How market-based sovereignty can rewrite the narrative of Northern Nigeria

The narrative of Northern Nigeria has long been dominated by the twin shadows of insecurity and economic stagnation.

But at the high-level panel of the conference: “Securing Futures: Market-based Solutions for Internal Displacement”, the conversation took a different turn.

Organised by the Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UK International Development, and the TGL Group, the summit became a stage for a clarion call for the Northwest to start to develop locally tailored strategies that leverages its massive potential in livestock, agriculture, and human capital.

Nasir Yammama, special assistant to the President on Innovation, noted that the Northern region was once a global titan, specifically in cotton production.

“Nigeria contributed almost 10 percent of the global cotton base at the time,” Yammama remarked. “What worked then was this market approach. Nigeria was producing for a ready market… This no longer exists for most of our agricultural products.”

For Yammama, the path to President Tinubu’s goal of a $1 trillion GDP by 2030 lies in these “market-based solutions.” By reconnecting Northern farmers to formal, global markets through innovation, the region can move away from ad-hoc survival and toward structured, sustainable growth.

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Dismantling the ‘Abuja template’
Tayo Aduloju, CEO of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), noted that federal “cut and paste” models have is not sufficient and to solve the crisis of internal displacement and economic fragility, the Northwest must reclaim its agency.

“I recommend a Northwest regional approach to workforce development with your own plan,” Aduloju said. “It cannot be written from Abuja. It will not work because of the unique contextual issues that the region facea.”

For Aduloju, the foundation of this new era is a “bespoke security architecture, without which prosperity remains a pipe dream.

“The Northwest needs its own security plan, different from anything cut and pasted from elsewhere… Securing production is non-negotiable”, he said.

The need for food sovereignty
While “food security” has long been a buzzword in policy circles, Ade Adefeko, director at Olam Nigeria, introduced a more ambitious concept: Food Sovereignty.

Reflecting on Olam’s $150 million investment in livestock and aquaculture across Kaduna and Kwara, Adefeko argued that Northern Nigeria should not just aim to feed itself, but to dominate the “protein value chain.”Now we have moved away from food security… to what we call food sovereignty,” Adefeko noted.

“Food sovereignty is when you have enough food, you have strategic reserves, and you can take care of your neighbours. Right now, we are food secure but not food sovereign.

According to him, he believes that by controlling the production of protein such as poultry, fish, and livestock, the North can transform its vast arable land from a theatre of conflict into a engine of regional wealth.

Humanitarian aid and grassroots industry
The human cost of the current humanitarian crisis in the region is perhaps most visible in the region’s children. Hadia Mariam, representing the United Nations, presented a sobering statistic: 34 percent of children under five in the Northwest are stunted.

According to her, the proposed solution is a blend of humanitarian aid and grassroots industry, by creating “Tom Brown” nutritional centres. These are not mere feeding points, but processing hubs for locally sourced, fortified porridge designed to be managed by the community.

“It has been a deliberate effort of many UN agencies coming together… to actually engage and provide livelihoods for the people of the Northwest,” she explained. “We need Tom Brown centres to combat malnutrition and stunting, and promote women and youth-led agribusiness.”

In all, the summit was clear in highlighting that the Northwest no longer needs generic solutions and must be the architect of its own recovery.