By Chukwuma Ajakah

In pursuant of its operational goals of equipping practitioners and stimulating active participation in securities and investment practice in Nigeria, the Charted Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS has released a new book that covers multifarious topical issues about the Nigerian Capital Market.

The book titled History of the Nigerian Capital Market addresses topical issues that would be of interest to both practitioners and students in financial sector.

The CIS is the official not-for-profit professional agency established in 1990, chartered by Act 105 of 1992 and subsequently authorized  by the Federal Government of Nigeria to train and certify professionals for the Nigerian Capital Market.

Published by City Gentlemen Consult Limited, Lagos, History of the Nigerian Capital Market is a 214-page compendium that features the authoritative voices of giant players and boardroom gurus in the stock market, banking, finance and allied fields.

As its title suggests, the seminal material provides information from the foundational to the current phase of the Nigerian Capital Market.

Strident voices in this phenomenal book include those the incumbent President and Chairman of Governing Council, Oluwole Adeosun who provides an overview of the activities of the institute in the introduction and a past President, Olutola Mobolurin, FCS, who informs readers from the foreword that the Capital market which is the lead driver of financial systems in advanced economies of the world is still developing in Nigeria. Mobolurin reveals that the book would be a useful tool in guiding “the perspectives of operators, policymakers, and even new entrants, to understand where the market is coming from, so they can take useful cues from the lessons from history to forge a more effective pathway into the future.”

The book consists of seven broad chapters, each of which is subtitled and divided into insightful topics.

For instance, Chapter One subtitled, “The Nigerian Capital Market: Context, Role and Legal Framework” has “Understanding the Nigerian Capital Market”, “Market Products”, “The Primary Market” and “Laws that Shaped the Nigerian Capital Market” as subtopics.

Chapter is on “Evolution of the Nigerian Capital Market” with a wide range of diverse, but related topics, including the following: Origin of the Nigerian Capital Market, The Lagos Stock Exchange Era, Women in the Nigerian Capital Market, Capital Market Regulation, Training and Certification in the Nigerian Capital Market and Advent of Indigenous Securities Dealing Houses.

In Chapter Three, subtitled “Technology, Automation and Expanded Ecosystem”, the authors tackle cognate issues such as Automated Trading and Central Depository, Impacting on the Capital Market, Multiple Securities Exchanges in Nigeria, The Nigerian Banking Sector Recapitalization Exercise, Commodities Exchanges, and Association of Securities Dealing Houses in Nigeria.

There is also a “Pictorial History of the Nigerian Capital Market” which runs from page 106 to 144. Aside from memorable places and events relating to the various stages of the organization, the pictures feature  persons  who have played dominant roles in the capital market, including the pioneer DG of the SEC, George Akamiokhor,  first Chairman, Alhaji A O. G. Otiti, and other former DGs such as Wole Adetunji, Malam Suleyman A. Ndanusa, Musa Al-Faki, Aruma Oteh, Mounir Gwarzo and Lamido Yuguda.

The Pictorials also chronicle the faces of renowned businessmen, who have at one time or the other led the  over the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) such as Sir Lous Odumegwu Ojukwu, Sir Mobolaji Bank Anthon Chief J. O. Udoji, Chief Silas Bandele, 0aniyan, Chief M. K. O. Abiola,  Aliko Dangote, Ndi Okereke Onyiuke, and Deacon Gamaliel Onosode.

Birthing a World-Class Class Capital Market is the central theme treated in Chapter Four which has AMCON Intervention and Enhanced Capital Market Regulation as main topics.

Aspiring investors and other members of the public who wish to know how the system works would find Chapter Five particularly useful. Subtitled, “Investor Education”, the chapter focuses on the training opportunities available for would be players. Specifically, it provides insightful tips on the Charted Institute of Stockbrokers, Nigerian Capital Market Institute and Capital Market Reporting in Nigeria.

Policy Issues Affecting the Nigerian Capital Market is the core subject in Chapter Six which is tacitly presented in lecture series from the perspectives of technocrats who provide their expert opinions on topics such as Market Restrictions and Margin Lending, Listing of Companies in the Commanding Heights, Government Support for the Capital Market, Listing of Major Entities in the Country, Pension Funds, Sovereign Wealth Fund and MOFI, Balanced Development and Utilisation of the Money and Capital Markets, Reviving the Primary Market and Government Utilising the Capital Market as well as Infrastructure Financing and Investor Education.

In case you are wondering about the brains behind these potential mindset transforming lessons, go for the book. You will find great minds like Oscar Onyema, Mrs Fiona Ahimie, Rasheed Yusuff, Michael Itegboje, Garba Kurfi, Ariyo Olushekun, Oluropo Dada, Lamido Yuguda and Oluwole Adeosun among other icons of the capital market and finance industry as lead contributors.

