SEC Promotes Financial Literacy As Life Skill for Nigerian Youth

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has emphasised the importance of financial literacy as a life skill and survival tool in today’s complex economy.

The director-general of the SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, stated this at yesterday’s handing-over ceremony of the reviewed National Universities Commission’s (NUC) Curriculum on Securities and Investment Management (SIM) by the SEC-appointed Committee of Experts in Abuja.

Agama said the critical engagement signifies institutional collaboration and the collective resolve to build a foundation for sustainable financial empowerment in Nigeria.

He said, “Our gathering today goes beyond policy harmonisation or curriculum design. It is about shaping the financial mindset of future generations, equipping young Nigerians with the tools to make informed choices and contribute meaningfully to our development.

“Financial literacy determines how individuals earn, save, invest, and build wealth. It also influences how they engage with the financial system, ensuring they are not left behind in an increasingly digital and knowledge-driven economy.”

The SEC DG disclosed that the collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) represents a strategic leap forward; a deliberate and forward-looking effort to integrate financial education into Nigeria’s national curriculum from the primary through to the secondary levels.

Beyond imparting knowledge, the SEC boss said, the effort is about empowerment, about giving young people the confidence to participate productively in financial and capital markets adding that as the apex regulator of the capital market, the SEC’s dual mandate to protect investors and deepen the market cannot be achieved in isolation from an informed, financially literate populace.

Agama said, embedding financial education into the national curriculum, is investing in human capital, the most critical driver of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic growth.

The chairman of the Committee, Prof. Uche Uwaleke disclosed that, “the Committee was tasked with reviewing and expanding the existing curriculum to reflect these developments with a view to making appropriate recommendations to the NUC that ensure that Nigerian universities are not only aligned with global trends, but are also equipping our students with the knowledge and competencies required to thrive in a modern capital market environment.”

He said another equally important mandate of the Committee was to design and recommend to the NUC, a Basic Course in Capital Market Studies to be taken by all first-year students across Nigerian universities, saying that “this initiative is inspired by the recognition that awareness and understanding of the capital market remain relatively low, especially among young Nigerians.

“By introducing this foundational course, we aim to promote early exposure, foster capital market literacy, and ultimately deepen financial inclusion, key pillars of the SEC’s developmental mandate,” he said.