"Strategies for Economic Reconstruction in the Northern States of Nigeria" on April 7 and 8, 2016

MEDIA ADVISORY

The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will host a two-day conference, "Strategies for Economic Reconstruction in the Northern States of Nigeria" on April 7 and 8, 2016. 

The international conference, hosted by the African Studies Program, will address challenges of the 19 northern states of Nigeria including environmental degradation, widespread poverty, declining per capita incomes, fragile infrastructures, low education standards, endemic violence, economic stagnation, local governance failures, and rising youth unemployment. The agenda will confront these challenges by asking: How can northerners join with fellow Nigerians to mobilize their natural, organizational, financial, and human resources to recruit productive investments in employment-generating industries?

"Strategies for Economic Reconstruction in the Northern States of Nigeria" will feature officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), The World Bank, The Department for International Development (DFID), The Council on Foreign Relations, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), and Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria.

Agenda

Thursday, April 7, 2016

8:30–9:00 a.m. Coffee and Breakfast
9:00–9:15 a.m. Welcome by Peter Lewis, Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Johns Hopkins SAIS
9:15–9:45 a.m. Keynote Conversation and Conference Agenda
Kole Shettima, Director of the Africa Office, The MacArthur Foundation
Paul Lubeck, Associate Director of African Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
9:45–10:00 a.m. Break
10:00–11:30 a.m. "Challenges and Strategies for Investment in the Northern States" 
Panel:
Volker Treichel, Lead Economist, The World Bank 
A. B. Mahmoud, Managing Partner, Dikko and Mahmoud 
Muhammad Sagagi, Political Economy and Conflict Analysis Manager, DFID
Moderator: Ambassador John Campbell, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, The Council on Foreign Relations
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. “Catalyzing Investment in Northern Nigeria”
Mansur Ahmed, MD, Director of Communications, The Dangote Group 
A.B. Mahmoud, Managing Partner, Dikko and Mahmoud
12:30–1:30 p.m. Luncheon
1:30–3:00 p.m. "Infrastructure: Strategies for Empowering Industrial Reconstruction"
Panel:
Katherine Steel, Acting Deputy Coordinator of Energy Sector for Power Africa, USAID
Hannah Kabir, CEO, CreedsEnergy 
Ahmed Aliyu Ahmad, M.A. Candidate, International Economics and Energy, Resources and Environment, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Moderator: Matthew Page, International Affairs Fellow, The Council on Foreign Relations
3:00–3:15 p.m. Break
3:15–4:45 p.m. "North East States: Prospects for Economic Reconstruction”
Round Table:
Ali Shettima, Managing Director and CEO, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation
Darren Kew, Department Chair of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, University of Massachusetts-Boston
Ernest Ogbozor, Ph.D. Candidate, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Moderator: Kole Shettima, Director of the Africa Office, The MacArthur Foundation

Friday, April 8, 2016

8:30–9:00 a.m. Coffee and Breakfast
9:00–10:30 a.m. “Economic Governance for Investment and Employment”
Panel:
Murtala Sagagi, Business and Entrepreneurship Professor, Bayero University
Paul Lubeck, Associate Director of African Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Aisha M. Bello, Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Kano State Government
Attahiru Jega, immediate past Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Professor, Bayero University and George Mason University
Moderator: John Paden, Clarence Robinson Professor of International Studies, George Mason University
10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. “Restructuring Education for Employment and Higher Productivity”
Panel:
Hafiz Abubakar, Deputy Governor/Commissioner of Education Science and Technology, Kano State Government
Kole Shettima, Director of the Africa Office, The MacArthur Foundation
Muhammad Sagagi, Political Economy and Conflict Analysis Manager, DFID
Y.Z. Ya’u, Executive Director, CITAD
12:00–1:00 p.m. Luncheon
1:00–2:00 p.m. Special Presentation by Navdeep Sodhi, Managing Director, Afroconsulting Trade and Services
2:00–3:30 p.m. "Incubating Northern Industries: Why are Incentives and Supports Necessary?"
Panel:
Amal Hassan, CEO, The OutSource Company
Kate Meagher, Development Studies Lecturer, London School of Economics
Y.Z. Ya’u, Executive Director, CITAD
3:30 p.m. Conference Conclusion

Location

Johns Hopkins SAIS
Bernstein-Offit Building, Conference Center, 5th Floor

Register

The event is open to the public and media, with registration. Members of the working press may send an email RSVP to [email protected]. 

Media Contact

Stacy A. Anderson
Communications Manager
Johns Hopkins SAIS
202.663.5620 office
202.853.7983 mobile
[email protected]