NNIIS25: A Story of intergenerational consensus for Northern economic cooperation

By Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim

The future of Nigeria is regional. This should not be confused as an argument for a return to the political regionalism of the First Republic, but a call for developmental federalism, a framework that situates national growth in the mutual reinforcement of regional strengths. In this proposed model, the six geopolitical zones are remodeled along economic lines and assume the status of geo-economic zones of development.

This thesis presupposes Nigeria’s growth as dependent on the mutual reinforcement of the strengths of its components: the idiosyncratic advantages of the North complementing those of the SouthWest, the strengths of the SouthWest supporting those of the SouthEast, and so on, until these complementarities consolidate into a formidable global economic front called Nigeria.

The implication, therefore, is that each component must pursue self-development as a strategic imperative, so as to contribute as much strength as possible to reinforce the capacities of others. Each zone must consciously cultivate its internal strengths not only for its own prosperity but also to contribute meaningfully to the larger Nigerian project. Within this framework, regional integration becomes an existential necessity.

For Northern Nigeria, the challenges it faces already assume a regional dimension, with cross-cutting issues—from insecurity to unemployment to industrial decline—permeating all states of the region. This presents a problem of scale that cannot be solved in isolation and requires a regional approach, particularly in matters of economic transformation. Only through regional economic collaboration and integration can the North begin to confront them meaningfully.

By these double imperatives, of developmental federalism and the regional character of its challenges, a compelling case for economic collaboration and integration emerges. It was on this foundation that I began my own advocacy for Northern regional economic integration. Over the years, I have consistently pressed this case in my writings and public engagements.

For example, in an article I wrote in 2022 titled “The AKK Pipeline: Arewa in Need of Exigent Regional Industrial Reforms and Policy”, I argued that while the AKK project was monumental in its potential, it risked becoming a failure if Northern states did not coordinate to create the industrial base to offtake the gas. The pipeline would transport billions of cubic feet of natural gas, but unless there was a robust gas off-take and consumption portfolio across the strategic domestic, industrial and commercial subsectors, the infrastructure would remain underutilized because the sector is fully liberalized. I therefore proposed the Arewa Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit as a platform for crafting a shared regional industrial policy and mobilizing investors around the region’s comparative advantages.

In another article “Northern Nigeria and VAT: The imperative of industrialization”, I shifted the debate from the legal tussle over who between States and Federal Government should collect VAT to the deeper issue of the North’s structural economic weakness. VAT, as I explained, follows value addition across supply chains. As long as the North continued exporting raw materials only to buy them back as finished products from other regions, it would remain on the losing end of the VAT debate. The North, I argued, must transform its value chains, commit to industrialization, and act collectively to reposition itself as a productive contributor to national revenue. Again, I called for a regional economic summit as the necessary starting point.

Similarly in 2022, in my essay “Northern Politico-Economic Agenda 2023”, I urged the North to move beyond the narrow politics of “whose turn” to produce the president and instead demand a collective bargain rooted in security, education, infrastructure, and the political economy. I emphasized that these goals cannot be realized piecemeal; they require a coordinated regional blueprint, one that binds Northern states to a common vision.

These essays were part of a deliberate advocacy to push the North towards regional integration which has today begun to bear fruit. Through a concept note I transmitted to the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) in September 2024 through its Director of Political Affairs, Dr. Nastura Ashir Shariff, the idea of a regional economic integration framework was formally adopted and the need for the regional summit established. I argued and NEF recognized that only it, with its gravitas and the moral weight of elder statesmen could convene the broad coalition of governors, policymakers, and stakeholders required for such an agenda.

From that point, the work began in earnest. The concept note was reviewed and revised for the inaugural summit to focus on three key sectors of competitive advantage, Mining, Power and Agriculture(MAP). Two pre-summit sessions were convened by the NEF. The first defined the roadmap, outlining the pillars of regional integration and the second produced a social charter, articulating the shared aspirations of Northern communities and serving as a moral contract between leadership and citizens.

