By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna In order to effectively address the Northern Nigeria's security and economic challenges that have plagued the re
By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
In order to effectively address the Northern Nigeria’s security and economic challenges that have plagued the region for years, Northern leaders and governors from the area have called for a united front.
They made their views known in Abuja on Monday at the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit (NNIIS) 2025 titled: ‘Unlocking Northern Nigeria’s Mining, Agricultural and Power Potentials (MAP2035)’, the event was called at the instance of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF).
MAP2035 is a 10-year blueprint for transformation, a framework designed to reposition Northern Nigeria as a hub of innovation, industrialisation and inclusive growth.
The region, for years, has been beset by banditry, insurgency, farmer-herder clashes, and kidnappings bringing total backwardness in the area.
The governors of Zamfara, Nasarawa and Gombe states, while speaking at the summit, explained that fragmented responses had weakened the region’s bargaining power and delayed progress in all sphere of life.
For them, the only way to tackle insecurity and drive economic transformation across the region is to ensure a unified front.
To unlock the North’s vast potentials in mining, agriculture and power, they underscored a shared commitment to collaborative action, infrastructure development and policy reform.
According to Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, security is the bedrock of development, saying that investors, both domestic and international, are not philanthropists and are realists, as they will not commit capital where it is not safe.
He believed that a stronger collaboration among the 19 northern states, including integrated security architecture and real-time intelligence sharing, to create a predictable environment for investment.
He then proposed a Northern Nigerian Economic Compact to unify efforts on security and economic matters, co-invest in infrastructure and present a single window for major investors.
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State noted the unprecedented revenue available to subnational governments, urging leaders to channel the resources into transformative sectors.
He believed that every state now has the resources to secure its people, saying that they should stop blaming anybody for their security challenges, they should not blame anybody but themselves.
Sule also showcased Nasarawa’s strides in formalising the mining sector and expanding agricultural production, reinforcing the importance of leveraging local strengths for regional growth.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, who chairs the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF), said that poor infrastructure remains a major barrier to economic progress in the region.
According to him, “We are blessed with mineral wealth, fertile land, and vibrant human capital, but without railways, roads, power, and storage, the full value cannot be realised.”
He called for reforms in project financing to ensure Northern entrepreneurs can access credit using local assets, describing current collateral practices as “exclusionary.”
Tuesday marked the second and final day of the summit, during which the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) is expected to consolidate inputs from various speakers and release a formal communiqué.
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