By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Six Nigerian Governors have pledged to draw lessons from the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) in the Republic of Benin to revive the country’s textile industry, strengthen domestic manufacturing and create sustainable jobs through the development of agro-industrial value chains.
The Governors made the commitment during an inspection tour of the integrated industrial zone near Cotonou alongside Vice-President Kashim Shettima, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to establish agro-industrial processing hubs and rebuild Nigeria’s manufacturing capacity.
The delegation comprised: Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma; Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal; Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang; Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda; and Jigawa State, Governor Umar Namadi.
The visit provided the Governors with an opportunity to examine how deliberate government policies, reliable infrastructure and private-sector investment could be combined to link farmers with processors, reduce the export of raw commodities and create jobs across agriculture and manufacturing.
The Governors agreed that the GDIZ model offered practical lessons for Nigerian states seeking to convert their agricultural resources into finished products and establish industries around their comparative advantages.
AbdulRazaq, who is also Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, described the trip as an African peer-learning mission aimed at helping Nigerian states avoid costly mistakes while adopting tested approaches to industrial development.
He recalled that Nigerian governors had previously visited Ethiopia to study its industrial development model and had now turned to Benin Republic to examine both the successes and challenges of the GDIZ.
According to him, the delegation examined the cotton, cashew and soybean value chains and found the level of integration achieved at the zone encouraging.
He said the participating states were already working with the Federal Government and development partners to provide the infrastructure needed to establish similar industrial processing zones in Nigeria.
For Namadi, the visit offered important lessons for Jigawa State’s efforts to add value to agricultural production under the country’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme.
He described what the delegation saw at GDIZ as encouraging for Nigeria and Jigawa, saying the experience had provided practical knowledge that could help the state industrialise its agricultural sector and create sustainable employment for its young population.
The Governor maintained that adopting the concept and effectively implementing the SAPZ programme would enable Jigawa to process more of its agricultural products locally, increase their value and open new economic opportunities for residents.
For Lawal, the visit also brought back memories of Zamfara’s once-thriving textile industry, which he said had supported thousands of workers through factories, cotton ginneries and oil mills.
The Governor recalled growing up around the industry because his father was one of the owners of the Zamfara Textile Industry.
At its peak, he said, the factory operated three shifts with about 2,000 workers on each shift, while the state also had about 23 ginneries and an oil mill where cotton seeds were processed into oil.
The experience at GDIZ, Lawal said, had strengthened his resolve to restore cotton production and textile manufacturing in Zamfara, describing the revival of the value chain as one of the legacies he intends to leave behind.
He added that restoring the sector would create opportunities for farmers, processors and manufacturers while generating employment and improving the economic conditions of residents.
Uzodimma, meanwhile, stressed the need for African countries to deepen peer learning and build industries around their respective comparative advantages as a means of creating employment and shared prosperity.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for directing Shettima to lead the delegation, describing the visit as a practical step towards translating the administration’s industrialisation agenda into action.
The Imo Governor expressed satisfaction with what the delegation saw, arguing that if the GDIZ model was properly adapted to Nigeria and each state developed industries around its comparative advantage, the country could generate the prosperity and employment opportunities required by its people.
Radda similarly identified opportunities for Nigerian states to replicate the production systems at GDIZ, particularly in areas where they already possess strong agricultural value chains.
He noted that Katsina remained one of Nigeria’s major cotton-producing states and also had significant soybean production, giving it both comparative and competitive advantages in the commodities.
The governor said applying the lessons from Benin could help Katsina create jobs for young people, generate wealth and strengthen the connection between agriculture and industry.
Mutfwang described GDIZ as a successful proof of concept, noting that its transformation from an idea into a functioning industrial ecosystem demonstrated what could be achieved through political commitment, careful planning and competent management.
He maintained that such development could not happen by chance, stressing the need for political will and the appointment of capable people to drive industrial projects.
The Plateau Governor said Nigeria and his state possessed even greater economic potential but must take deliberate steps to ensure that agricultural commodities were processed locally rather than exported in their raw form.
He said the delegation’s visit had provided a practical demonstration of the industrialisation strategy being discussed under Tinubu’s administration and aligned with the President’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy.
For the Governors, the experience at GDIZ underscored the need to move beyond the production and export of raw agricultural commodities and establish integrated value chains that connect farmers to processing, manufacturing and export markets.
The delegation’s commitment also signals a renewed push by the states to use agriculture as the foundation for industrialisation, job creation and economic diversification, while drawing from practical experiences within the continent rather than relying solely on imported development models.
