The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has warned that Nigeria's lingering insecurity will have severe consequences on the country's economy and investment. According to NESG, no business plan can survive in a war zone, and no farmer will invest in a field they cannot safely reach. The NESG stated that security is not a soft policy issue, but a foundational prerequisite for every other dimension of economic life.
The NESG will address the issue of insecurity at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES #32), with the theme, "Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity." The summit, organized by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and the NESG, will hold on October 26th and 27th, 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. The Secure Nigeria sub-theme will focus on restoring safety and stability at the heart of the economic agenda.
The NESG argued that insecurity has real, measurable economic consequences, citing the displacement of farmers across the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones, which has collapsed local food production and contributed to food insecurity. The World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation have flagged Nigeria as one of the countries with the highest food insecurity levels on the continent.
Insecurity has also affected Nigeria's oil production, with oil theft, commonly referred to as crude oil bunkering, depriving the country of a significant portion of its export revenues. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), international oil companies, and independent operators have cited security as a primary constraint on production growth and new investment.
The NESG stated that the relationship between security and food security in Nigeria has reached a critical point, with farmer-herder conflicts, banditry, and terrorist activity displacing millions of agricultural households from highly productive regions. The North-West, which is historically one of Nigeria's most important food-producing zones, has seen dramatic reductions in cultivated land as farmers abandon fields out of fear.
The NESG will examine specific security interventions required to restore access to farmland and stabilise agrarian production in Nigeria's most affected regions. This includes community-based security models, the strategic deployment of law enforcement, technology-enabled early warning systems for conflict, and policy frameworks that address the underlying resource competition driving farmer-herder violence.
The NESG also pointed out that Nigeria's power and telecommunications infrastructure has long been a target for vandalism, theft, and deliberate attack, with consequences extending beyond the immediate point of destruction. The summit will prioritise the development of a comprehensive critical infrastructure protection framework to reduce the frequency and impact of attacks and restore the investment confidence of infrastructure developers and operators.
Key points
- The Nigerian Economic Summit Group warns that insecurity will have dire consequences on the economy and investment.
- The NESG will address insecurity at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit.
- Insecurity has affected Nigeria's food production, oil production, and infrastructure.
