Experts Prescribe Policy Discipline, Coordinated Approach to Drive African Integration
• Senate to back reforms on capital market innovations, efficiency, transparency
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
Eminent experts from across the country and beyond, the academia, as well as leading public and private sector players have called for deliberate and coordinated efforts, stronger policy discipline, macroeconomic stability and far-reaching market reforms to achieve Africa’s economic integration.
They converged yesterday, in Abuja at the third Prof. Uche Uwaleke (PUU) Colloquium on Capital Markets, with the theme, “Future-proofing Africa-wide Economic
Integration: Infrastructure, Innovation, and Capital Markets, which was convened by Nigeria’s first professor of capital markets, Prof. Uche Uwaleke.
Some of the personalities at the event were Nigeria’s Representative at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Prof. Ngozi Egbuna; Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha; Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Shamsedeen Ogunjimi; serving and retired vice chancellors of various public and private universities; capital market regulators, and lawmakers, including the Senate Committee Chairman on Capital Markets and Institutions, Senator Osita Izunaso, among others.
The experts noted that while the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a historic opportunity to expand intra-African trade and catalyse industrialisation, its success was heavily dependent on a disciplined implementation and institutional alignment across member states.
A communique issued at the colloquium alluded to the central role of macroeconomic stability, underscoring the fact that Africa’s integration agenda cannot thrive amid volatile exchange rates, high inflation, fiscal imbalances and policy inconsistency.
According to the experts, sustainable cross-border capital flows and long-term infrastructure financing require predictable monetary policy frameworks, price stability and credible fiscal management.
They also cited infrastructure deficits as a major constraint to integration, adding that inadequate transport networks, unreliable energy supply and gaps in digital connectivity constitute barriers limiting intra-African trade and competitiveness. According to them, energy security, in particular, constituted a fundamental to industrial expansion and regional value chain development.
The participants equally recommended a more active role for the capital markets in mobilising long-term domestic savings into productive investments that can transform economies.
The experts also called for innovative funding models, including blended finance structures, infrastructure bonds, green bonds and strengthened public-private partnerships.
Acknowledging that AfCFTA provides a strong legal framework, they, however, noted that persistent non-tariff barriers, customs bottlenecks and inconsistent standards remain significant bottlenecks, even as they canvassed improved trade facilitation systems and closer alignment with global trade obligations to ensure smoother movement of goods and services.
Also, financial integrity and transparency were observed as critical foundations to investor confidence.
Earlier in a goodwill message, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Senator Osita Izunaso assured that the parliament would sustain its support to reforms that enhance efficiency, transparency, resilience, and innovation in the nation’s capital markets.
The lawmaker argued that strong markets require strong governance and acknowledged the invaluable advisory support that Uwaleke continues to provide to the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions.
In his address, Uwaleke, who is the Director, Institute of Capital Market Studies (ICMS) Nasarawa State University, Keffi, said the promise of the AfCFTA represents one of the boldest economic integration initiatives of our time.
“Yet, integration is not an event; it is a process. And like all processes, it must be deliberately designed to endure.
“To future-proof Africa-wide integration means to ensure that the structures we build today remain relevant tomorrow.
“It means acknowledging that the world is changing at an unprecedented pace- technologically, economically, geopolitically- and that Africa must not merely react to these changes but anticipate them. Infrastructure is the first pillar of this future.
“No economy integrates on paper alone. Trade agreements without roads, railways, ports, energy systems, and digital connectivity are aspirations without arteries. 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,” he said.
