By: Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Northern Nigeria Investment and Industrialization Summit (MAP 2025), held at the Abuja Continental Hotel on Monday, September 29, 2025, Abubakar Dansaau Saiad, Managing Director of Kaduna-based agro-allied firm Jim San Smart Aggregator Ltd., described the summit as a “turning point” for the region and a long-overdue conversation on Northern Nigeria’s economic and developmental challenges.
“One of the Most Novel Summits in Northern History”
Speaking passionately to journalists, Saiad called the summit a historic and necessary intervention, urging the Northern region to “look inwards and face its challenges head-on.”
“This is one of the most novel summits I’ve seen in my lifetime. It’s long overdue, but it’s coming at the most appropriate time,” he said.
He praised the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) for organizing the event and emphasized the need to make the summit an annual tradition for strategic assessment and planning in the region.
“You Can’t Invest in Chaos”: Insecurity as a Critical Barrier
Saiad did not mince words about the security situation, labeling it the biggest obstacle to any meaningful economic development.
“There is no investment without security. We must understand what caused this crisis in the first place and collectively work to end it,” he stated.
He expressed hope that the summit would produce a community of thought leaders and policymakers committed to solving the root causes of insecurity.
“Let the North Learn from Others”: A Call for Cultural and Economic Reorientation
In one of the most pointed parts of his remarks, Saiad urged the North to learn from other regions of Nigeria, particularly in education, entrepreneurship, and governance.
“The North must learn from the Igbo apprenticeship system of the Southeast, the educational values of the Southwest, and the infrastructure development of the South-South,” he said.
He cited examples of entrepreneurial mentorship in the East, educational investment in the West, and infrastructure innovation in the Niger Delta, warning that the North cannot continue with business as usual.
“Harvard Business School is studying Igbo apprenticeship as a course. Why shouldn’t we in the North also study and adopt it?”
Saiad also criticized social priorities in Northern communities, stating that cultural spending habits must shift to reflect current developmental needs.
“In the North, we spend heavily on wedding ceremonies but expect the government to educate our children. Meanwhile, in the Southwest, even a woman frying akara sends her child to study abroad.”
He called for personal responsibility in education, urging parents to treat schooling as a non-negotiable investment, not merely a government obligation.
In perhaps his most sobering assessment, Saiad warned that Northern Nigeria, due to its “unproductive population,” was holding the country back economically.
“If you remove Northern Nigeria, the GDP of Southern Nigeria is one of the best in Africa. Lagos alone has one of the strongest GDPs on the continent.
“Every time we say we’re producing food, I ask—after the food, what else? The North needs to stop being a burden and start becoming a contributor.”
In a striking personal admission, Saiad concluded:
“Let me be honest with you—I love the Southwest. They value education, business, and growth. We need to copy their values if we are serious about changing Northern Nigeria.”
The MAP 2025 Summit, themed “Unlocking Strategic Opportunities in Mining, Agriculture, and Power,” brought together stakeholders from across the region in a bid to galvanize investment and drive industrial transformation.
The views expressed by Saiad represent a growing sentiment among emerging Northern entrepreneurs: that structural change, cultural reform, and pan-Nigerian learning must form the pillars of any serious development agenda in the region.
“We’re not just trying to build the North. We’re building Nigeria,” he said.
