Tinubu urges Africa to control mineral future, lead global supply chains

By Kunle Sanni –

President Bola Tinubu has called on African nations to take charge of financing and managing their mineral resources, stressing the need to assert greater influence in global supply chains.

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Second Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development, held on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Tinubu said Africa must “take the bull by the horns” to secure its economic sovereignty.

“With sovereign funds, blended vehicles, and innovative tools like the Africa Mineral Token, Africa shall finance Africa,” Tinubu declared. “We must guard our cobalt, lithium, graphite, gold, and rare earths not as fragmented states but as one continental bloc, wielding collective power in global supply chains.”

The President outlined four key imperatives for Africa’s mineral-led future: ending raw exports by climbing the value chain, strengthening geological data ownership, accelerating government-led mineral exploration, and establishing innovative financing models.

He commended African countries already restricting raw mineral exports — including Zimbabwe, Gabon, and Kenya — and pledged Nigeria’s commitment, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, to catalyze a “mineral-led renaissance.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who chaired the roundtable, called for deeper cohesion among African nations, stressing that mineral resources must drive industrialization and sustainable development.

Also speaking, Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP’s Africa Regional Director, urged leaders to ensure Africa’s resources benefit its people rather than fall prey to exploitation. Similarly, Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, highlighted Europe’s new Critical Raw Materials Act, noting four strategic partnerships with African nations on raw materials.

In a related engagement, Vice President Shettima addressed a roundtable hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), in partnership with Flour Mills of Nigeria and other conglomerates, where he urged global investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s ongoing economic reforms. He also held bilateral talks with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer to explore new areas of cooperation.