, Jesus told His disciples not to start any ministry work until they had received power from heaven through the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Why has the church treated this most important and direct instruction with such levity? 

Requirements For Entry Into the Kingdom of God

Is salvation by grace alone? (Eph. 2:8). Is salvation by faith alone? (Eph. 2:8; Heb. 11:6). Is salvation by belief in Jesus alone? (John 3:16; Rom. 10:9-10). Is salvation by confession alone? (Rom. 10:9-10). Is salvation by belief and baptism only? (Mark 16:16).  Is salvation by love for God and for neighbour only? (Matt. 22:37-40; 1 Pet. 4:8; 1 Cor. 13:13). Is salvation by hope alone? (Rom. 8:24-25). Is salvation by repentance alone (2 Cor. 7:10). Is salvation by calling on the name of Jesus alone? (Acts 2:21; 4:12). Is salvation by baptism alone? (1 Pet. 3:21). Is salvation by works alone? (Philippians. 2:12-13; Heb. 5:9). Is salvation by hearing the word of God alone? (Rom. 10:17). Is salvation by any of these alone? The answer is, ‘No’. We are not saved by any of these biblical salvation ingredients alone. How then is man saved? We are saved in the following four steps: (1) Hearing the gospel message of salvation and faith rising in us; (2) Believing that Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of mankind from sin; (3) Calling on God to forgive us our sins; and (4) Getting water-baptised.

If you have believed Jesus Christ for salvation but have not yet been water-baptised, I urge you to do so immediately. If you were water-baptised before you received Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then go and get baptised again because you have put the cart before the horse, which is of no effect. Jesus said we should be baptised after we have believed.  

FAYOSE 2017 PROPHECIES

FAYOSE 2017 PROPHESIES

1.      2017 will be a defining year for Nigeria as there will be major revolution and uprising against the Federal Government because of economic hardship.

2.      More judges perceived not to be doing the bidding of the Federal Government will be arrested and humiliated.

3.      Efforts will be made to prevent Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen from being made the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

4.      Dollar will go as high as N600 to $1.

5.      APC-led Federal Government will still not have solution to the economic problems of the country as the economy will move from recession to depression.

6.      About four ministers will be removed.

7.      There will be more pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

8.      Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) will absolve Senate President Bukola Saraki.

9.      Crisis in the APC will deepen as former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will officially show intention to leave the party and declare his intention to vie for the office of the president in 2019.

10.  A former Head of State/President may pass on.

11.  A new (major) party that will wrestle power from the APC will emerge.

12.  More Shi’ite Muslims will be killed and Federal Government will not release the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

13.  Disobedience to court order and abuse of human rights will continue.

14.  Hardship will be more as poverty will continue to ravage the country.

15.  The academic community will further lose confidence in the APC-led Federal Government approach to the country’s economic and political challenges.

16.  Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano will be re-elected.

17.  $29.9 Billion Loan: Federal Government will find it difficult to source the loan.

18.  EFCC: Magu may face prosecution.

19.  There will be boost in agriculture.

20.  Haliburton gate may still be revisited.

21.  There will be no solution to power problem as power generation will drop to all time low.

22.  Performance of the Federal Government 2017 Budget will be the worst in the history of Nigeria.

CHIBOK 21: SWEET RETURN

Two and a half years went by with little information on the whereabouts of 219 teenage girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok on 14 April, 2104. Then, like a bolt from the skies, news of the return of 21 of them filtered in. Before we could fathom what was happening, they appeared before us in real life. The glory must go to God. 

We seize this opportunity to thank God for His mercies towards these girls and to welcome them back. Please join us in prayers for the release of the all the girls still in captivity.

VIDEO AND NAMES OF 21 RELEASED CHIBOK GIRLS

FIRST PICTURES AND NAMES OF THE 21 GGSS CHIBOK GIRLS RELEASED BY BOKO HARAM ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT OCTOER 12, 2016:
1. Mary Usman Bulama
2. Jummai John
3. Blessing Abana
4. Lugwa Sanda
5. Comfort Habila
6. Maryam Basheer
7. Comfort Amos
8. Glory Mainta
9. Saratu Emannuel
10. Deborah Ja’afaru
11. Rahab Ibrahim
12. Helen Musa
13. Maryamu Lawan
14. Rebecca Ibrahim
15. Asabe Goni
16. Deborah Andrawus
17. Agnes Gapani
18. Saratu Markus
19. Glory Dama
20. Pindah Nuhu
21. Rebecca Mallam

