By Dipo Olowookere
An economic expert and Head of Banking and Finance Department at the Nasarawa State University, Professor Uche Uwaleke, has called for the diversification of the Nigerian capital market.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday at the first Colloquium of Prof Uche Uwaleke, the university don said it was wrong to leave the local market to the mercy of foreign investors.
According to him, it is improper to allow foreign portfolio investors to control and determine the success and failure of the market.
To stop this, Prof Uwaleke said, “We need to diversify capital market. If the big companies go under, that will be the end of the capital market.”
Prof Uwaleke further stated at the event, which was attended by various stakeholders in the capital market, that “The market is tied to the apron string of foreign investors so much so that if foreign investors sneeze, the market catches cold.”
According to the economic analyst, when compared with South Africa, the market capitlisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was still insignificant.
He therefore called on all stakeholders in the market to work hard to grow the NSE capitalisation beyond its current level.
The event was organised to honour Prof Uwaleke’s emergence as the first Professor of Capital Market in Nigeria.
The colloquium was themed ‘Fiscal and Monetary Policies for Deepening the Capital Market in Nigeria.’
Adedapo Adesanya 
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