Public affairs analyst, Dayo Akintobi, has described Nigeria’s vast mineral resources as an “unexploited benefit” rather than a curse, blaming decades of neglect and poor management for the country’s inability to maximise its natural wealth.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast show, ‘The Morning Brief’ on Monday, Akintobi said that despite the abundance of mineral resources across Nigeria, the country and communities where minerals are available remain the least beneficiaries of their exploitation.
“It hasn’t become a curse; it’s just an unexploited benefit, a misdirected benefit because the country at large and the communities where these resources lie are the ones who benefit least from it,” he said. “I don’t think what is happening in mining is different from what has happened in oil and gas for many years.”
Akintobi noted that the neglect of the mining industry mirrors the historical mismanagement seen in the oil and gas sector, emphasising that government’s lack of attention has hindered the sector’s potential contribution to national growth.
“The thing is, we have not paid a lot of attention- corporate attention, and by corporate I mean government attention to the fact that there are mineral resources buried underground that have a lot of value when they are refined or sold as reusable products,” he explained.
He, however, acknowledged the recent reforms introduced by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, noting that the current administration has made notable progress in restructuring and sanitising the sector.
“The current minister for mines, Dele Alake, has done a lot of work to revamp the entire sector, the ecosystem of the mining industry and mineral resources,” Akintobi stated. “He has tried to streamline the way these resources are brought out of the ground and codify ownership, because what has been happening basically is that foreigners have been coming, making pacts with villagers who really don’t know the value.”
He warned that the lack of formal regulation and community awareness has allowed foreign operators to exploit local resources at the expense of national and regional development.
LEADERSHIP reports that Akintobi’s remarks came amid renewed efforts by the federal government to reposition the mining industry as a major contributor to Nigeria’s economy, diversify revenue sources beyond oil, and ensure equitable distribution of resource wealth across communities.
