This publication is the result of the resolve of the aides of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Alake to capture the strategist at work in the first year on the saddle for the records. Many thanks to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for appointing Dr. Oladele Alake to reposition and reform the Solid Minerals Sector. We were inspired by his vision to re-position the solid minerals sector for domestic growth and international competitiveness so that the sector could truly empower the Nigerian people.
We have watched him drive this vision with jaw- dropping energy and routine. As a commentator in this publication noted, even Sundays are not excluded from his working days. It is significant that he delivered his maiden press conference after attending the church service on Sunday September 3, 2023. He delivers his mandate 24 hours of the day, seven days of the week. When does he have time to sleep? People wonder. Dr. Alake brings to the job the investigative curiosity of the journalist that recommends voracious consumption of intelligence, an evaluative perspective of the editor enriched by experience and expertise and administrative speed in executing policies that combats red tapism and drudgery.
Despite a notice that puts his visitors’ days on Thursdays and Fridays, his doors are, in reality, open all days of the week. Giving access to citizens and engaging them directly are the norms in his office. The publication is in six sections. First is the cover, a panoramic report of the evolution of the Seven Point Agenda and setting up the working environment. Second, Impressions put on record the views of the bureaucrats who run the Ministry and the agencies. We are grateful to the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe, for leading this section.
In the third section, under the blurb, Strategist At Work, we document the implementation of the Seven Point Agenda including innovations in positioning the sector in the mind of the domestic and international audiences using media messages and channels such as radio programming, television drama and documentaries.
Key deliverables of the Seven Point Agenda such as the establishment of the Mining Marshals, the formation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Company, Sanitising the Licencing system, Developing country-wide geological data through the Second Phase of the Nigerian Integrated Mineral Exploration Programme and Expansion of artisanal co- operatives are also highlighted. Under For the records, we share the progress report on actualising the seven point agenda, presented during the first anniversary of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
This provides a status update of the first document for public consumption. The seventh section, titled, Flashback takes us down memory lane to show that Dr. Alake walks his talk. We have re-published three of the articles he wrote in his column, Eyeview, elaborating his views on three subjects, civility in public appointments, the character of the national economy and his vision of Africa. Those who can connect the dots between these views, penned over 20 years ago, and his actions in government today, will attest to his ideological consistency. Finally, while the jury may still be out there over the impact of Alake’s policies in the first year, we cannot ignore feedbacks of perception and action.
The final section allows us to get the reaction to Alake’s policies from an unbiased observer and appreciation from a miner, who, for over 10 years, could not access his validly licenced area due to illegal occupation and mining. However, with the establishment of the Mining Marshals, over 1,000 illegal miners have been flushed out of the site today and the henchmen are smelling the coffee. As aides, we agreed that there would be no better day to present this special publication than October 6, 2024, Dr. Henry Oladele’s 68th birthday. This is not just a birthday gift. It is an injection of our collective adrenalin to his vision and our prayer that his past has been a story told, the next year shall be written in gold.
Kehinde Bamigbetan, Special Adviser To The Minister
