Says NCDC must become engine of transformation, not another bureaucracy

By Nation Craft Newspaper

ABUJA — Former Nigerian High Commissioner and scholar, Professor Iyorwuese Hagher, OON, has challenged leaders and citizens of the North Central region to convert decades of sacrifice, agricultural strength, strategic geography and cultural diversity into measurable economic prosperity.

Hagher made the call in his keynote address at the North Central Development Commission Summit 2026 in Abuja, where he presented a sweeping 20-year development vision for the region under the theme, “The Great Leap Forward: A 20-Year Economic, Infrastructural and Social Development Plan for the North Central Region.”

In the address, Hagher described North Central as more than a geopolitical classification, portraying the region as the geographical and cultural “hinge” of the Nigerian federation.

He said the region occupies a uniquely strategic position in the country, linking northern and southern Nigeria while hosting the Federal Capital Territory and serving as one of the nation's major agricultural belts.

According to him, the Niger and Benue rivers meeting at Lokoja symbolise the type of unity required among the diverse peoples of the region.

Hagher argued that North Central's ethnic and linguistic diversity should not be seen as a weakness but as an important reservoir of civilisation, culture and economic potential.

He told the summit that the region had historically given Nigeria land, food, soldiers, public servants, intellectuals, labour and political accommodation, while frequently paying a heavy price in conflict and insecurity.

But he warned that historical sacrifice should no longer be treated as a substitute for development.

“A people must never give so much to the federation that they forget to build themselves,” Hagher said.

He described the coming period as a “payback season”, stressing that he was not calling for revenge or hostility against any other part of Nigeria.

Rather, he said North Central must “pay itself back” through education, productivity, enterprise, regional cooperation, security, industrialisation and cultural renewal.

Abuja Must Drive North Central Economy

One of the major arguments in Hagher's address was that Abuja should no longer function merely as Nigeria's political capital located within North Central.

He said the Federal Capital should become a major economic market for the surrounding region.

Hagher questioned why the huge consumption economy of Abuja had not been systematically connected to agricultural and industrial production in Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kogi and Kwara.

He proposed stronger agro-processing and logistics corridors capable of supplying Abuja with food, manufactured goods, professional services, technology and other products produced within the zone.

He said Benue could expand organised food processing for the Abuja market, while Plateau could strengthen refrigerated supply chains for vegetables and potatoes.

He also identified opportunities for Niger in large-scale agriculture, Nasarawa in manufacturing and industrial development, Kogi in logistics, and Kwara as a bridge to western commercial corridors.

“The Federal Capital must become the launch market for Made-in-North-Central Nigeria,” he said.

‘Food Basket Must Become Prosperity Basket’

Hagher also challenged the region to move beyond the celebration of agricultural production without controlling the value chain.

He said North Central farmers often bear the risks associated with farming, insecurity, transportation and unstable prices while processors, manufacturers and financiers elsewhere capture much of the final value.

“We produce; others process. We harvest; others warehouse. We cultivate; others finance. We sell raw commodities; others manufacture brands,” he said.

The former diplomat said the region must transform from merely being Nigeria's “Food Basket” into what he described as a “Prosperity Basket.”

He called for greater processing of yam, cassava, soybean, citrus, livestock and other agricultural products, as well as responsible industrial development around the region's mineral resources.

Hagher Raises Alarm over Poverty, Insecurity

Hagher also drew attention to the contradiction between the region's enormous natural resources and its development outcomes.

Citing the National Bureau of Statistics' 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, he noted that 66.3 per cent of North Central's population — about 20.19 million people — were classified as multidimensionally poor.

He described the situation as a moral and economic emergency.

Hagher said insecurity had worsened the development crisis by displacing farming communities, disrupting education and discouraging investment.

“A dead farmer produces no yam. A displaced farmer produces no soybean. An abandoned village pays no tax. A frightened investor builds no factory,” he said.

He argued that security should be treated not only as a military issue but as a development imperative.

“Security is economic policy. Peace is infrastructure. Justice is development. Human dignity is capital,” he declared.

NCDC Must Not Become Another Abuja Office

Turning to the newly established North Central Development Commission, Hagher warned that its success would depend on whether it builds an integrated development system rather than merely executing scattered projects.

He said constructing isolated roads, boreholes and classrooms would not automatically transform the region.

“North Central does not merely need projects. North Central needs a system,” he said.

He urged the Commission to operate as the strategic brain of a regional economy by coordinating long-term development plans, collecting reliable data, attracting private investment and providing citizens with transparent scorecards showing what has been promised, funded and delivered.

Hagher insisted that the NCDC must outlive political administrations and resist becoming another bureaucracy in Abuja.

Seven Duties for North Central

The professor outlined seven major priorities that he said should anchor the region's 20-year development programme.

They include restoring peace and productive land, industrialising agriculture, connecting the region through infrastructure, expanding reliable power, converting mineral resources into industry, developing human capital, and establishing a North Central development intelligence system.

Hagher placed particular emphasis on artificial intelligence, digital services and the creative economy.

He proposed the creation of a Digital and Creative Economy Enterprise Window to help young people move from training into real businesses, financing and markets.

He also advocated a dedicated initiative for women entrepreneurs that would provide digital skills, incubation, access to finance and AI-enabled productivity tools.

According to him, technology should complement rather than replace agriculture, infrastructure and traditional industries.

‘Build Companies Where We Built Committees’

Hagher reserved one of his strongest messages for young people.

He urged them not to inherit only the grievances and frustrations of older generations but to take responsibility for completing the region's unfinished work.

“Your generation must build companies where ours built committees. You must build data where we kept files. You must build processing plants where we sold raw produce. You must build digital markets where we waited for government allocations,” he said.

He also challenged young people to preserve disappearing languages and cultural traditions while using modern technology to create new industries and opportunities.

Hagher Invokes Middle Belt Political Legacy

In another emotional section of his speech, Hagher invoked the memory of past Middle Belt political and intellectual leaders, including Joseph Tarka, Solomon Lar, Paul Unongo, Aper Aku, Joseph Gomwalk and others.

He asked whether those leaders would be satisfied with the present state of poverty, displacement, insecurity and disunity in the region.

Hagher warned that today's leaders would themselves one day be judged by future generations.

He said they would be asked what they did when insecurity spread, what they built when poverty persisted, and what opportunities they created when young people were leaving the region.

Four-Stage Plan to 2046

Hagher proposed that the region's transformation be pursued in four broad stages.

From 2026 to 2031, he said attention should focus on peace, reconstruction, resettlement, agricultural recovery, data and urgent infrastructure.

From 2031 to 2036, the region should accelerate power, connectivity, agro-processing, technical education and industrial development.

Between 2036 and 2041, the six states and the FCT should increasingly operate as an integrated production system.

And from 2041 to 2046, North Central should position itself as a competitive West African platform for food processing, strategic minerals, clean energy, logistics, education, technology and culture.

Hagher concluded that North Central does not have to weaken its commitment to Nigeria in order to become more economically organised as a region.

“A stronger North Central will make a stronger Nigeria,” he said.

He urged the region to replace fragmentation with cooperation, dependency with productivity and historic sacrifice with tangible achievement.

“History has received our sacrifice. Let the future receive our achievement,” Hagher said.

Read the full Guest lecture on thisibelieve.blog: https://www.thisibelieve.blog/north-central-the-hinge-of-the-federation-and-the-great-leap-forward

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