Tinubu calls for African unity against illegal exploitation of mineral resources

By Kunle Sanni

President Bola Tinubu has urged African leaders in the solid minerals sector to be patriotic and proactive in managing the continent’s natural wealth and combating illegal exploitation.

During a meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, at the State House with a delegation of African Ministers of Solid Minerals, led by Dele Alake, Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), the President emphasized the need for concerted efforts to protect Africa’s mineral resources from illegal exploiters.

“We will lead the continent to self-realization on the value of our minerals and economic ingenuity, and this will occur as we free it from undue exploitation and abuse,” the President said.

In his remarks, Alake, who is the Minister of Solid Minerals, said the group was formed out of necessity and the realization of the “divide and rule tactics” that have weakened the negotiating power of African countries in the global market.

He explained that among the various international forums held to strategize on solid minerals in Africa, the one in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early in the year brought up many issues, especially the need for Africans to seize the opportunity that the global energy transition offers.

“The world needs critical metals for energy transition; green energy, and these critical metals are largely deposited in Africa. So, African nations and representatives at that Riyadh Conference came together and decided that if we do not come together and speak with one voice, then those who have exploited Africans for centuries will continue to do so,” the Minister stated.

Alake said “divide and rule tactics” have been consistently used over many years to weaken the bargaining power of African countries and the real valuation of their natural assets.

“They have been employing divide and rule tactics, so all ministers in Riyadh from Africa came together, and we had presentations and adopted local value-addition policies, which have been recommended for all African countries. A number of presidents have started making pronouncements on policies along this line.

“At that Riyadh Conference, this group was formed to synthesize all our ideas, synergize among African countries, and have, where feasible, uniformity of policies so that no investor can come to Nigeria, find our terms too stringent, and then go to Benin Republic, Congo, or Malawi, and so on.

“We saw that if we all come together to form a common policy direction, and when an investor comes to Nigeria and meets a brick wall, he will meet a brick wall in all other African countries and will be compelled to return to the first country.

“So, the issue of divide and rule, which has been a mechanism used to exploit our continent for centuries, will no longer be tenable,” the Minister said.