UNGA 80: Tinubu Urges Africa to Control Minerals

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has called for a complete overhaul of Africa’s role in the global financial architecture of mineral resources, insisting it is time for the continent to finance its own sector and assert control over supply chains.

Speaking through Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Second Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, Tinubu stressed that sovereignty would be protected only through collective action.

“We must take the bull by the horns in financing our future. Never again shall we wait for capital to trickle in,” he said, citing sovereign funds, blended vehicles, and innovation tools like the Africa Mineral Token as pathways to self-reliance.

Tinubu outlined four imperatives: advancing along the value chain to end the cycle of exporting raw materials; using African-controlled data through AMREC and PARC; accelerating government-led mineral exploration and geological mapping; and financing Africa’s future through innovative funding models.

He praised Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Gabon, and others for banning exports of raw minerals, describing such decisions as historic acts of courage that would create jobs, industries, and prosperity.

Tinubu pledged Nigeria’s “unflinching commitment” to ensuring AMSG drives a mineral-led renaissance, urging African leaders to emerge from the dialogue with “a communiqué of clarity, a framework for action, and a spirit of unity.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who chaired the session, emphasised the importance of cohesion, transparency, and partnership in maximising the sector’s benefits.

The UNDP’s Regional Director for Africa, Ahunna Eziakonwa, cautioned leaders to ensure resources serve citizens rather than facilitate exploitation, while EU Commissioner Jozef Stkela highlighted Europe’s Critical Raw Materials Act of 2024, noting four strategic partnerships already signed with African nations.