President Bola Tinubu has called on African nations to unite in safeguarding the continent’s mineral wealth, urging member states of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) to speak with one voice and halt the age-long practice of exporting raw minerals without adding value.
Speaking on Tuesday while receiving a delegation of the AMSG at the State House, Abuja, Tinubu said Africa must strengthen its bargaining power in the global minerals market and ensure its vast natural resources translate into prosperity, jobs and technological advancement for its people.
In a statement made available to The News Chronicle, the President, who serves as Grand Patron of the group, warned against allowing Africa to remain a mere supplier of raw materials to industrialised nations.
“We must end exploitation. The rest of the world is content to take our raw materials without creating value for our economies. It is our responsibility to collaborate and ensure that our minerals bring technology, industrial growth and prosperity to our people,” Tinubu said.
He stressed that African countries must invest heavily in research, development and refining capacity, arguing that the continent has the resources and expertise needed to build a knowledge-driven economy anchored on mineral wealth.
According to him, Africa’s abundant mineral deposits should be strategically leveraged to drive industrialisation, create employment opportunities and accelerate economic transformation across the continent.
Tinubu declared that the era of exporting unprocessed minerals must give way to a new model focused on local processing, beneficiation, technology transfer and the development of robust value chains capable of retaining wealth within Africa.
Earlier, the Chairman of AMSG and Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, commended the President for his leadership and commitment to transforming Nigeria’s mining sector through the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Alake said Tinubu’s push for local value addition and economic diversification has become a reference point across Africa, with several countries already adopting similar policies.
“You charged us to make local value addition the cornerstone of this organisation, and today that vision is reverberating across Africa,” Alake said.
He disclosed that some African countries have already banned the export of raw minerals as part of efforts to maximise value from their natural resources.
The minister also informed the President that AMSG members are in Abuja for the fifth edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026), where leaders are expected to champion a new continental approach to resource management and industrial development.
The summit, themed “One Africa, One Resource Vision,” seeks to position Africa as a major force in the global critical minerals value chain through beneficiation, industrialisation and strategic collaboration among member states.
Alake reaffirmed AMSG’s commitment to advancing Africa’s interests by increasing the value and revenue generated from the continent’s mineral resources, in line with Tinubu’s vision for a more prosperous and self-reliant Africa.
