Kemi Olaitan in IbadanNigerian universities have been urged to maneuver away from dependence on authorities allocations and embrace capital formation, funding and possession via the capital market.
The name got here on the University of Ibadan Alumni Association Annual Public Service Lecture held over the weekend 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 choice.
Agama recalled that in 1948, the chiefs and other people 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 lift 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 mentioned.
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 have been constructed to accommodate fewer than 10,000, forcing hundreds to stay off campus.
The SEC director-general careworn that the issue was not a shortage of capital in Nigeria however a failure to translate accessible capital into productive investments.
He famous that pension belongings stood at N31.48 trillion as of July 2026, whereas whole 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 via 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 1.
According to him, the figures demonstrated that long-term capital was accessible and that the college was looking for bankable, long-term funding alternatives.
Agama proposed 5 financing devices that the college may discover below the Investments and Securities Act 2025.
He mentioned 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 mentioned, was issuing bonds and sukuk via a ring-fenced car backed by an outlined, revenue-generating college asset.
Agama described pupil housing because the college’s most pressing alternative, proposing a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or concession association to transform hire at present paid by college students to non-public landlords right into a income stream for the establishment.
He additionally proposed a college innovation fund that may take fairness stakes in spin-off firms rising from its laboratories whereas enabling the establishment to retain possession of its analysis output.
The SEC director-general added that the college may 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 cautioned, nonetheless, that accessing the capital market required monetary self-discipline.
He listed the necessities to incorporate the annual publication of audited accounts, credit score rankings by registered companies, ring-fenced income streams that might face up to management adjustments, {and professional} intermediation.
Agama urged alums to maneuver from giving donations that have been consumed to offering capital that might 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 affiliation’s Acting President, Prof. Terrumun Gajir, mentioned Nigeria wanted to deepen home funding and cut back extreme dependence on exterior capital.
According to him, this required mobilising pension funds, family financial savings and personal capital for productive nationwide growth.
Earlier, the Chairman of the event, Bayo Oyero, mentioned the University of Ibadan ought to start investing instantly in monetary markets past its alum affiliation’s actions.