Meanwhile, a parallel youth movement was also gathering force. Led by my brother, Khalil Nur Khalil, the Northern Economic Agenda (NEA) initiative emerged as a dynamic platform dedicated to shaping the narrative of regional integration for development from a youth perspective. Through its vibrant presence on social media, particularly X(formerly Twitter), NEA sustained a steady stream of engagement. It organized interactive X Spaces with passionate experts from both public and private sectors, collated ideas and submissions from citizens across the region, and published its insights on northernagenda.ng.

My involvement in both initiatives (the NEF-led elder process on one hand and the NEA movement on the other) created the opportunity to broker a strategic partnership between them. This partnership proved decisive. It culminated in a compendium of bankable ideas and implementable solutions, designed to feed directly into the regional masterplan being spearheaded by the NEF. Also, Khalil, drawing from his experience as the former head of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), brought to the table his expertise in convening high-level investment forums, having previously hosted several successful state investment summits during his tenure. That experience, combined with NEA’s digital mobilization and its member’s experience and intellectual capital, positioned the youth movement as a co-architect of the eventual summit.

This intergenerational collaboration—elders providing gravitas and legitimacy through the NEF, and youth supplying innovation, energy, and convening skills through NEA—ensured that the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialization Summit 2025 (NNIIS25) held on 30th September 2025 at the Ladi Kwali Conference Center, Abuja Continental Hotel was a success. History was made that day as we convened a genuine fusion of perspectives devoid of any primordial sentiments.

Over 400 delegates including all 19 Northern State Governors, federal ministers, investors both local and foreign, industry experts, academics, and members of the public converged under the theme: “Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture and Power (MAP).”

The highlight was the signing of the Northern Nigeria Integrated Economic Development Charter by the 19 Northern Governors represented by the chairmen of the three sub-regional governors’ forums. This singular act symbolized a regional consensus unprecedented in recent memory: a collective commitment to regional economic integration. The charter was immediately adopted by the 19 Northern Investment Promotion Agencies as a binding framework for coordinated investment facilitation across the region.

Equally significant was the formal presentation of the NEA compendium to the NEF, reinforcing the intergenerational character of the process. The summit thus embodied the very model I had long advocated: elders and youth, leaders and citizens, states and civil society, all bound together in pursuit of a common regional destiny.

From the summit also emerged a concrete governance architecture for the regional integration plan. As provided in the Charter, the Northern Nigeria Economic Development Council (NNEDC) will be created as the coordinating body for the region’s economic agenda under the joint oversight of NEF and the Northern Governors’ Forum and backed by the executive powers of the 19 Northern State Governments. The development of a comprehensive Northern Nigeria Economic Development Masterplan (NNEDM) through a multi-stakeholder approach will follow. The masterplan will serve as the guiding framework consolidating strategies in mining, agriculture, power, industrialization, technology, and other critical economic sectors. And in the interim, a Joint Implementation and Monitoring Taskforce (JIMT) has been proposed to develop an action plan within 30 to 60 days to operationalize the NNEDC.

The journey has only begun and as I reflect on it, I see how elders and youth, once moving on parallel tracks, now converge on a shared path. And I see how the North, often portrayed as divided and dependent, has proven that it can act with unity and purpose. For me, this is a lifelong conviction that our region’s future lies in cooperation, not fragmentation. If we sustain this momentum, Northern Nigeria will become a pillar of developmental federalism and a model of intergenerational solidarity and visionary leadership.

The story of NNIIS25 is therefore as much about a summit, as it is, more fundamentally even, about the North finally embracing the imperative of regional integration, guided by the principle that its future, and indeed Nigeria’s, depends on collective self-strengthening. I must appreciate and commend the Northern Elders Forum most profusely for championing this effort of historic proportion. And we shall continue on the path of fostering this process and in service, always and in always, to God, country and the North.

Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim, an economist and public policy enthusiast, writes from Kaduna

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