Zulum Woos Private Sector to Invest in Borno's Post-Insurgency Recovery

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has called on private investors and corporate organisations to take advantage of the state's recovery from insurgency by investing in ventures that will restore livelihoods and create employment for youths.

Zulum made the appeal on Thursday at the opening of a two-day Private Sector Roundtable on Durable Solutions to Internal Displacement, held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Lagos. The forum, with the theme, "Mobilising Private Capital for Durable Solutions and Sustainable Development", brought together top government officials, business executives, development partners, philanthropic organisations and other stakeholders.

Represented by his Deputy, Hon. Usman Kadafur, the governor urged companies and private institutions to support resettled communities, collaborate with vocational training centres and invest in sustainable enterprises. He challenged participants to make concrete commitments with clear timelines and measurable outcomes. "A camp cannot become a permanent address. And dependence cannot be the inheritance we pass from one generation to another," Zulum said.

The governor expressed appreciation to humanitarian agencies for their life-saving interventions during the peak of the crisis, noting that the next phase must focus on self-reliance. According to him, Borno's 25-Year Development Framework is designed to transform the state into a secure, competitive hub for agribusiness and commerce through investments in human capital, agriculture, healthcare, environmental sustainability and regional trade.

Zulum emphasised that closing displacement camps alone does not end displacement. "We have learned that closing a camp is not the same thing as ending displacement," he stated. He cited the Monguno recovery project, where the state government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme, Germany and other partners, delivered 1,900 permanent houses and semi-permanent shelters and installed 375 solar streetlights.

He added that about 4,000 persons benefited from business grants, vocational and technical training, starter packs and farm inputs, with women accounting for 40 per cent of the beneficiaries, while interventions also covered water supply, energy, markets, security and social cohesion. "Housing alone is not resettlement. Housing plus livelihoods, education, healthcare, security, infrastructure and economic opportunity is what turns a settlement into a community," the governor said.

On education, Zulum disclosed that as of December 2025, his administration had constructed 104 new schools and rehabilitated 2,931 classrooms and other facilities, which has pushed school enrolment to over 1.8 million while reducing the number of out-of-school children to below 800,000.

He also revealed that about 3,000 youths graduated from nine vocational enterprise institutes and centres across the state earlier in 2026, and were provided with tools, starter packs and entrepreneurship support. "I am therefore not asking you to choose between conscience and commerce. I am asking you to recognise that, in Borno, conscience and commerce can reinforce one another," he said.

Zulum urged corporate organisations to channel their Corporate Social Responsibility investments into projects that promote self-sufficiency, such as schools, vocational centres, primary healthcare facilities, water systems and support for women and youth-owned businesses. "I therefore propose that this roundtable must not end with photographs and communiqués," he said.

He further called on business leaders to help displaced families become homeowners, farmers, employees and entrepreneurs, while creating jobs and business opportunities for young people vulnerable to extremist recruitment.
In their separate remarks, the Acting Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Babagana Mustapha Malumbe, and the Chief Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development, Partnerships and Humanitarian Support, Dr. Mairo Mandara, reaffirmed the administration's commitment to providing an enabling environment and a level playing field for sustainable investments.

The roundtable attracted leading business and financial institutions as well as development partners, including the Dangote Group, First Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, and the German Corporation.

The Borno State delegation included Commissioners for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, Finance, Information and Internal Security, Works and Housing, Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries and the Executive Secretary of the Borno State Investment Promotion Agency, BOSIPA, among other officials.