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Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has called on African countries to unite to end the exploitation of the continent’s vast mineral resources, urging leaders to prioritise local processing and value addition rather than exporting raw materials.
Speaking on Tuesday while receiving a delegation of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) at the State House in Abuja, Tinubu said Africa must strengthen its bargaining power in the global minerals market and ensure its natural resources contribute directly to economic growth, industrialisation and job creation.
The President warned that Africa risks remaining a supplier of raw materials if governments fail to work together to develop local industries and processing capacity.
“What we should do is avoid bureaucracy and deceit; we must put an end to exploitation,” Tinubu said.
“The rest of the world won’t mind if your country is a cesspit of dams and rubbish and excavates your raw materials without giving value.”
He stressed that African nations should collaborate to ensure that the continent derives greater benefits from its mineral wealth through technology transfer, research and industrial development.
“It is our responsibility to collaborate and cooperate to ensure that these metals and minerals bring value to us, bring technology to us, and we can do it,” he said.
“It is how much each country will put into the research, development and refinery. I don’t see reasons we cannot demand centralisation of that conversation somewhere on the continent.”
Tinubu said Africa possesses enormous mineral resources that, if properly managed, could drive economic transformation and improve living standards across the continent.
According to him, the longstanding practice of exporting raw minerals without processing them locally should give way to policies that encourage beneficiation, local manufacturing and stronger mineral value chains.
WE MUST PUT AN END TO THE EXPLOITATION OF AFRICA’S CRITICAL MINERALS, PRESIDENT TINUBU TELLS MINERALS STRATEGY GROUP
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday urged member countries of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) to speak with one voice to promote Africa’s… pic.twitter.com/KI5OSqXhd8
— Temitope Ajayi (@TheTope_Ajayi) June 24, 2026
