Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, Oby Ezekwesili, Magnus Kpakol and Charles Soludo were some of those that could be referred to as ‘New Kids on the Block in public service’, unveiled to Nigerians during the President Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007.
Young, well-educated and articulate, they bestrode the Nigerian landscape with supreme confidence. Although their critics felt their performance was due to Obasanjo’s support, many of them would go on to test their popularity – in terms of competing for plum jobs or presenting themselves for elective positions – and hold their own.
Their next challenge has been to give a chance to younger ones to explore and prove their valour, the same way they were given the opportunity to prove themselves.
He was also the youngest member and Secretary of the Ease of Doing Business Committee, which was tasked with expanding and further deepening the reforms made to ease the business environment of the State
In appointing 29-year-old Khalil Nur Khalil as the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) in October 2021, Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna state has surpassed all expectations in youth empowerment. He has thrown a challenge to Soludo, the incoming governor of Anambra state!
The triple antecedent El-Rufai is a performer worth reckoning with as attested to even by his fiercest critics and traducers, mainly in private discussions.
Who is Khalil Nur Khalil?
He was born on 18 November, 1992 in Kaduna State where he received his primary school education at the Kaduna International School, he proceeded to obtain his IGCSEs at the British International School, Victoria Island, Lagos and his GCE Advanced Level (A-Levels) at Glenalmond College in Perth, Scotland.
He obtained a first-class (high honours) Bachelor’s of Science degree in Economics from the Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus, where he was the best graduating student in the Economics department with a 3.98/4.00 CGPA.
Upon graduation in June 2017, Khalil came back to Nigeria to embark on his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), undertaking his primary assignment at KADIPA as a Technical Assistant to the Head of the Investor Relations department in January 2018.
Even as the youngest NYSC member, he was appointed Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee for the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit 2018 (KADINVEST 3.0). He was also the Vice President, National MSME Clinics: Kaduna Edition, as well as the youngest team member from KADIPA responsible for liaising with state MDAs and the World Bank’s Subnational “Doing Business in Nigeria” team to verify reforms made in the state.
Little wonder that Kaduna emerged as the Number 1 state to do business in Nigeria according to the “Doing Business in Nigeria 2018” report.
Khalil also made a significant contribution in getting IBM to use Kaduna as a flagship State to launch their Digital Nation Africa (DN-A) Project in Nigeria to train and equip youths in Kaduna State with 21st-century digital skills.
On completion of national service in October 2018, Khalil was retained and appointed as a Technical Assistant (TA) to the Executive Secretary (ES) of KADIPA.
In this position, he assisted the ES in various capacities, including vetting investors’ proposals and deployment of digital, vocational and skills acquisition programs for human capital development in Kaduna State.
He was also the youngest member and Secretary of the Ease of Doing Business Committee, which was tasked with expanding and further deepening the reforms made to ease the business environment of the State to ensure Kaduna remains Number 1 in the rankings.
Khalil was also the Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee for the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit 2019 (KADINVEST 4.0) with the likes of Aliko Dangote in attendance.
Due to his performance as a TA, Khalil was promoted to Manager, Investor Relations in December 2019 where he took charge of the investment promotion activities of the Department; maintaining cordial relationships with other MDAs to ensure hitch-free operations of the One-Stop-Shop activities of KADIPA and business environment reforms.
He supervised the implementation of investment promotion strategies, developed message content on investment promotion; coordinated meetings between KADIPA and other MDAs on investment proposals; and provided aftercare services by visiting existing and potential investors on a regular basis to ensure that business growth is not constrained by negative business environment factors or infrastructure conditions.
Khalil was subsequently promoted in January 2020, as the Acting Head of Investor Relations (IR) where he restructured the IR department to ensure the agency becomes a world class one-stop resource and coordination centre for all investment-related activities and a fully equipped information centre to respond to investor inquiries worldwide.
In collaboration with KADIPA’s development partners he planned and drafted targeted and well-researched investment guides aimed at promoting specific investment sectors where the State has demonstrable comparative and competitive advantages.
Khalil and his team developed and implemented world-class aftercare services for current investors in Kaduna State and drafted an investor checklist to vet investment proposals for Kaduna State. Khalil was also a member of the Policy Working Group to establish the National Advisory Board for Impact Investing in Nigeria.
He served as the Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee for KADINVEST 5.0 that hosted the first-ever Subnational Virtual Economic & Investment Summit in Nigeria.
Due to his stellar performance, Khalil was promoted and made the substantive Director of the Investment Intelligence department by the KADIPA Board in March 2021, making him the youngest Director of a public institution in civil service in Nigeria at the age of 28 at that time.
Khalil headed the Investment Intelligence department which is in charge of research, policy advocacy, strategy and innovation in the Agency.
As an investment and economic development professional, Khalil restructured the department to reflect 21st century data collection methodologies and innovative approaches to attract investments via the use of technology.
He was also the Secretary of the Local Organizing Committee for KADINVEST 6.0 that was held in the last quarter of 2021.
On his appointment as the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive of KADIPA, the youngest head of a government parastatal at the age of 28, Khalil promised to reposition the agency to be a world class agency and attract $500 million to expand the investment Portfolio of the State in the year 2022.
“There are a lot of reasons why people should invest in Kaduna state. We have an enabling environment for business that is of interest to investors,” he said in a recent interview. “Investors are assured and guaranteed that there is political will to ensure that their projects take off in a very timely manner and with very seamless facilitation processes and procedures.”
Read also: We are making Kaduna State Africa’s top investment destination through reforms – ES, KADIPA
He also explains that 75 percent of the workforce population is below the age of 35, who are skilled and semi-skilled workers. Being the Centre of learning, investors are guaranteed of having all the necessary tertiary research institutions in a cluster within one state.
Investors are also made to understand the state is an agrarian one, among leading producers of crops such as ginger, tomatoes, and soybeans. There is also a desire to see investors coming to partake in PPP agreements to develop grazing reserves, develop modern abattoirs and so on.
Another area of focus is the solid minerals sector. Khalil says the current largest investment is in the solid minerals’ portfolio, through the African Natural Resources and Mines Limited, whose $650 million investment in a steel plant is the largest investment in the state.
On his dream, he says, “My vision is for Kaduna state to regain those glory days when Kaduna was in its prime as the political capital of the North; to assume the status of the number one investment destination in Africa.
We’re creating the necessary hype and buzz because we are a marketing agency and, at the end of the day, we need to make the noise to market this state as the number one state in Africa. We have joined the World Association of Investment Promotion, and we’re the only sub-national agency in the body.”
In his spare time, Khalil is a voracious reader and a major exponent of the teachings of complex adaptive systems and heterodox approaches towards the field of economics and finance.
He is currently fascinated by the opportunities digital assets provide to enable the remodelling of the entire global financial architecture.
