Nigeria, Oct. 20 -- Northern Nigeria is a region of contrasts - rich in sunlight, land and youthful energy, yet constrained by insecurity, unreliable electricity, unemployment, climate pressures and limited industrial capacity. States such as Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Zamfara and Borno possess the raw materials for a productive, technology-driven economy. What they need now is a coordinated push to convert potential into prosperity.

That conversation resurfaced recently at an executive training organised by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in partnership with Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR). At the sidelines of the event, the Director-General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA),...