The North-West Governors Forum has urged investors to openly identify North-West investment barriers affecting businesses across the region.
The forum said government cannot create a better investment environment if investors fail to explain the challenges preventing them from committing capital.
Director-General of the forum, Maryam Yahaya, made the call at the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria CEO Forum in Lagos.
Yahaya was represented at the event, which focused on “Financing a Dignified Future: Aligning Capital, Policy and Business Action.”
She urged investors to move beyond diplomatic responses when discussing difficulties encountered in the region.
According to her, challenges could involve insecurity, electricity, bureaucratic processes or regulations that make commercial activities difficult.
Yahaya said government needs direct feedback from businesses to understand where intervention is required.
“If it is security, tell us. If it is power, or our processes are too slow, or if a regulation does not make commercial sense, we would like to know.”
She added that government could not improve the investment environment when investors were reluctant to explain what was going wrong.
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of UNGCNN, Naomi Nwokolo, called for a broader approach to business leadership and investment.
She said businesses should consider more than profitability, including how value is created, risks are managed and workers and communities are treated.
Nwokolo also described sustainability as an important driver of competitiveness and investment readiness.
She said a dignified future should allow businesses to grow, entrepreneurs to access capital and workers to earn living wages.
According to her, communities should also participate in economic opportunities without sacrificing the natural environment for short-term gains.
Nwokolo said the forum was deliberately structured as a small, closed-door discussion rather than another conference focused on prepared speeches.
She said the objective was to encourage clearer conversations about challenges and determine what should happen after the meeting.
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State also urged investors to tell government what was not working.
Lawal, however, said businesses also had responsibilities in creating commercially viable investments.
He urged investors to conduct proper due diligence and develop projects capable of standing on sound commercial foundations.
“Businesses cannot wait indefinitely for government to solve every commercial problem,” Lawal said.
He also called on financial institutions to develop financing instruments suited to productive sectors rather than relying mainly on conventional short-term lending.
The discussions placed renewed emphasis on identifying North-West investment barriers through direct engagement between government, investors and businesses.
For the region, the governors’ position suggests that improving investment conditions will require both government action and greater willingness from investors to identify the specific obstacles confronting their businesses.
