By Abdussamad Yahya Sufi
The Department of Finance at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, on Wednesday convened academics, regulators and business leaders to discuss how Nigeria can build a financial system strong enough to withstand technology shocks and global uncertainty.
The 2nd International Conference, held at the CBN Centre for Economics and Finance on the Samaru Campus, was themed: “Financial Resilience: Navigating Technology Disruptions, Global Risk and Sustainable Development in an Era of Global Economic Uncertainty.”
Declaring the conference open on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Prof. Bello Sabo, said Nigeria’s capital market had reached a turning point.
“Digital infrastructure, from electronic trading platforms to blockchain-based settlement pilots, is no longer experimental. It is operational,” Prof. Sabo said. “Our challenge now is to ensure this infrastructure can absorb pressure without breaking, and that regulators build the capacity to keep up with the pace of change.”
He urged the department to sustain its role as ABU’s center for both conventional and Islamic finance scholarship.
Welcoming guests, the Head of Department, Prof. Ibrahim Mohammed, said the conference was designed to close the gap between the classroom and the market.
“The world today is full of uncertainties. That is why this theme could not have come at a better time,” Prof. Mohammed said. “We believe the ideas generated here will help shape policy.”
Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Ahmed Sheikh Abdullah, represented by Prof. A.K. Adamu, described the department as intellectually sound. “Any department without organized academic discourse is not worth its relevance,” he said.
In his keynote, Dr. Razaq Ahmed, President of CFA Society Lagos, spoke on the growing need for countries to prioritize national interest in resource management. He also pointed to immigration restrictions as a factor behind population stagnation in some nations.
Goodwill messages came from the Emir of Zazzau, Malam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, represented by the Jagaban Zazzau, Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmed, who said ABU had continued to provide leadership in finding solutions to economic problems.
Prof. Seth Akutson, Vice Chairman of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, praised the department and said CMAN remained committed to mentoring young academics.
Dr. AbdulWahab Sadiq, who represented Jaiz Bank MD Dr. Haruna Musa, said Islamic banking was providing complementary services to conventional banking, not just competition.
The event attracted scholars, policymakers, captains of industry and students.