At the 2025 Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialisation Summit held in Abuja, two eminent statesmen — former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki — emerged as leading voices among discussants, pressing for radical measures to rescue the North from economic decline.
Dogara, in a commanding intervention, reminded the gathering that Northern Nigeria once stood as the nation’s economic bulwark. “There was a time in this country when the North was lending money to the Federal Government. Our major investments were agriculture and mining, and these sectors sustained not only the North but the entire country,” he declared.
He lamented the collapse of that economic dominance, laying the blame on insecurity, poor governance, and misplaced priorities. “No investor will commit resources to a region gripped by fear and violence. If we do not act with urgency, the North risks being permanently trapped in poverty and underdevelopment,” Dogara cautioned.
Underscoring the importance of industrial champions, he singled out Africa’s richest man. “Dangote must never be allowed to go down. If his empire collapses, it will be a national tragedy. We must protect and expand such enterprises that anchor our economy and provide hope for millions,” Dogara charged.
He did not spare state governments, condemning what he called “vanity projects” that serve more as political monuments than instruments of growth. He urged governors to shift focus to productive sectors — agro-industrial processing, mining revival, manufacturing, and human capital development — which once made the North an economic powerhouse.
Saraki, aligning with Dogara’s position, delivered a pointed reminder of the region’s urgent need for economic reawakening. “Economic power is what we use in revising the fortunes of our people,” he stressed, adding that no single governor, regardless of vision, can achieve sustainable development in isolation. He called for synergy among the 19 northern states to create investor confidence and unlock industrial growth.
The summit climaxed with the adoption of the Northern Nigeria Integrated Economic Development Charter, a guiding framework for coordinated action in security, investment, and industrialisation.
Dogara’s hard-hitting reminder of the North’s lost economic pride, combined with Saraki’s insistence on wielding economic power as the tool for revival, has sharpened the urgency for northern leaders. Their interventions sent an unmistakable message: the region can no longer afford complacency — only courage, vision, and decisive reforms can restore its strength.
