Proposes MAP 2025 Tech Compact, commends Northern Elders for Investment Summit

Former Managing Director of FSB International Bank Plc and ex-presidential aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, has urged Northern Nigeria to embrace a coordinated regional blueprint to unlock its economic potential and compete globally.

Delivering the keynote address titled “Harnessing Technology as a Driver of Development in Northern Nigeria” at the Northern Nigerian Investment Summit in Abuja, organised by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Hayatu-Deen stressed that unity and shared vision among the 19 states of the region are critical for prosperity.

“If Northern Nigeria is going to compete, not just within Nigeria, but across Africa and the world, we must move beyond state-by-state strategies and adopt a coordinated regional plan,” he said.

The seasoned banker insisted that the region must integrate its infrastructure, technology, and institutions, citing the South-West as an example of how collective action attracts investment and talent.

He warned that Northern Nigeria’s competitiveness would not be determined by mineral wealth or fertile land alone, but by its ability to act as a cohesive, innovative region that builds bridges between governments, businesses, and opportunities.

Hayatu-Deen called for the creation of shared institutions, regional councils, and commissions to drive infrastructure delivery, education, trade, and industrial transformation.

On technology, he proposed a MAP 2025 Tech Compact standing for Modernise, Accelerate, Prosper to guide the North’s strategy over the next five years. The compact includes:

• Digitising 50% of the agriculture value chain by 2030;

• Training 3 million youths in tech-driven skills by 2028;

• Achieving 40% renewable energy penetration in industrial zones by 2028;

• Embedding AfCFTA trade protocols into regional systems;

• Establishing regional financial institutions to power growth.

He further stressed the importance of data-driven planning, advocating the establishment of live databases of entrepreneurs and diaspora investors to connect capital with ideas.

“Without data, we are invisible; with it, we become a region that speaks with authority at the national and continental table,” he added.

Commending the NEF for expanding its role beyond politics into economic development, Hayatu-Deen hailed the summit as a timely platform to reposition the North for sustainable prosperity.

The event attracted prominent Northern leaders, including Prof. Ango Abdullahi, NEF Chairman; Air Marshal Al-Amin Daggash (rtd), Chairman of the Management Board; and other eminent personalities across the region.