•Says local value addition mandatory for fresh mining licences

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has declared Nigerians in Diaspora investors as essential partners for unlocking the financing and technical capacity required to transform the mining sector.

Speaking to a cross-section of Nigerians in Diaspora investors led to his office Monday evening, by Chairman of the Nigerians In Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Alake stressed that the shift in focus to the solid minerals sector is pivotal to economic survival of Nigeria in view of dwindling oil revenue, as the world transitions to clean energy.

In her remarks, the NIDCOM boss, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa, said the visiting investors are part of the delegates to the 6th Nigeria in Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS), where over 6,000 participated physically and online, who she stated are passionate about the country. All they are asking for, according to her, is the enabling environment. She lauded the Minister for his on-going reforms of the mining sector that has renewed interest in the industry across the globe, expressing optimism that with the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to diversifying the economy, Investments in the mining sector will grow exponentially in no distant future.

Lamenting the fixation on oil over past decades, Alake emphasised that the free flow of oil revenue led to the neglect of other sectors of the economy, leading Nigeria to descend from a producing nation to a consumer one stressing that the painful part is the desecration of social values because of the free flow of money, asserting Nigeria is today suffering the consequences.

“Two very fundamental reasons have led us to shift attention away from oil into the mining sector. First is economic survival. The world is transitioning from fossil fuel to clean energy. The hydrocarbons are on a downward trend. So, if we are not careful to shift attention from oil, we will be in an economic dire straits in a few years. The second is global warming, which every country is now conscious of, and making attempts to reduce hydrocarbons. Oil is hydrocarbon, so if global attention is shifting from it, we must also join the clamour for clean energy and to do that, we take recourse to our solid minerals which God has given us in great abundance,” he added.

Urging the Diasporan investors to join hands with government, Alake made a case for investment in the mining sector, emphasising the abundance of critical minerals like Lithium, gold, and the likes across the country. The Minister restated the commitment of the Federal Government to ensure local value addition by prospective mining operators

“You set up the factories here, you refine, you produce, so that the beneficiation for our people will increase. Make your money no doubt, but the country will not be short-changed. I made a policy announcement recently that henceforth, we are not going to licence anybody without a plan for local value addition with timelines, and we will monitor.”

“Those advanced countries that we run to today have become what they are, and are above subsistence level as a result of meticulous planning and execution and above all, sacrifice by previous generations. The sacrifices of those generations have manifested in the results we see today, which their younger generation enjoy. So, that behoves on us at this very pivotal time in our nation's history, that our generation should make the necessary sacrifices for our future generations, so that in future, other parts of the world too will be running to Nigeria because for one thing, in my considered view, this is one of the most blessed country in the world in terms of our climate, resources - human and material. There is no aspect of human endeavours that we don't have Nigerians excelling.”

“What has been particularly wrong with us is the incapacity to harness all these resources for the benefit of our people. However, that's history. I will always say there is a new sheriff in town and everything is changing. This is the first time in the history of this country that we have a leader who has the combined three attributes of progressive leadership. Those critical factors are vision, knowledge, and courage. The effect of that is the visibility and renewed focus on the mining sector,” the Minister said.

To ensure that the mining sector is sanitised and enabling environment provided for investors, Alake revealed that challenges of insecurity are being addressed through a creation of a new security architecture with an infusion of technology and inter-agency security collaboration. He intimated his guests about the recent MOU signed with a German company, GeoScan Ltd which with its latest proprietary technology in the mining sector will explore solid minerals as far as 10,000m under ground, with zero net environmental impact. This he said will lead to the generation of big geo-data that will aid investors in making informed judgement about the viability of their investments.

On financing for the mining industry, the Minister stated the ministry is working with the African Finance Corporation (AFC), the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and other institutions to raise requisite funds whilst also putting in place a surfeit of regulatory framework that will ensure an enabling environment for prospective investors.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerians in Diaspora investors, Dr. Ali Garuba congratulated the Minister on his appointment, saying the reforms and renewed interest in the sector have attracted global attention.

“Mining is a sector that we are really passionate about. It's an opportunity to be trained and invested. This is a sector that is populated by foreigners, and we know that the value they get from it and we get in return is very minute. We know that as Africans, we can leverage our Diaspora community to develop that sector, and there is a high interest in it. With Mining, we can create so many jobs that a whole community can be developed, just by the hard labour of the miners. So we are really excited about it.”

“We want to be role models so that young people can aspire to become entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is where wealth is. That's how we are going to create the middle class in this country. It's not only about working in government, everybody wants to work in government. If nobody wants to grow the economy, someday, the money is not going to be there in government. So, we in Diaspora are a very powerful tool that we have in Nigeria to make a difference. To make this country occupy its rightful position on the continent and in the world. We have listened with rapt attention to the minister, and we will contribute our quota to the vision to make solid minerals the largest contributor to our nation's economy,” Dr. Garuba said.

•PHOTO: Investors from Diasporans who are keen on the solid minerals sector led by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of Nigerians in Daispora commission (NiDCOM), in a group photo with the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, during a courtesy visit to the ministry in Abuja, on Monday, November 13, 2023.

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