Profile of
Assoc. Prof Dr. Abdullahi Saliu Ishola, CSAA, CISSA, FIFP
Dr Abdullahi Saliu Ishola is currently an Associate Professor and Dean/Head of Program at Faculty of Law, Shariah and Paralegal Studies, International Open University, the Gambia (IOU). He was previously (on leave of absence) of the Department of Islamic Law, Faculty of Law, Kwara State University, Malete – Nigeria. He holds Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB: Second Class Upper Division) in the combined honours of both Shariah and Common Law from University of Ilorin, Ilorin – Nigeria where he graduated as the Best Student from the Department of Islamic Law and from the Department of Public Law, respectively in 2005, winning the University Senate Awards. He then attended the Nigerian Law School after which he was called to the Nigerian Bar in the year 2007 as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He obtained my master’s degree in Islamic law from the same University of Ilorin in the year 2011 while his PhD (Law) was obtained from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in 2018 where he focused on Waqf Law and Practice, the first Nigerian Lawyer in that field.
He has been in the academics for the past thirteen years, since the Year 2012. He was the pioneer Head of Department, Department of Islamic Law; pioneer Examination Officer, Law Program; pioneer Postgraduate Program Coordinator (Islamic Law); pioneer Faculty of Law Representative (Undergraduate Research Grants Committee) – all at Kwara State University Malete – Nigeria (spanning cumulatively thirteen years leadership and management experience). He is the Founder and President, Tawakkul Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, 2020 (www.tawakkul.org.ng); Proprietor and Chairman, Tawakkul Institute of Corporate and Cooperative Studies, TICCS (the first of its kind in Nigeria); Founder and Director General, Al-Husnah Centre for Waqf Affairs (ACWA) and ACWA Academy for Waqf Research and Training; Convener, MUNFIQ Islamic Finance Fellowship, 2022-2023.
He currently has more than forty (40) publications in reputable outlets at the local, national and international levels such as journal articles, book chapters, edited books and conference proceedings. Some of the journals, in which he has published, are indexed in SCOPUS, including Quartile Q1 ranking journals. He has travelled wide and near to attend and present papers at conferences, seminars and workshops. He has attended and presented papers at conferences, workshops, and seminars in Africa (Nigeria, Ethiopia), Asia (Taiwan, Malaysia, Turkey) and the United States of America and severally virtually.
With thirteen (13) years of teaching and research experience and consultancy in Islamic Law, Common Law, Comparative and Nigerian Law courses, he possesses a deep understanding of the subject matter and a proven track record of academic achievements and professional expertise. He is intellectually innovative, managerially experienced and possesses good leadership styles. His research interest areas include General Law and Jurisprudence (Contract Law; Legal System; Banking Law; Law of Torts), Islamic Social Finance Law and Practice (covering Zakāh, Waqf, Mīrāth, Waṣiyyah, Islamic Family Finance and Islamic Cooperative Society Laws and Practices) and special interest in Legal Research Methodology and Management.
Professionally, he is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria; an AAOIFI Certified Shariah Advisor and Auditor (CSAA); a CIBAFI Certified Islamic Specialist in Shariah Auditing (CISSA); and a registered Teacher with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN); Fellow, Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals in Nigeria (IIFP). He is a leading voice in the Islamic Finance Industry in Nigeria. He can be reached at asishola1@gamil.com.