Tuesday, September 23, 2025 - The Northern Elders Forum says northern Nigeria is sitting on 44 mineral resources spread across more than 500 identified locations that remain untapped despite their huge potential to drive economic growth.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday ahead of
the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit, NEF spokesperson,
Prof. Abubakar Jiddere, said the NEF had mapped out agriculture, solid
minerals, human resources, infrastructure, and industry as the five pillars for
northern Nigeria’s renewal.
He said the North is blessed with “vast arable lands
across 19 states, capable of feeding Africa.
“Solid minerals: 44 identified resources in over 500
locations, waiting to be harnessed,”
In addition, he said, the North possesses a dynamic
youthful population—both skilled and unskilled—ready to contribute to
development.
Infrastructure such as roads, railways, airports, dams, and
energy potential, he stressed, are seeking integration, while emerging and
existing enterprises hold the capacity to grow into regional industrial hubs.
Jiddere lamented the decline in the region’s economic
productivity despite its rich endowments.
He recalled the era when agriculture, industry, and trade
from the North were central to powering Nigeria’s economy in the 1960s, 70s,
and early 80s.
“Our groundnut pyramids reached the skies; our cotton,
hides, livestock, and solid minerals supported industries; and our leaders
championed bold national infrastructure and industrial projects,” he said.
He noted that insecurity, underinvestment, and policy
inconsistency had undermined progress in recent decades, leaving the region
with what he described as a paradox.
“Over the years, new challenges have emerged—ranging from
insecurity to underinvestment—that slowed the pace of progress. This has left
us with a paradox: a land blessed with abundance, but a people yet to fully
enjoy the rewards of that abundance. This summit is about turning that paradox
into opportunity and ensuring that Northern Nigeria steps confidently into a
new era of growth,” Jiddere stated.
On the enablers of growth, he highlighted education,
healthcare, housing, and technology as critical foundations for sustainable
progress.
“Northern Nigeria is not landlocked; it is land-linked—a
strategic gateway to Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin, Mali, and the Central
African Republic,” he added.
The forum also situated its vision within the historical
background of industrialisation in the North. In the 1960s, the region’s
agricultural sector was the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, with cotton,
groundnuts, and tobacco driving industrial growth. The period saw the
establishment of textile mills, cotton ginneries, and food processing plants.
The 1970s oil boom further spurred investment in
infrastructure, enabling cities like Kano and Kaduna to emerge as industrial
hubs for textiles, leather goods, and food processing.
By the 1980s, efforts extended into cement production and
steel rolling, though challenges of poor infrastructure, corruption, and
inconsistent policies began to stall momentum.
With vast untapped resources and a youthful population,
Jiddere said the upcoming summit aims to chart a path to industrial renewal,
positioning Northern Nigeria as a hub for investment, production, and regional
trade.
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