COCIN SEMINAR ON THE GRAZING/RANCHING RESERVES POLICY

COCIN Headquarters Church organised a seminar on Saturday, August 13, 2016 to discuss the topic, “The Grazing Reserve Policy: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. Resource persons invited to do justice to the topic were Prof. S. Tyoden, Plateau State Deputy Governor, Prof. John Wade, Director of Strategic Planning and Research, Dr. Musa, a retired veterinarian and practicing cattle rearer, Hon. Benny Lar, Hon. I. D. Gyang and Hon. Rima Shawulu. Hon. I. D. Gyang did not turn up and didn’t send in any apologies.  

The four-hour session was very interesting and emotive. Arguments for and against the proposed Grazing Reserve Policy were put forward. Of course, the Plateau State Govt. representatives tried to justify their interest in the Policy. They made it clear though that no final decision on it had been arrived at by Govt. Everything about it is still at the proposal stage. Even this Govt position was so obnoxious to the audience that they literally heckled and shouted down the Deputy Gov. The chairman of the occasion, Rtd. Rear Admiral S. B. Atukum, had a hectic time trying to make the audience to respect the dignitaries before them. 

Hon. Rima Shawulu stole the show and received several standing ovations for his "not politically correct" stand on the matter. He made it clear that his Taraba State, along with Benue and Nassarawa States have decided not to adopt the Policy and pleaded with Plateau State to join them so that voice of the Middle Belt will be one on the matter. He believes that the Grazing Reserve Policy is a ‘Trojan Horse’, a metaphor for a trick to invade and plunder us by the some Nigerians. He said the draft Bill on it is insulting as only herdsmen can be appointed by the President as members of to the proposed Grazing Reserve Commission. He argued that as far as he is concerned, cattle rearing is a private enterprise which does not qualify as a national cause to justify the taking over of land by the Federal Govt. The reliance on the Land Use Act, which specifies the circumstances under which the Fed Govt can take over land from users, cannot be met by the needs of cattle rearers and so any such law can be challenged in court.

During the question and answer session, 7 out of the 8 questions asked by the audience were directed at the Govt representatives. The tone of the questions was an indication that the public hates the idea of Grazing and/or Ranching Reserves. By the end of the session, the Plateau State Govt was roundly condemned to have even contemplated adopting the Policy.

Our advice to Plateau State Govt is to kindly adhere to the wishes of their people who elected them into office. Disaster looms if they don’t. The solution to the many problems of Nigeria is in restructuring the country. We need to install true federalism and not the present unitary State that molests and bullies the entire populace. 

HOPE IN PERSECUTION: DR. PANAM PERCY PAUL

Dr. Panam Percy Paul, Gospel Singer and Musician and one of the committed ministers of the Gospel of the kingdom of God in Plateau state, recently asked us to pass on the following powerful message. It is timely and dead on point. Enjoy it.

THERE IS HOPE FOR THE CHURCH EVEN IN THIS SEASON OF PERSECUTION AND SEEMING HARDSHIP.

I have heard from so many, and also read many articles concerning the plans of Islam and all their threats but no one seems to go beyond that to tell us the plan of God and the church. Everyone seems to entertain a deep fear for now and the future. I wonder why.

But as I waited on the Lord I keep hearing words of Hope. The Lord also revealed His victory strategies for the church. We've heard about the Church in Turkey and Europe generally and all these stories seem to convey is FEAR.

But here is the Word of The Lord. I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. The Lord made me realise that we have hijacked the church from Him. It's no longer HIS church. We call ourselves PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER...... We refer to the church as MY CHURCH.... and to the congregation as MY SHEEP. MY CHILDREN.

As long as it is not the Lord's Church, then certainly the gates of hell will always prevail against it. This is what we must do:

1. We the Senior Pastors and Bishops must deliberately repent and hand over the church to the owner. We must throw away all the titles that rob us of the presence of God. NONE OF US IS QUALIFIED TO BE PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF ANY CHURCH. We must resume our basic functions as APOSTLE. PROPHET. EVANGELIST. PASTOR AND TEACHER. As simple as this may sound it makes us to switch places with the Lord and give back to Him what was HIS in the beginning.

2. None of us owns any Ministry. It is the ministry of the HOLY SPIRIT.

3. We must be Humble. Today most Ministers get highly offended when they are not introduced in certain ways and by certain titles. That's idolatry.

