By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Capital market professor, Uche Uwaleke has affirmed that infrastructure and innovation are the key pillars for the development of any nation.
According to him, ‘no economy integrates on paper alone. Trade agreements without roads, railways, ports, energy systems, and digital connectivity are aspirations without arteries.
Uwaleke, Nigeria’s first capital market professor stated this at 3rd Prof Uche Uwaleke colloquium with the theme: ” Future -,Proofing Africa- wide Economic Integration: Infrastructure, Innovation & Capital Markets” held at the Yar Adua centre in Abuja on Monday.
“For Africa to trade efficiently within itself, goods must move seamlessly across borders. Power must be reliable. Broadband must be accessible. Logistics must be efficient. The infrastructure we build must not only meet present demands but anticipate future scale. It must support industrialization, enable regional value chains, and facilitate digital commerce”, the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, lecturer, stated.
Continuing, Prof Uwaleke emphasised that “infrastructure today is no longer confined to concrete and steel. It includes fibre-optic cables, data centres, smart grids, and technology-enabled public services. It includes the invisible digital highways upon which modern economies now travel.
“As Africa integrates, we must ensure interoperability of systems, harmonization of standards, and coordinated investments that prevent fragmentation.”
He said Integration without competitiveness is fragile, stressing that In a world driven by artificial intelligence, fintech, green technology, and digital platforms, Africa cannot afford to be a passive consumer of innovation.
” We must be creators. We must cultivate ecosystems that encourage research, support startups, and translate ideas into scalable enterprises.
“Our youthful population is one of our greatest assets. With the right education, digital skills, and access to finance, Africa’s young entrepreneurs can build solutions tailored to our unique realities. Innovation must also extend to public policy. Regulatory frameworks must evolve to accommodate emerging technologies without stifling them. Governments, regulators, and the private sector must collaborate to strike the delicate balance between risk management and opportunity creation”.
He said if infrastructure is the skeleton and innovation of the muscle, capital markets are the bloodstream of economic integration, pointing out that. “they mobilize long-term funds, allocate resources efficiently, and provide risk management tools that support investment and growth’.
“For Africa-wide integration to succeed, our capital markets must deepen, broaden, and connect. Domestic savings must be mobilized more effectively. Pension funds, insurance assets, sovereign wealth funds, and retail investors must be channeled toward productive investments. Cross-border listing frameworks must be strengthened. Regulatory cooperation among African securities commissions must be enhanced. Settlement systems must be interoperable. Transparency and investor protection must be non-negotiable.
“We must also confront the reality that macroeconomic instability undermines capital market development. Exchange rate volatility, inflationary pressures, and fiscal imbalances discourage long-term investment. Therefore, resilient monetary and fiscal systems remain foundational. Economic integration cannot thrive in an environment of persistent instability. It requires policy coordination, fiscal discipline, and credible institutions”, he added.
Delivering a welcome address at the event, the Vice Chancellor of Nasarawa State University Keffi, Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, called on universities across Africa to move beyond traditional academic roles and play a more direct part in shaping public policy and driving economic transformation.
Addressing distinguished senators, regulators, captains of industry, academics and students, Liman described the colloquium as more than an academic gathering, but a strategic platform for national and continental discourse on Africa’s economic future.
“Universities are repositories of knowledge, but knowledge must never remain confined within lecture halls or academic journals,” she said. “It must inform policy. It must transform societies.”
She noted that the theme of this year’s colloquium, “Future-proofing Africa-wide Economic Integration: Infrastructure, Innovation, and Capital Markets,” is timely, given Africa’s current push toward deeper economic cooperation under initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area.
According to her, achieving meaningful integration across the continent will require sound scholarship, evidence-based policymaking, resilient institutions and sustained collaboration between academia, government and industry.
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The Vice chancellor said Nasarawa State University Keffi is proud to be associated with a forum that effectively bridges theory and practice, stressing that sustainable development cannot occur in silos.
She commended Professor Uche Uwaleke, pioneer Director of the university’s Institute of Capital Market Studies, for conceptualising and sustaining the biennial colloquium, which she described as a credible and respected space for thoughtful engagement on issues critical to Nigeria and Africa’s development trajectory.
Highlighting the university’s achievements, the Vice Chancellor pointed to the establishment of the first university-based Institute of Capital Market Studies on the continent as a landmark milestone. She noted that the institute currently runs NUC-approved postgraduate programmes that are attracting increasing interest from professionals, as well as foreign students and faculty members.
This growing international engagement, she said, reinforces the university’s aspiration to serve as a continental hub for research, training and policy dialogue in the capital market space.
She urged participants to focus on actionable recommendations capable of translating intellectual discourse into practical reforms that will strengthen Africa’s economic systems and build a resilient, innovative and future-ready continent.
