Sultan Charges Northern Leaders to Go Beyond Attending Summits, Take Action

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Nigeria (SCIAN), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has charged Northern leaders to go beyond merely attending economic summits but taking steps that would translate into job creation, rehabilitation of industries, infrastructures and partnership with foreign investors.

The Sultan of Sokoto gave the charge yesterday while delivering a goodwill message at the opening of the first International Business and Investment Summit in Bauchi held at the Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre, Bauchi.

In his message at the Summit with the theme “Building a Resilient Economy: Optimising Investment and Partnerships”, the Sultan urged Northern leaders to undertake an honest review of the numerous investment summits that had taken place across the region over the years and take a definite developmental plans.

 According to him, “We have attended economic summits in Kaduna, Kano, Taraba, Abuja and many others over the past decade. We have convened countless investment summits in the North.

“We have heard lofty speeches, signed MoUs, and made grand declarations. But where are the results? How many factories have we revived? How many youths have found jobs? How many investors who came to our summits actually stayed?” Sultan Abubakar asked.

He, therefore, proposed a comprehensive evaluation of past Northern investment summits, beginning with Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Gombe, and Borno, among others.

He also said such a review would expose systemic weaknesses — from poor follow-up mechanisms and weak monitoring frameworks to the lack of infrastructure, policy consistency, and security challenges that often scare away investors.

“We need to track the journey from promise to progress,” he said, adding: “Every MoU signed must have a visible footprint. Investors should not return home with handshakes alone. We must create an environment where investment thrives — with roads, electricity, and security in place.