The President of the Nigerian Society of Economic Geologists (NSEG), Prof. Samuel Bamidele Olobaniyi, has urged the Federal Government to adopt policies that will compel investors in the solid minerals sector to establish manufacturing industries in Nigeria rather than merely extract and export raw materials.
Olobaniyi said Nigeria would continue to derive limited economic benefits from its abundant mineral resources unless it developed the technological capacity to process them into finished products.
Speaking in an interview, he said the practice of exporting raw minerals and importing finished products made from those same resources had deprived the country of enormous economic opportunities.
He argued that Nigeria must move beyond conventional value addition, which often involves processing minerals to an intermediate stage before export, to establishing industries capable of manufacturing finished products locally.
“Beyond value addition, we must begin production here. We should invite people to establish their factories in Nigeria in such a way that our people can understudy them and eventually take over the production process. That is how we acquire technology,” he said.
Citing Japan’s industrial development, Olobaniyi said natural resource endowment alone was not a sufficient condition for economic prosperity, noting that countries with limited mineral resources had achieved remarkable advancement through technology and manufacturing.
He also cited Samsung’s mobile phone manufacturing business and Toyota’s automobile industry as examples of how manufacturing capacity could generate enormous wealth, even when raw materials were sourced from other countries.
According to him, the value generated from manufacturing finished products far exceeds the revenue mineral-producing countries earn from exporting raw materials.
He regretted that Nigeria’s solid minerals sector contributed less than five per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), arguing that the figure could rise substantially if minerals were converted into finished products locally.
“If you look at the GDP, the total revenue we are making from solid minerals is not up to five per cent. Whereas, if these resources are converted into finished products, the value they generate for the economy will be enormous,” he said.
Untapped Mineral Deposits
Olobaniyi identified inadequate geological knowledge of some Nigerian mineral resources as another major obstacle to unlocking the sector’s potential.
He said insufficient information about the quality, quantity and commercial viability of the occurrences had discouraged investment and leading to limited exploitation.
Citing bauxite deposits discovered on the Mambilla Plateau, he said Nigeria had opportunities to establish new industries if its resources were properly investigated and developed.
He explained that bauxite, the principal ore used in aluminium production, could support the development of the country’s aluminium industry, attract smelting companies and stimulate manufacturers of aluminium products.
“We have a lot of things. Some are known, while some are not known. Even what we know, we have not been able to unlock properly because we do not always have a good understanding of the quality and quantity of the deposits,” he said.
The NSEG president noted that virtually every modern industrial product, including automobiles, aircraft, electronic devices, glass, tiles and cement, depended on minerals or mineral-derived materials.
He said the country must therefore invest in geological exploration, technical expertise and the capacity to transform its resources into useful products.
“Mineral deposits alone are not enough. The ability and technical know-how to transform them are very important,” he added.
Mineral Resources Are Exhaustible
Olobaniyi warned that mineral deposits were non-renewable and could eventually be exhausted if exploited without a clear national development strategy.
Citing Germany, which had historically depended on its mineral resources but now sourced many raw materials from other countries, he said Nigeria must use its present endowment to build industries and technological capacity that would outlive the resources.
“These mineral deposits will finish one day. Once you take them, they are gone. They are not renewable. So, what we should be doing is using them to build the capacity and industries that will sustain our economy even when the resources are exhausted,” he said.
He also linked some security challenges, particularly banditry and insurgency, to competition over mineral resources and illegal mining. He alleged that criminal elements had sought to dispossess communities of their land to gain access to valuable deposits, particularly gold.
He urged the government to address illegal exploitation, community dispossession, and criminal networks operating around mineral-rich areas as part of efforts to secure the sector.
The NSEG president further highlighted the strategic importance of minerals, recalling Nigeria’s past prominence in the production of columbite and tantalite, which became important to the manufacture of military and other advanced technologies.
He said the strategic value of such resources underscored the need to protect Nigeria’s mineral deposits and develop the capacity to utilise them.
Olobaniyi called for deliberate, long-term policies to drive the sector, warning against relying on temporary enthusiasm generated by discoveries and investment announcements.
“We cannot operate by excitement. We have to operate deliberately through policy. Government is trying to do something, but we have to go much further and decide that these minerals we give to people, who use them to make so much money and send the finished products back to us, must be processed and manufactured here,” he said.
He maintained that Nigeria’s ultimate objective should be to make mineral resources the foundation of industrialisation, technological independence and sustainable national development.
