Published on 26/09/2024
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu warned that Africa’s role as a raw mineral’s supplier perpetuates poverty and underdevelopment.
He emphasized that exporting unprocessed minerals keeps the continent impoverished. Tinubu called for local processing to boost economic growth. His remarks highlight the urgent need for Africa to break free from this dependency.
The Nigerian leader made the observation while delivering his keynote address during the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
President Tinubu said that while Africa holds a significant portion of the world’s mineral reserves, “including 92% of global platinum, 56% of cobalt, and 54% of manganese, these resources have been primarily extracted and exported to foreign countries for refining and manufacturing.”
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the global event, the President highlighted the urgent need for the African continent to break free from this dependency, stating that “the extraction of raw minerals without local processing only deepens Africa’s underdevelopment and prolongs its economic challenges.”
President Tinubu explained that this has left the continent at the mercy of foreign markets, forcing it to repurchase finished products at much higher prices.
“A situation in which the raw minerals are extracted from our countries, exported, refined, and sold to us as finished products merely consolidate the foundations of our misery and pushes us further down the depths of underdevelopment,” he stated.
New Agenda
The Nigerian leader called on African nations to adopt a new agenda that prioritises local value addition, which he sees as essential to industrialising the continent and providing sustainable economic growth.
On the evolution of lithium-ion technology, President Tinubu noted that “the development has enabled the swift production and manufacturing of portable consumer electronics such as laptops, computers, cellular phones, and electric cars.”
He continued: “We live in a world of electronic mobility in which lithium-powered batteries provide higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher energy efficiency, longer cycle life, and longer calendar life.
“The global need for new battery technology has triggered a new scramble for Africa’s critical minerals. Africa possesses 92% of global reserves of platinum, 56% of Cobalt, 54% of Manganese and 36% of Chromium. These are the minerals employed in the manufacturing of the new batteries. In short, the world needs Africa today more than ever.”
President Tinubu further emphasised Africa’s determination to move beyond the historical exploitation of its resources, advocating the localisation of the entire mineral value chain within the continent.
Local Value
President Tinubu also promised his administration’s commitment to adding local value to Nigeria’s mineral resources as part of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group’s vision chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake.
The President, who drew attention to Nigeria’s vast market of over 226 million people, said the success of the country’s $10 billion telecoms market is proof of its growth potential “in the manufacturing of Lithium batteries, concentrates and components to set up their business and domesticate the value chain from extraction to production in Nigeria.”
He affirmed that the AMSG is focused on transforming Africa from a supplier of raw materials into a global mining industry stakeholder.
Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, who also spoke at the event in his capacity as the Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, laid out the group’s vision to transform Africa’s mining industry through local value addition and industrialization.
The Minister criticised the traditional model of mineral extraction in Africa where raw materials are exported for processing abroad, resulting in lost economic opportunities and jobs on the continent.
He maintained that “this pattern of trade has left African nations vulnerable, as they are forced to import finished goods at inflated prices.”
The Minister also proposed a shift towards local value addition—processing raw minerals into finished goods within Africa—as a strategy for enhancing the continent’s economic independence and contributing more significantly to its GDP.
“We are moving from commercialisation to industrialisation. By processing and manufacturing raw minerals into finished goods, we can increase employment, reduce our reliance on imports, and ultimately raise the contribution of the solid minerals sector to our GDP,” Alake said.
He acknowledged that although the continent faces significant developmental challenges, Africa’s natural wealth provides a pathway to prosperity if leveraged correctly.
While setting the mood for the important conversation on how Africa’s natural resources should benefit the people, reduce poverty and create wealth for the people of the continent, General Secretary of AMSG, Mr. Moses Michael Engadu, called for a new vision and political will among African leaders to ensure value addition becomes a sacrosanct condition to granting mineral license to any investor.
The roundtable had representatives from investors, development partners, multilateral institutions and major financial institutions in attendance.
