Setting the record straight: Mineral value-addition and national progress, by Abubakar Adamu

The recent controversy sparked by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) regarding the location of a gold refinery in Lagos deserves a sober, fact-based response. For too long, our nation’s wealth has been shipped abroad in raw form—gold from the North and other minerals from across the country—benefiting foreign economies like Dubai while leaving our local communities with little to show for it.

While criticism is part of democracy, it must be grounded in truth. Here is the reality of Nigeria’s evolving mineral landscape:

1. A Private Investment, Not a Government Project
   The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has officially clarified that the gold refinery in Lagos is not a government-owned facility.

• Wholly Private: The refinery is an initiative of Kian Smith, a 100% privately owned Nigerian mining company.
• Investment Freedom: In a free-market economy, the government does not dictate where private companies must site their factories. These decisions are based on the company’s own commercial strategies and market proximity.

1. Development is Decentralized Across Nigeria
   The idea that industrialization is being concentrated in one region is simply not supported by the facts. The administration’s Value-Addition Policy is driving major projects nationwide:

• Nasarawa State: Home to a $600 million lithium processing plant and a $400 million rare earth plant.
• Abuja: Site of a $200 million ASBA lithium plant.
• Nationwide Expansion: Three additional gold refineries are currently at various stages of development in different parts of the country.

1. A Call to Action for the North
   The North is blessed with an abundance of critical minerals, including gold, copper, nickel, and manganese. Rather than opposing private investment in other regions, our focus should be on replicating this success locally.

• Northern-Led Refineries: There is nothing stopping Northern elites, state governors, or private investors from establishing world-class gold refineries in Zamfara, Kaduna, or Bauchi.
• Economic Sovereignty: By building local processing hubs, we can finally stop the illegal export of raw gold and ensure that the jobs and wealth generated from Northern soil stay within the North.

1. Moving from Extraction to Industrialization
   The Federal Government’s policy to discourage the export of raw minerals is the most significant reform in the sector in decades. This shift is attracting billions in foreign investment and creating thousands of jobs for our youth.

Conclusion:

Let us move past regional grievances and embrace the era of industrialization. Nigeria is large enough for multiple gold refineries. The success of a private refinery in Lagos is a victory for the Nigerian economy, but it should also serve as a blueprint for what can—and should—be achieved in the heart of the North.