Mr Sam Oluwala is the Chief Responsibility Officer of Value Investing Limited and the convener of Capital Market Roundtable in Nigeria. In this interview with some media organisations, he highlighted the bane of  market growth, the value addition of the coming of new helmsmen at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nigerian Stock Exchange  (NSE). Friday Ekeoba who was there brings the excerpts.

Don’t you think the frequent changes of management of SEC, NSE may have    negative effect in the market?
 No doubts, it sends wrong signals to the market place that we have not got our acts together. The dust is barely settling down over the unceremonious exit of the erstwhile director-general of the Nigerian Stock Exchange before the SEC probe arose. This has graduated to sending the SEC’s director-general on compulsory leave.

Anyway, with this development coupled with the information going round that recruitment into some senior offices is going on, I put it to the stakeholders that to what extent have the market operators positioned themselves to ensure that as many tested and trusted professionals as possible are part of the recruitment process?

Information about any recruitment to senior management positions within the regulatory bodies should be made public for qualified and applicable capital market operators to apply for the openings appropriately. Well, meaning operators should encourage tested professional capital market practitioners to show interest in the senior management positions in SEC and similar institutions with related responsibility to the market.

I have always
been of the opinion that until our market is consistently managed by us (I mean we that rose through the ranks in the market operations over the years); the fortune of the market may not improve as desired.

When people who don’t know where we are coming from take charge and manage our affairs, we may not make much progress. If the market operators truly believe in this market, they just have to be involved. The time to seize the moment is now.

 What are your views on the market since the meltdown?
The scar is there and the effect is still biting hard. Activities have not picked up as much as stakeholders had wished. Fall outs from the meltdown are still rearing its ugly head. For instance, the various private placements that people put money into which turned out be a kind of scam or a rip-off are giving the market credibility problem. Issue of confidence in the market is thus brought into perspective. This is why everyone remotely connected with any deliberate act to defraud the unsuspecting investors should be dealt with accordingly.

In short, activities are still low while all hopes are not lost. There are practically very few new entrants into the market, while the existing firms are thinning out operationally and in numbers.  

 Any hope at the moment?
Of course there is hope in the challenging situation; otherwise no operator would have been left in the market. The reality is that the era of questionable rally and abnormal bubbling market may have gone for good! The market is still on the course of restoration which will take time. However, in the midst of it all, those who have the resources and are discerning may still take advantage of measured opportunities in the market with medium and long term horizon in view.

 What’s your advice to investors?
Investors should face the reality of the challenging season and don’t give up on the market completely. They should look beyond the past portfolio that went bad. Discerning investors should still follow developments in the market and take advantage of arising opportunities. It takes investors who have not given up identifying opportunities and seizing it appropriately.

 What is your take on the second coming of Dangote and what innovation do you think he can bring to the capital market to restore investors’ confidence? 
Dangote is a good and a unique brand. Any rational nation blessed with someone with that kind of profile would flaunt him, be it in a developed or developing economy. In a sane clime, you put your right step forward by showcasing your best and certainly not wannabes. Thus, the coming back of Dangote is mutually beneficial and complementary for the Nigerian capital market and Dangote’s business empire.

 What is your expectation from  Bolaji Bello, the new director-general of Securities and Exchange Commission,?
The profile of the new acting director -general of SEC is the type I’ve always favoured to manage affairs of the market. He has worked in the private sector in one of the banks and as a dealing Clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange before joining SEC where he must have put over 10 years rising through the ranks. I can only wish him all the best on the new assignment while it lasts.