Veteran labor leader Mustafa Wali has urged northern leaders, traditional institutions, cooperatives and private investors to seize ownership of the Green Imperative Program (GIP), calling it a “national lifeline” for the region's agricultural transformation.
Emphasizing that the success of the initiative depends on active regional participation, he said the Green Imperative is not just a federal government initiative but a national program that requires regional participation.
“Northern state governments, traditional institutions, cooperatives and private investors must now take ownership,” Wali said.
Launched in 2019 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, GIP was envisioned as a ten-year mechanization partnership between Nigeria and Brazil.
Its ambitious goal was to supply over 10,000 tractors, 50,000 implements and set up 774 service centers across the country to create millions of jobs and modernize rural economies. However, seven years in, the program has not reached its full potential.
Wali attributed this significant setback to the limited participation of regional stakeholders, citing their failure to provide the necessary counterpart funding and institutional support.
He said, “Mechanization cannot be achieved through federal action alone. It requires collective ownership and sustained political will at every level.”
He described the initial phase as a “missed opportunity” that could have significantly improved food production and employment, especially in northern Nigeria, which has more than 70 percent of the country's arable land.
Wali commended the President Tinubu administration for its commitment to revive and commercialize the program in 2025, noting that the new agreements with Brazil and technical partners indicate a real political will.
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“The revival of the Green Imperative offers a second chance – especially for Northern Nigeria, where the young population and vast land make it the natural engine of the country's food security. Mechanization is not a luxury; for Northern Nigeria, it is a necessity for survival and development,” he explained.
To ensure long-term sustainability of the programme, Wali urged Northern State Governments, private investors and traditional institutions to immediately create Green Mandatory Implementation Desks within their agriculture ministries.
He also stressed the critical need for technical training, advocating for enhancing the skills of youth and women as tractor operators, mechanics and service providers.
Furthermore, he appealed to the polytechnics and universities in the region to strengthen practical agricultural engineering and mechanization programmes.
“The era of waiting for Abuja is over. Local leadership and regional coordination must drive agricultural transformation,” he said.
Wali urged state governments to provide matching funding, allocate land for training and service centers and set clear mechanization targets within their annual budgets.
He encouraged cooperatives and private companies to partner with federal agencies to run efficient tractor-rental and maintenance services, while urging NGOs and development partners to focus their efforts on youth and women empowerment groups.
With seven of the ten years of the initial agreement already elapsed, Wali warned against misusing the opportunity, calling for transparency, accountability and local assembly of equipment. He also stressed the urgent need for practical action: “Farmers need GIP to begin with.”
He reiterated the need for Brazilian technicians to be physically on the ground to begin training agribusiness personnel.
“The Green Imperative is not just a federal government project; it is a lifeline for the North. If adopted properly, it can ignite a northern agricultural renaissance – one that feeds the nation, empowers youth and sustains livelihoods,” Wali stressed.
