Professor Abdul Adamu, on Wednesday, said Nigeria’s persistent investment and volatility problems can only be solved by putting domestic savings before capital deployment, as he presented his “savings-first investment paradigm” during his inaugural lecture at Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
“To address the instability of finance in flux, I formally present the synthetic contribution of my research: the savings-first investment paradigm.
In a low-savings, high volatility economy like Nigeria, sustainable investment cannot precede domestic savings. Savings must come first,” Prof. Adamu told the packed auditorium.
He laid out specific implications for key institutions. For the Central Bank of Nigeria, he urged prioritisation of savings mobilisation frameworks and behavioural nudges to encourage citizens to save. He told the Securities and Exchange Commission to strengthen investor protection and reduce information asymmetry in the capital market.
For the Federal Ministry of Finance, Prof. Adamu recommended a shift “from revenue-centric budgeting to savings-centric capital formation” to build long-term wealth. He also called on the financial services industry to design products that reward long-term savings rather than short-term speculation.
SME agencies, he said, must go beyond registration and training and focus on supporting innovation that translates into productive output.
The lecture drew academics, policymakers and financial sector players who engaged the professor on how the model could reshape Nigeria’s development strategy amid global economic uncertainty.
NSUK Vice-Chancellor described the inaugural lecture as a timely contribution to national discourse on sustainable growth, noting that Nigeria’s low savings rate has remained a structural weakness for decades.
Prof. Adamu’s savings-first framework adds to growing calls for policies that build domestic capital before chasing foreign investment.
