By Abba Ado Musa
Northern Nigeria is believed to be the domicile of agricultural activities with a clear purpose to create economic development. According to several research, there is no state within the northern region without natural resources that have the potential to enrich the state economy. These agricultural activities are vital to enhance economic growth and development, these might either be livestock, crop production, fisheries, afforestation, and agribusiness.Â
The north is pregnant with tremendous opportunities to leapfrog its economy through farming. Unfortunately, these unprecedented chances are persistently stagnant due to many factors, such as insecurity and environmental disaster, which also coupled with unenthusiastic support from the leaders, the level of awareness is lackadaisical.
The world is speedily advancing every single day, new technologies are emerging that significantly improve productivity. Nigeria heavily depends on the oil and gas sector for economic development, which is located in the southern region of the country. Despite having countless amounts of natural resources and land fertility, the northern part of the country has yet to utilise this golden opportunity for its economic benefaction. It is not too late for North to proactively diversify its economy by venturing into other sectors. We are in the 21st where modern technologies are used to enhance productivity in different sectors such as finance, agriculture, education, security, and services.
Historically, agricultural production was mainly the source of economic development in the north. Even before the oil boom in Nigeria; almost all the states within the north were producers of agricultural products, and interestingly, the majority of these crops were exported to neighbouring countries. The 1970s, which is believed to be the year of the oil surge, deviated the northerners and made them reluctant and clumsily dependent on oil exploration, which made most of the influences in the country, including some from the north, displacing agricultural production with crude exportation.
Reviving the glory of the agricultural sector in northern Nigeria is a necessity; the region is inflicted with numerous challenges, such as lingering insecurity, poverty, hunger, and education, which affected the region negatively in socio-economic development. To curtail some of these challenges, there is an excessive need to actively engage in the modern economy, such as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, and implement it in farming activities to increase crop production. The world is facing a serious issue of food insecurity, especially in underdeveloped countries, and the incorporation of contemporary technologies will significantly improve crop production, so it is compulsory for the leaders in the north to start investing and putting in necessary resources in modern agricultural practices such as smart-farming, precision agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, and modern irrigation. These will significantly transform the region’s economy, which will otherwise create opportunities for the youth, and increase the region’s foreign exportation.
Many factors hinder suffix production in the agricultural sector in Nigeria, especially in the Northern part of the country; some of these challenges are due to the persistent occurrence of climate change, such as high-temperature, drought, flood, desertification, deforestation, and insecurity that affected some states which significantly reduces agricultural productivity. Lack of effective policy and reckless or mismanagement by the leaders also obstructs economic development in the north, research and development in the agricultural sector which drives new innovation are missing, and the universities and research institutions are not functioning to bring in new technologies to solve some existing problems, there is no need for foreign intervention but rather only effective collaboration with international universities and institutions is needed.
Leadership is pivotal to the development of any country; it is high time for the leaders in the north to start taking decisive steps towards economic development. Certainly, the region has already been left behind in terms of everything compared to their counterparts in the southern part of the country, due to bad leadership. Northern leaders together with business owners should shift their focus on modern economic development in the region, the Northern Governors Forum is at the forefront of transforming the region’s economic system by prioritising their capital expenditure in a knowledge-based economy, only a vaguely effort is required to attain this economic diversification they contained all the resources that they need such as the population, land, and youth to begin with, it is time to fight their inactions, corruption, and lack of accountability. Another major problem is appointment into public office in the north because it is mostly based on politics rather than merit-based appointment, The majority of public office holders are not concerned with anything development. They are there to fulfil political interests and nothing more.
The leaders, especially the governors, should have comprehensible visions and goals in their respective states, and these visions are supposed to be long-term visions and strategic methods for implementation. Power transition shouldn’t be a concern; if a new administration comes in, it must stick to the previous policy, and no alteration would be made without major consultations with partners and other government officials with transparency. Considering Lagos State, their economic planning and policy have been there for decades, with each administration confined to the policy without any political intervention. The northern leaders should formulate, design and develop an effective economic policy for the region, the world is constantly revolutionizing, and time will not wait for anyone, we desperately need to start seeing economic discussion from the leaders and the public, the leaders should adopt annual economic investment summit at the state and regional level where relevant economic debate would hold to foster economic prosperity of the region.
The recent task reform bill developed by the Nigerian tax committee, which was constructed by the president, is a wake-up to all northern leaders; though some of the reforms were significantly beneficial to the country, many northerners, including their intellectuals and leaders, see it as political bigotry or policy that is deliberately planned to diminishes the region. Sincerely, there are a lot of gaps similar to this tax reform that is critically needed to be bridged before it too late; northern Nigeria are far behind in terms of economic development, so it time to start taking huge action to solve some of these challenges.
Recently, there has been much speculation about the regionalization in this country, while it is a welcoming development in the angle of economic development where these regions will utilize their domestic resources for economic growth without federal government intervention, allegations are going around that, some public office holders at federal level often neglect, or reject any development from a particular region that is not theirs, with this regionalization there would be no any minister or director general would decide what action to take in a region or states. The establishment of the Development Commission is a clear indication of regionalization in this country so, these respective commissions should be extremely active in bringing economic transformation to the north, among the major roles of this commission is to tackle some of the prevailing problems, it is also mandatory to this great institution to focus on improving the socio-economic development.
The commission of each region should be free from politics and liaise with the state government in various projects that are beneficial to its citizens; a committee should be created that follows the governors to ensure that they are in line with the policies. The commission should also serve as an organisation that would be offering professional advice and monitor the state budget as well as their capital expenditure. All these commissions should emphasise research and development that unravel the potentiality of each state and region by steering collaborative opportunities with universities, international organizations, and the state government for economic growth and development.
Corruption is undoubtedly the key to dwarfing economic development worldwide; it is a must for the region to develop new ideas to fight corruption because, with corruption, there will not be development. The most preferable approach to fight corruption is through the use of technology. The system of “GovTech” should be adopted to ensure the digitalization of every aspect of the government. Automation in various ministries and institutions is effective in curtailing the menace of corruption; the data is also impeccable and allows policymakers to make informed decisions. Availability of data gives the government or organization a clear picture of the bevelling problem, especially in the aspects of health care and education.
Communication is also pivotal in the development of any country. Lack of proper communication is detrimental to transformation. After policymakers, you need excellent communication who will communicate the policy to the public; it is only when you have effective communication that the public will listen and also corporate. Sometimes, it is not the fault of the policy but the way it is announced to the public, which may lead to protests or riots and vandalization of government properties.
The time for economic diversification in northern Nigeria has already reached its boiling point, and it is the best time to start acting in identifying ways to improve their economy by using domestic innovation and ideas; all the resources are at hand. Only action and immense support from the leaders. Enhancing the economy will significantly make the region independent and provide golden opportunities for the youth. The Northern Governor’s Forum and Northern Elders Forum, together with some other leaders, should be at the forefront of saving the people in the north by bringing in new opportunities to create a sustainable economy.
Abba Ado Musa is an aspiring policy analyst, writer, and postgraduate student from Bayero University Kano.Â