Chapter Seven aptly captioned, “Future of the Nigerian Capital Market” is brief but loaded with topics that catalogue the prospects the authors envisage for the Nigerian Capital Market, including The Master Plan, Voice of the Youth and the Future is Bright.

Principal activities of CIS chronicled in the book are to conduct examinations leading to the award of professional qualifications to practise as securities and investment professionals in Nigeria, promotion of financial/capital market literacy, continuous professional development of members, advocacy activities to enhance the development of the Nigerian Capital Market and the regulation of the conduct of its members.

The institute also provides professional training through the CIS Academy which was established in 2022, seminars, workshops and other avenues. Besides educative books like the History of the Nigerian Capital Market, the institute publishes the Journal of Securities and Investment Market (JISM) the Nigerian Stockbroker (TNS) magazine.

Principal officers of CIS, including the incumbent President and Chairman of Governing Council, Mr Oluwole Ololade Adeosun, FCS, 1st Vice President, Mr Oluropo Dada, FCS, 2nd Vice President, Mrs Fiona Ahimie, FCS and Registrar and Chief Executive, Mr Josiah Akerewusi, FCS are listed on page xi along with past presidents of the institute such as Gamaliel Onosode, Olutola Mobolurin, and Henry Olayemi among others.

Although the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, the NGX (formerly The Nigerian Stock Exchange) has operated in Nigeria since 1960 and was responsible for the certification of practitioners. The Lagos Stock Exchange established in the same year and market activities revolving around the NGX under the supervision of CBN’s Capital Issues Commission and later, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Speaking on the benefits of being a chartered broker, the 1st Vice President, Oluropo Dada says:”I became a Stockbroker in 1995. The real motivation was employment. My earlier certification was in banking. I used to work in a bank, but unfortunately or fortunately the bank collapsed and I was not able to get another job. That was how I went to write the stockbroking exam and immediately after passing I got a job. After that, I have never been unemployed. That goes to explain the difference between CIS and other certifications. With CIS, you can never be jobless.”

Dada also observes that “Government policy over the years has been centered on the money market,” but notes that “In the financial market, the two markets should be complementary because they are never in competition.”

While exploring the topic, Infrastructure Financing Through Capital Market and Investor Education, the DG, Securities and Exchange Commission, Lamido Yuguda remarks “I would want to see infrastructural policies designed on a cost recovery basis, such that we can reduce the strain on government finances in the provision of infrastructure. I do not think that government should be solely responsible for the financing of infrastructure. I believe the private sector can do a lot in this area. If we have the right policies that mandate the recovery of cost, a good number of investors from the private sector would want to participate in the provision of these services. This is what is happening around the world and Nigeria has the capacity to do it.”

Citing indigenisation as an example of how the government support can change things in the country’s economy, the 2nd Vice President, Mrs Fiona Ahimie harps on the cardinal role the government can play in boosting the capital market, “When you look at the world over, you see that the capital markets are developed and stockbrokers are respected,” she says.  Arguing that government support is the difference maker between the capital market in Nigeria and that of other countries, Ahimie rhetorically emphasizes that: “When you watch CNN, or Bloomberg and they bring people to give economic and financial analyses, they are capital market professionals.”

Concerning the future of the Nigerian Capital Market, the authors included a section that echoes the voices of young entrepreneurs under the topic, “Voices of the Youth”. One such voice is Adebimpe Anuoluwa Ogundalu, a securities dealer with Afrinvest Securities Ltd, who shares her experience thus: “It was one of our lecturers…that introduced the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers to us while I was in school. He told us that it is a good profession and one that would enable us to continue working even into old age… I would gladly recommend stockbroking as a career to other youths because there are so many untapped opportunities in the industry.”  Another youth, Yahaya Bakar, a self-employed investment adviser, recounts how he got into CIS: “I went straight into business after secondary school because the ultimate goal for me at that time was to make money. Along the way, I thought I might as well get into the securities and investment profession. So, I enrolled with the CIS and started the diploma programme. I passed at first sitting and moved on to the professional examinations which I also passed in 2014. Thereafter, I set up my own firm.”

The History of the Nigerian Capital Market is written in lucid prose. Its language is simple and conversational. It has gained the endorsement of celebrated professionals, financial investment advisers, and accomplished academics such as the VC, Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Kabiru Dandago and VC, University of Ilesa, Prof. T. A. Asaolu, who unreservedly recommend it as “an authoritative reference material for all stakeholders in the financial system…”