Zamfara is fighting to change its public image from a troubled security zone to an industrial mining powerhouse.
The state’s governor, Dauda Lawal, recently launched a massive $200 million lithium mining and processing plant in Boko, Zurmi. The project, known as the Zam Mining project, is expected to create 2,000 local jobs and serve as proof that big-ticket international investments can succeed in the state.
During a visit to Gusau, the Federal Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, urged global investors to look past the “insecurity narratives” and see the state’s massive potential. Zamfara holds massive reserves of strategic, modern-industry minerals like lithium and gold.
To help local manufacturers and cooperatives get their products out of the state and into the rest of Africa, the federal government is linking them directly to a new United Nations-backed Air Cargo corridor. This program, set up in partnership with the UNDP, uses airlines like Rwanda and Uganda Airlines to fly goods from Nigeria straight to East and Southern African markets.
