Tinubu: Africa’s Role as Raw Minerals Supplier Solidifying Its Misery

•Says extracting raw minerals without local processing deepens continent’s underdevelopment

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has warned about the dire consequences of Africa’s long-standing profile as a supplier of raw minerals to other continents.

Tinubu said extraction of raw minerals had continued to impoverish Africa, making it even more underdeveloped.

The president made the observation yesterday, while delivering his keynote address during the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) meeting on the side-lines of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu pointed out that while Africa held a significant portion of the world’s mineral reserves, including 92 per cent of global platinum, 56 per cent of cobalt, and 54 per cent of manganese, these resources had been primarily extracted and exported to foreign countries for refining and manufacturing.

He highlighted the urgent need for the continent to break free from its current dependency, saying the extraction of raw minerals without local processing only deepens Africa’s underdevelopment and prolongs its economic challenges.

In the address titled, “Africa’s Natural Resources Shaping the Future,” Tinubu explained that natural resource extraction and export had left the continent at the mercy of foreign markets, forcing it to repurchase finished products at much higher prices.

“A situation in which the raw minerals are extracted from our countries, exported, refined, and sold to us as finished products merely consolidates the foundations of our misery and pushes us further down the depths of underdevelopment,” he stated.

Tinubu called on African nations to adopt a new agenda that prioritised local value addition, which he said was essential to the continent’s industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.

On the evolution of lithium-ion technology, Tinubu stated that the development had facilitated the swift production and manufacturing of portable consumer electronics, such as laptops, computers, cellular phones, and electric cars.

According to him, “We live in a world of electronic mobility in which lithium-powered batteries provide higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher energy efficiency, longer cycle life, and longer calendar life.

“The global need for new battery technology has triggered a new scramble for Africa’s critical minerals. Africa possesses 92 per cent of global reserves of platinum, 56 per cent of cobalt, 54 per cent of manganese, and 36 per cent of chromium. These are the minerals employed in the manufacturing of the new batteries. In short, the world needs Africa today more than ever.”

The president emphasised Africa’s determination to move beyond the historical exploitation of its resources, advocating the localisation of the entire mineral value chain within the continent.

Tinubu also assured of his administration’s commitment to adding local value to Nigeria’s mineral resources as part of the vision of AMSG, which is chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake.

The president, who drew attention to Nigeria’s vast market of over 226 million people, said the success of the country’s $10 billion telecoms market was a proof of its growth potential, “in the manufacturing of Lithium batteries, concentrates and components to set up their business and domesticate the value chain from extraction to production in Nigeria”.

He affirmed that AMSG was focused on transforming Africa from a supplier of raw materials into a global mining industry stakeholder.

Alake, who also spoke at the event in his capacity as Chairman of AMSG, laid out the group’s vision to transform Africa’s mining industry through local value addition and industrialisation.

The minister criticised the traditional model of mineral extraction in Africa, where raw materials were exported for processing abroad, resulting in lost economic opportunities and jobs on the continent. He maintained that this pattern of trade had left African nations vulnerable, as they were forced to import finished goods at inflated prices.

Alake proposed a shift towards local value addition – processing raw minerals into finished goods within Africa – as a strategy for enhancing the continent’s economic independence and contributing more significantly to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He stated, “We are moving from commercialisation to industrialisation. By processing and manufacturing raw minerals into finished goods, we can increase employment, reduce our reliance on imports, and, ultimately, raise the contribution of the solid minerals sector to our GDP.”

He acknowledged that although the continent faced significant developmental challenges, Africa’s natural wealth provided a pathway to prosperity if leveraged correctly.

While setting the mood for the important conversation on how Africa’s natural resources should benefit the people, reduce poverty, and create wealth for the people of the continent, General Secretary of AMSG, Mr. Moses Engadu, called for a new vision and political will among African leaders to ensure value addition became a sacrosanct condition for granting mineral license to any investor.

The roundtable had representatives of investors, development partners, multilateral institutions, and major financial institutions in attendance.