Given that it is the nation’s bread basket and has massive tracts of uninhabited land, it is time Nigeria’s Middle Belt was the subject of a unique developmental programme

Ayo Akinfe

[1] For starters, the Middle Belt needs to be protected from these murderous Fulani herdsmen. They need an Amotekun-like regional security that provides intelligence to the police and armed forces

[2] Maybe all the food wholesalers who buy the yam, maize, cassava, etc from the Middle Belt should be charged a 5% tax to fund this regional security outfit

[3] The six governors of the north central geo-political zone should see the creation of a security outfit as the start of regional cooperation that could extend to numerous areas including housing, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, etc

[4] I for one am particularly keen in economic integration, particularly in agro-processing. Farmland does not know borders, so if you have say a palm oil, cocoa, cassava, rubber, pepper, sugarcane, soya beans, tomatoes, etc plantation, it makes more sense for it to be a regional operation. The wider an area it covers, the more mechanised you can be and the greater your chances of exploiting economies of scale

[5] Our Middle Belt has the most fertile soil in the country, with Benue State in particular taking yam production to unprecedented heights. Nigeria accounts for 70% of global yam production. It is time to industrialise Tivland and Idomaland, turning them into major global agro-processing centres

[6] I want to see the creation of a Middle Belt Agricultural Agency with a mandate to grant land to farmers for the creation of mega plantations, offer loans to agribusinesses to process these farm goods and offer export credits to exporters wanting to export this produce

[7] Created and funded by the North Central Governors Forums, this Middle Belt Agricultural Agency should also appoint a renown economist as its chairman with a mandate to woo food companies and investors into the area. I want to see food giants like Unilever, Cadbury, Tate & Lyle, Nestle, etc all running processing companies and packaging plants in Nigeria's Middle Belt

[8] One other thing going in favour of our Middle Belt is that it is predominantly Christian and so there are no Sharia laws to scare investors away. Of all the North Central states, only Niger practices Sharia. If the state is serious about wooing investors, such laws have to be repealed. Niger State is the main producer of shea nuts in Nigeria but they are not going to attract international crushing plants if the staff of such companies are not allowed to mingle freely irrespective of gender

[9] We should also have a regional assistance programme. If for instance, Niger State has a budget surplus of $20bn and Kogi State has a deficit of $10bn, there is no reason why one state should not assist the other. Ohaneze Ndigbo actually went a step further than this by suggesting a revenue allocation formula under which 50% will be retained by states, 20% goes to the federation account, 20% goes to a geo-political fund and 10% goes into a sovereign wealth fund

[10] Nigeria's Middle Belt needs this regional cooperation more than anywhere else in the country because it is the part of the country criss-crossed by the Rivers Niger and Benue. Our Middle Belt is the only part of the country that can come up with a regional hydro-electric power programme linking plants at say Jebba, Idah, Yola and Lokoja

ayoakinfe@gmail.com