The Governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni, is dreaming industrialisation, empowerment for his people and how to grow the state economy in a sustainable way. And he’s not sleeping on his dream. Recently, he presented a certificate of occupancy and right of occupancy of a 300-hectare land to the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA. It was a smart move by a futuristic governor.

By this gesture, it is obvious that Buni is not thinking local consumption alone. He’s thinking export. He wants Yobe to earn foreign exchange through export. And Yobe has so much to export. Yobe is rich in pastoral products – meat, milk, hides and skin, boasting the largest pastoral market in West Africa. It’s home to sesame seeds, gum Arabic, millet, sorghum, cowpea, maize and cotton, among other crops that are produced in commercial quantities. What has been lacking over the years is turning these crops into cash especially in the international market.

For a state blessed with a panoply of minerals, cash crops and pastoral resources, Yobe, like most Nigerian states, has no reason to keep depending on Abuja to share the national cake every 30 days. The reason states in Nigeria rush to Abuja for allocation is the absence of visionary leadership. This is what Buni is providing in Yobe state; a far-sighted leadership that lives for the moment but plans for the future.

While presenting the certificate to the agency’s Executive Director of Trade and Investment, Alhaji Usman Bakori, Buni urged NEPZA to use the land effectively and efficiently.

“You should ensure efficient and speedy use of the land to enhance development. Government deliberately allocated the land to the agency close to the cargo airport to stimulate trade and business activities in the state.

 “You have a great role to play in promoting the export of agricultural produce, including sesame seeds, gum Arabic, livestock and other crops that are produced in great commercial quantities in the state. We look forward to seeing your presence and performance soon in the state,” Buni said to the NEPZA chief.

This is another case of development partnership. Recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after a meeting between officials of the state and officials of Arab Bank for Economic Development (BADEA), Buni inked a partnership with BADEA on behalf of the state to foster growth in energy and agriculture development.

This latest on-site partnership with NEPZA complements the expected gains from the strategic BADEA partnership. While receiving the land document from the governor, Bakori pledged prompt action from NEPZA to “hasten development on the land.” This gesture is a leadership masterstroke. The governor also ensured that the land area allocated to NEPZA is near the cargo airport, a fit-for-purpose land for an agency that will help the state drive its export market.

In the coming years when NEPZA sets up shop in Yobe, it would be helping the state to begin a journey into the lucrative export market. Just imagine what partnership with NEPZA would do to the state’s pastoral market. From the state’s rich resource of cattle, one of the byproducts, hides and skin, would be put to optimal use, not only in the local market but will be readily exported into the international market where improved lifestyles and innovations have placed high demand on the raw material.

Contemporary researches have projected the global hides and skin market to grow from $129.14 billion in 2023 to $137.71 billion in 2024. By 2028, the market value of hides and skin is expected to hit $174.69 billion at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1 per cent. There is growing offtake of hides and skin and this has been attributed to the growth in the fashion and apparel industry, footwear manufacturing, automotive upholstery, furniture production and changing consumer preferences. Leather is climbing the ladder in the fashion industry.

Such is the vastness of the hides and skin market. With effective partnership and support from NEPZA, Yobe and indeed Nigeria, would be cutting its own share from the global pie.

Aside pastoral produce, Yobe also has in its bowel, minerals like limestone, gypsum, trona, kaolin, diatomite, bentonite and crude oil in huge commercial quantities. A walk with NEPZA will enhance exploitation, processing and export of these minerals. NEPZA anchoring its base in Yobe has both immediate and long-term effects. It will create immediate employment in the state as well as create economies of scale for artisans, food vendors, professionals in science and engineering, project management professionals and others.

It bears restating that minerals in Yobe are in high demand locally and internationally. Trona, for instance, is used to manufacture detergent and in the production of Plaster of Paris (POP), glass, paper products, and in manufacturing of other chemicals, such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The United States and Turkey are major sources of this rare mineral which is finding more uses as innovation advances.

Limestone, a base material in cement manufacture, will trigger the development of a buoyant cement industry in Yobe. Any cement factory located in that part of Nigeria will not lack the requisite raw material to sustain Nigeria and Africa markets.

Recently, a Geologist based in Damaturu, Dr Garba Iliya, put the estimate of the reserve of gypsum at 141 million tonnes. He said the mineral was lying fallow in Gujba, Gulani, Fune and Fika local government areas of the state. The geologist said 247 million tonnes of limestone and 231 tonnes of kaolin were available in Gujba, Gulani, Nangere and Fika local government areas. Yobe has no fewer than 18 minerals in commercial deposits.

Yobe is one of the states that can sustain itself and other states because of its natural endowments. What has been lacking over the years is the vision and the will to explore and exploit these natural endowments for the good of the state and country. This is what Buni is providing at the moment, visionary leadership. He is quietly turning the sod in the state and it is only a matter of time, the seeds being planted today will germinate and grow into oak trees of investments and prosperity for Yobe state, and the nation in general. Buni is thinking and working. He should stay focused on the ball and on the goal.

• Gaya, an agronomist, writes from Abuja