By Olatunde Ajayi
Nigerian universities have been urged to maneuver away from dependence on authorities allocations and embrace capital formation, funding and possession by means of the capital market.
The name was made on the University of Ibadan Alumni Association Annual Public Service Lecture held on Friday in Ibadan.
The lecture was themed: “First and Best But Whose Capital Built It? Rethinking How Nigeria Funds Its Own Future”.
Delivering the lecture, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr Emomotimi Agama, traced the University of Ibadan basis to an audacious capital determination.
Agama recalled that in 1948, the chiefs and folks of Ibadan donated 2,500 acres of land to the establishment on a 999-year lease.
He famous that regardless of producing a Nobel laureate, heads of state, central financial institution governors and builders of the capital market, the college had by no means approached the market to boost long-term funds.
“Not once. Not a bond. Not a fund. Not a listed vehicle.
“The premier university of Africa’s largest economy has been, financially speaking, a spectator at a market its own graduates built,” he stated.
Agama argued that continued dependence on authorities appropriations was unsustainable given the nation’s present fiscal realities.
He added that the college had about 41,700 college students, whereas its halls of residence had been constructed to accommodate fewer than 10,000, forcing 1000’s to dwell off-campus.
The SEC director-general careworn that the issue was not a shortage of capital in Nigeria however a failure to translate out there capital into productive investments.
He famous that pension belongings stood at N31.48 trillion as of July 2026, whereas complete market capitalisation on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) stood at N215.09 trillion.
Agama additionally contrasted the N4.65 trillion raised by banks over 24 months by means of recapitalisation with the N2.53 billion allotted to a college by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), representing a ratio of about 1,000 to at least one.
According to him, the figures demonstrated that long-term capital was out there and searching for bankable, long-term funding alternatives.
Agama proposed 5 financing devices that the college might discover beneath the Investments and Securities Act 2025.
He stated the primary was a correctly constituted endowment fund registered with the SEC as a collective funding scheme, with an unbiased trustee, a licensed fund supervisor and a spending rule of 4 to 5 per cent.
The second, he stated, was the issuance of bonds and sukuk by means of a ring-fenced car backed by an outlined, revenue-generating college asset.
Agama described pupil housing as essentially the most pressing alternative for the college, proposing a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or concession association to transform hire at the moment paid by college students to personal landlords right into a income stream for the establishment.
He additionally proposed a college innovation fund that might take fairness stakes in spin-off corporations rising from its laboratories whereas enabling the establishment to retain possession of its analysis output.
The SEC director-general added that the college might discover a diaspora-targeted funding instrument utilizing the non-resident Bank Verification Number (BVN) framework to channel a part of the $21.8 billion in annual remittances from consumption into funding.
He, nonetheless, cautioned that accessing the capital market required monetary self-discipline.
He listed the necessities to incorporate the annual publication of audited accounts, credit score scores by registered companies, ring-fenced income streams that would face up to adjustments in management, {and professional} intermediation.
Agama urged alumni to maneuver from giving donations that had been consumed to offering capital that would develop over time.
He proposed an Alumni Capital Fund with a low minimal funding threshold to allow younger graduates and Nigerians within the diaspora to take part, supported by clear governance and annual audited accounts.
In his remarks, the Acting President of the affiliation, Prof. Terrumun Gajir, stated the theme was well timed because the nation grappled with the way to mobilise capital for sustainable prosperity.
Gajir stated Nigeria wanted to deepen home funding and scale back extreme dependence on exterior capital.
According to him, this requires mobilising pension funds, family financial savings and personal capital for productive nationwide improvement.
He famous {that a} purposeful capital market wouldn’t solely present returns for traders but additionally assist industries, infrastructure improvement and job creation.
Gajir stated the duty earlier than universities was to maneuver from a tradition of dependence to considered one of capital formation, funding, possession and shared prosperity.
Earlier, the Chairman of the event, Bayo Oyero, stated the University of Ibadan ought to start investing immediately in monetary markets past the actions of its alumni affiliation.
Oyero, an alumnus of the college, stated the establishment wanted an unbiased endowment fund, separate from the prevailing Alumni Endowment Fund, which might be invested in properties and different belongings to generate cheap returns.
Edited by Victor Adeoti