Today the Shepherd is so far away from the sheep. We had more Power when we all called ourselves simply as BROTHER or SISTER. A strange spirit has overtaken us. We think of ourselves more highly than we ought. We fence ourselves from our members with very heavy security and bodyguards. Just to create a false sense of importance. Our Lord Jesus was so HUMBLE AND DOWN TO EARTH. We have reversed the protocol of the Kingdom of God. The GREATEST Must be the SERVANT of all. 

Finally. We must LOVE EACH OTHER AS OURSELVES. We must be sensitive and responsive to the needs of others and attend to them as if they were ours. This is Ps. 133. Acts 2. Acts 4. THEY WERE OF ONE HEART AND ONE SOUL . NO BODY CONSIDERED THAT WHAT HE HAD WAS HIS . THEY HAD ALL THINGS IN COMMON.  NOBODY LACKED ANYTHING.  This is the kind of Church Jesus Built. This is the church that even Hell cannot prevail against.

2 Chronicles 7.14 rings a loud bell. If my people who are called by my name shall

1. HUMBLE themselves

2. PRAY

3. SEEK MY FACE

4. TURN AWAY FROM EVIL WAYS....

The Lord said He will do the following. ..

1. HEAR FROM HEAVEN

2. FORGIVE THEIR SINS

3. HEAL THEIR LAND.

We need to Follow God's order of priority. HUMILITY IS THE FIRST... not prayer. GRACE HAS CHARACTER. It is expressed as HUMILITY. LOVE. FELLOWSHIP.

When we all repent and walk in love and humility and care for each other.... THE GATES OF HELL CANNOT PREVAIL AGAINST US. It's time to start looking for those who offended us and tell them I FORGIVE YOU. .... Don't wait for them to come to you.  THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS IS AFRAID OF A UNITED CHURCH.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks. 

Dr Panam Percy Paul.

NIGERIA AND ISLAMIC SUKUK BONDS

Nigerian newspapers have, in the last one year, have reported that meetings have been taking place between Alhaji Mounir Gwarzo, the Director General (DG) of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), and Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, the Director General (DG) of the Debt management Office (DMO). Gwarzo is reported to have urged Nwankwo to explore the possibility of the DMO issuing Sukuk Bonds on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The idea is for the Federal Government to utilize this Sharia-compliant debt instruments to raise funds for the execution of Federal Government projects.

Sukuk bonds are financial instruments that are designed to meet the dictates of Sharia Law. Sukuk (plural for the singular form sakk) are, therefore, debt instruments similar in principle to conventional Bonds except that they are Sharia-compliant.

According to Dr. Tahmoures A. Afshar, School of Business, Woodbury University, USA, Sharia Law prescribes that all Islamic financial transactions must be free of the following:

(a)        The payment or acceptance of interest (Riba) for a loan is absolutely forbidden. The word Riba means excess or addition and implies excess compensation without due consideration (Islamic Banking, Wikipedia, 2011, p.2). Accordingly, imposition of late payment penalty of rentals and loans is forbidden since it is considered as Riba. (The Journal of Global Business Management Volume 9, Number 1, February 2013, pg. 45)

(b)        Trading under uncertainty (Gharar) in financial transactions must be eliminated. The Sharia defines Gharar as a situation whose consequences are hidden or are unknown. Accordingly, undertaking transactions with insufficient knowledge of the market or product and thereby incurring an excessive risk or interest is forbidden.

(c)        Under Islamic Law, money is not an asset; it is merely a medium of exchange and a measuring unit of value. An individual or an institution should not be able to generate income from money. This self-generation of money from money qualifies as Riba, which is absolutely forbidden in Islam. Accordingly, the trading/selling of debts or receivables (without an underlying asset) for anything other than its par value is not permissible (Howladar, 2010, p.7)

(d)        In Islam, a return on capital is justified only when the capital has taken the form of real (non-monetary) assets.

(e)        Islamic finance distinguishes between the time-value of money as a measure of investment efficiency and as a means of determining yield. Therefore, yields are either based on profit or loss sharing in the enterprise or negotiated price for sale or lease transactions.

(f)         Conventional insurance and reinsurance are not allowed.

(g)        Any transaction (buying, selling or distribution) that involves alcoholic beverages, pork, prohibited drugs, gambling, pornography, and weapons is forbidden.

