The seven states of Northwest Nigeria have taken a coordinated peace, security and development proposition to the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81), seeking international partnerships, financing and investment to unlock the region’s economic potential.
The initiative, led by the Northwest Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will present the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework (2026–2030) to global development partners, financial institutions, investors and private-sector leaders in New York.
The high-level side event, scheduled for Monday, September 21, is themed “From Fragility to Opportunity: Locally Led Pathways to Peace, Resilience and Investment in Fragile Contexts”.
The framework provides a common regional platform for the seven states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara to address interconnected security, economic and development challenges while creating pathways for resilience, inclusive growth and investment.
Speaking in Abuja ahead of the engagement, UNDP Nigeria Resident Representative Elsie Attafuah said sustainable peace requires investment in the structural conditions that enable stability and economic growth.
“When we talk about investing in peace, we must be much more precise about where that investment needs to go.”
Attafuah identified weak institutions, poverty, food insecurity, displacement, competition over resources, climate pressures and declining trust as factors reinforcing insecurity.
“The seven governors of the Northwest have come together through the Northwest Governors Forum to develop and endorse what they’re calling the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework.”
According to her, the framework connects security, humanitarian action, development and regional cooperation, while linking stabilisation with transformation.
“It also means looking at the northwest not only through the lens of what is broken but through the lens of what is possible.”
With more than 60 million people, livestock economies, mineral resources and renewable energy potential, she said the Northwest had assets capable of supporting a new development trajectory.
“A peace framework tells us what needs to change. But an investment proposition must also help us answer the practical questions.”
Attafuah said climate-smart agriculture, agro-processing, renewable energy, roads, digital connectivity, skills and enterprise could strengthen livelihoods and stimulate local economies.
“In fragile settings these foundations are not secondary to the investment case. They are part of the investment case.”
She said the UNGA engagement would connect the region’s framework with development finance institutions, investors and other partners, creating opportunities to mobilise resources for implementation.
“Our collective responsibility now is to help turn that political commitment into implementation and to turn implementation into an investment proposition capable of changing the trajectory of millions of people.”
The New York engagement therefore seeks to move the Northwest from a shared diagnosis of its challenges towards a coordinated regional proposition capable of attracting partnerships, financing and investment for measurable development outcomes.
Attafuah said the opportunity was to strengthen the region’s foundations while creating pathways for its young people, women, farmers, businesses, and communities to participate in a productive and secure regional economy.
“The point is that peace and prosperity are not separate agendas. The investment that reduces vulnerability can also create productive economies and give communities a stronger stake in stability.”
