Professor Nazifi Abdullahi Darma was born on the 16th of May 1967, at Darma Quarters, Kano Municipal Council to Hajiya Shafaatu Ibrahim and Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim. He started his early Islamic education at Yolawa Community
Islamic School from 1970-1973. He attended Tudun Madatai Primary School from 1974-1980, Aminu Kano Commercial Collage, Goron Dutse, Kano, from 1980-1985. In between attending Normal modern school, he was attending Quranic School between 1973-1981, under the able guidance of Late Malam Muhammadu Dan Ma’inna. He was admitted to Bayero University Kano in 1986 and graduated in 1990 with a second-class upper division degree in Economics.

During his undergraduate studies at Bayero University Kano, he was awarded a scholarship by UAC as the scholar of the year in 1988 and subsequently won the prize of the best final year student in banking and finance offered by Afribank Nigeria limited in 1990.

He was posted to Rivers State for his National Youth Service Programme and upon completion, he was offered an appointment as Graduate Trainee by All States Trust Bank Limited in September 1991. Later he joined International Merchant Bank Plc in 1992 and by 1994, he later joined Gulf Bank Nigeria Limited.

In between his banking career, he finds time for additional knowledge acquisition culminating in the award of Masters in Science in Banking and finance by Bayero University Kano in 1995. He bagged his PhD in Development Economics and International Finance from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto in 2008. As destiny would have it, Nazifi Abdullahi Darma abandoned his banking career and joined the services of the University of Abuja domiciled with the Economics department in 1996.

He was appointed as Assistant Lecturer in 1996, promoted to lecturer II in 1999, rose to Lecturer 1 in 2002, promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2007, promoted to Associate Professor in 2014 and become a Professor of Economics, with specialization in Development Economics and Public Finance in 2017.

During his sojourn at the University of Abuja, he was seconded to Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria as the Team Leader Research and Documentation between 2005-2006, and was again seconded to the National Planning Commission between 2009-2013, holding the positions of Deputy Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Acting Director Plans and Policy
Coordination department, Acting Director, Economic Growth department and lastly, Head of Secretariat Coordination, National Economic Council, Federal The Republic of Nigeria. Until April 2021, he was the Chairman, of the Daily Trust Board of
Economists from January 2020 to April 2021. He is present, the Special Adviser on Economic Matters to the President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria and a directing staff at National Institute for Security Studies, Bwari, Abuja.

Prof. Nazifi Abdullahi Darma has attended over 21 different management and leadership courses among which are: Harvard University Kennedy School of Government programme " Innovation for Economic Development”, USA, Royal
Institute of Public Administration (RIPA) " Planning for Change: A Strategic Approach”, London, Crown Agents programme on New Challenges in Debt Management, Worthing, United Kingdom, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) programme on High-Level Policy Learning Programme, Rome, Leadership the training programme of Connemara Consulting, Johannesburg, South Africa, IMF/AFDB programme on External Debt Statistics, Tunis, Tunisia.

In addition, he led the Nigerian delegation to Australia in 2011 for a Mining Governance Study Tour organized by Australian International Development Agency to Perth, Western Australia.

He coordinated the first comprehensive Impact Assessment of Tertiary Education Trust Fund by Co-Chairing its Technical Committee on Impact Assessment between August 2019 to December 2020 and is currently a member of the Central Working Group of Nigeria Agenda 2050 and Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025.