Afshar defines two basic types of Sukuk – the Asset-based Sukuk and the Asset-backed Sukuk. Under the Asset-based Sukuk, the Sukuk holders have beneficial ownership in the asset. Under Asset-backed Sukuk, the Sukuk holders own the asset and as a result do not have recourse to the asset but to the originator when there is a shortfall in payment.

In a publication, ‘The Sukuk Handbook’ by Latham and Watkins LLP, the authors list eight popular variations of the Sukuk in use: Sukuk al-ijara, Sukuk al-wakala, Sukuk al-mudaraba, Sukuk al-musharaka, Sukuk al-istithmar, Sukuk al-manafa’a, Sukuk al-istisna’a and Sukuk al-murabaha. They also opine that there are regional peculiarities between the Middle Eastern countries and Asian countries. Country to country differences within these regions do exist. They explain that these differences arise due to differences in the treatment of tax and zakat and how conservative or liberal a country is in its interpretation of Sharia Law.

In view of the afore-mentioned complexities, it became necessary to set up a specialised accounting and auditing body to assist participants. This body is the AAIOFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions), a non-profit organization, which was established in March 1991 to maintain and promote Sharia standards in the Islamic financial industry. It is supported by 155 members and the Central Banks of 40 Islamic countries (Nigeria not included).

In terms of performance, the Sukuk market enjoyed healthy growth between 2001 and 2007 when it grew in sales volume from USD 500 million to USD 60 billion. In 2008 the number of Sukuk issued globally declined by 50% as compared to 2007 according to Afshar. Market experts and commentators blamed the global financial crisis of 2007, lack of standardization in the market and some high-profile Sukuk defaults by originators (Chance, pg 89). Others placed the blame on criticisms by Sheik Muhammad Taqi Usmani, a prominent scholar, who declared that 85% of Gulf Sukuk did not comply with Sharia Law.

This writer was only able to find one cogent reason why some Nigerians and foreign investors might insist on Sukuk. Afshar gave this single reason as, “Sukuk is an ideal choice as compared with the conventional bonds for the Islamic investor. This is because Sukuk are Sharia-compliant instruments and therefore free from unpermitted transactions.”

With such complications and uncertainties, why does the DMO still want to dabble into Sukuk? After all, just a tiny fraction of the country’s credit needs would be met through it. Nigeria already attracts credit from the world’s biggest international financiers. In April 2016, our President went to China to seek for a loan of $2.0 billion but was surprisingly offered a $6.0 billion line of credit.

The DMO has had to set up a very large committee made up of CBN, SEC and DMO senior staff just to work around these Sukuk complexities. Nwankwo had hoped that the committee would be finished by the first quarter of 2016, but this date has had to be shifted to the third quarter.  

It is near impossible for the DMO to monitor funds raised via Sukuk and pumped into the Bank of Industry or Railways or youth employment to be monitored in order to work out profit earned so that it can be shared the Sharia way. It is also very difficult to monitor such funds to ensure that the projects financed by the BoI have nothing to do with pigs or pork or gambling (approved lotteries) or insurance businesses in hundred and thousands of micro, small and medium scale enterprises. How will Corporate Tax, Withholding Tax, VAT, etc be avoided and still comply with extant Tax laws and Accounting conventions?  

An issue for the promoters of Sukuk to consider is the fact that the Christian population, which is about fifty percent of Nigeria’s populace, will be disqualified from participation of benefiting this Nigerian scheme unless they will be forced to comply with the dictates of a religion not theirs. They will read it as an overt move to lord Sharia law on all Nigerians.  

Rightly or wrongly, the current Government has been accused by some of subtly attempting to islamize the through policies, biased employment and legislation. The view that everything ‘conventional’ or ‘Western’ is Christian is not true. If the Government insists of some of these very controversial and highly volatile issues, it will be announcing that Christians and Muslims cannot live together in Nigeria.  After all, Islamic banking is thriving in the country. Sharia-compliant financial services are available for those interested. Our main banking legislation, BOFID 1992, has adequate provision for interest-free or profit/loss sharing banking.

We have led the developing world in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows for years until 2016. Our Dollar-denominated bonds via conventional vehicles have always been oversubscribed. The $6 Billion line of credit placed at our disposal by China takes care of 54% of the proposed deficit of N2.2 Billion ($11.1 Dollars) in the 2016 Budget. The necessity for Sukuk is therefore not there.

The DMO would be well advised not to venture into the already turbulent waters of Nigerian religious controversies.