Peter Uzoho
Experts have called for the exposure and education of the millennials, a critical segment of the Nigerian population, to the fundamentals of the financial management before they get to adulthood.
This, they said, would inspire and convince them early about the opportunities in the financial market and make them develop interest to play in the market.
Speaking in Lagos at a monthly forum organised by Business a.m. Newspaper in partnership with GTI Capital entitled: “Making the Capital Market Great Again: Initiatives for Increased Participation,”the Guest Speaker and Managing Consultant, Grant Alsthon, Mr. Teslim Shitta-Bey, said one of the major challenges facing the capital market was illiteracy and lack of early exposure of the millennials on the activities of the capital market.
He said youths who make up about 70 per cent of the population show no interest in the industry because they lack the basic training, knowledge and experience about the market.
According to him, there is no linkage between what children are learning in schools and the skills they need to survive in a work environment, stressing that the present generation of capital market operators are going out without any to replace it in the industry.
Shitta-Bey advised that financial literacy should go beyond the regulatory authorities to the homes, schools and workplaces, pointing that Nigeria has tremendous opportunities in the young population.
He said: “It’s never too early to begin to teach our children about investment. We must understand two critical stages in our lives: teenagers and adults.
“Between the age of 13 and 19, parents have a lot of work. Here is where knowledge and education becomes critical. Adult age is the most critical period for gaining market experience or wisdom.”
He stated that the management of the country’s economy was not conducted in such a way that promotes the capital market to deliver the goods expected from it, and called for the liberalisation of the market.
In the same vein, the Group Managing Director, GTI capital, Mr. Abubukar Lawal, said going by the country’s demography, about 70 per cent of the population falls below 30 years, which shows a huge market for the capital market that needs to be tapped into.
“You can’t ignore that market whichever way you look at it. That’s why I call it a mix: you have that market, you have the ones that are fully matured, that are adults in their working lives, to even the retirees. So it’s a good market,” he said.
