Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — The Minister of Solid Minerals Development in Nigeria, Dr. Dele Alake, has made a strong appeal to African countries to cease exporting raw minerals and instead focus on adding value as a way to achieve real industrial growth, generate employment, and promote self-sufficiency across the continent.

At the 4th session of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit, AFNIS 2025 held in Abuja, Alake stated that Africa must now "redefine its history" and gain control over its natural resources, cautioning that keeping on exporting raw minerals would result in losing employment opportunities, industrial development, and "complete economic independence."

Hosted in the Banquet Hall of the State House, the summit gathered leaders, financiers, and key players from the mining, energy, and financial sectors to outline a fresh direction for Africa's extractive industries, under the theme, "Leveraging Local Content for Sustainable Growth."

The Minister stated, "This is the contradiction we need to address. Africa has served as a provider of raw materials for too long, and by doing so, we have lost employment opportunities, industrial development, and complete economic independence. This situation needs to change."

Dr. Alake highlighted the essential need for processing Africa's minerals locally, stating:

The true worth of our minerals is not found in the raw ore and rock, but in the refined materials, batteries, alloys, steel, and technologies that result from processing them internally.

Listing more than 40 kinds of mineral resources in Nigeria such as lithium, gold, tin, coal, and rare earth elements, the minister stated that the nation is currently intensifying efforts to implement reforms designed to regulate the mining industry and enhance local value creation.

This initiative is the core purpose behind establishing the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, the prominent association of mining ministers that I lead. During our most recent meeting among ministers, we decided to impose stricter regulations on the export of raw minerals by requiring them to be processed prior to being exported.

He also mentioned that the Africa Minerals Strategy Group has implemented two continental classification frameworks: the African Mineral and Energy Resources Classification and Management System, and the Pan-African Resources Reporting Code, aimed at enhancing transparency and efficiency within Africa's mining value chain.

Referencing the late Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba, Alake stated: "Africa will craft its own history. Let us make sure it is a story of respect, initiative, and progress. In Abuja, let us unite our voices, pledge to genuine change, and start constructing a future driven by African minerals, supported by African energy, and guided by African determination. Nigeria is prepared. Let us advance, as one."

Other speakers at the summit included Nigeria's Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who emphasized the importance of developing the continent's energy and industrial systems locally.

Local content should not stay just a policy phrase. It needs to serve as a tangible tool for economic development, industrial strength, and energy safety. It should result in employment opportunities, established supply networks, specialized expertise, and preserved value.

He observed that with global energy systems shifting towards decentralization, digitalization, and reducing carbon emissions, Nigeria is adjusting its grid modernization initiatives in line with these trends.

Nigeria's objective is not only to expand its power networks but also to enhance their intelligence, reliability, and ability to withstand climate challenges.

In his opening speech, the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, referred to AFNIS 2025 as a "driver of Africa's change," noting that the continent is at a crucial stage of transitioning "from potential to purpose, from being resource-abundant to focusing on value creation, and from reliance to self-directed growth."

The focus of this year's conference is highly relevant and engaging. We are imagining a future in which mineral resources are refined, processed, and used within Africa, where energy systems are intelligent and fair, and where local skills are encouraged and supported.

The CEO of Tour Exploration, Mr. Segun Lawson, who is also a co-sponsor of the summit, praised the Nigerian government for supplying precise geological information to aid in investment choices, while Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Mining and Blue Economy, Hassan Ali Joho, urged for more extensive regional collaboration.

"It's time for African nations to collaborate in order to generate employment and prosperity that will uplift our people and the continent," Joho said.