The Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has said that Nigeria and Africa cannot achieve sustainable economic prosperity unless they begin to process and add value to their abundant raw materials.
Speaking on Tuesday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali M. Ali, to the council’s headquarters, Ike-Muonso described local value addition as the foundation for industrialization, currency stability and increased foreign exchange earnings.
“The future and prosperity of Nigeria depend on giving priority attention to the activities of this council. Africa and Nigeria have enormous raw materials to offer the world, but their true value lies in processing and valorizing them locally,” he said.
According to him, developing raw materials into finished products will strengthen manufacturing, improve the value of the naira, boost foreign exchange inflows and drive long-term economic growth.
He stressed the need for greater public awareness of the council’s activities, saying its research and innovations must be mainstreamed and effectively communicated to policymakers, investors and other key stakeholders.
Ike-Muonso also announced plans to relaunch the council’s scientific publication, the Journal of Raw Materials (JOMA), to showcase Nigerian research and innovation to the global community.
“We want our work to be recognized not only in Nigeria but across Africa and the rest of the world. That is the value we believe the News Agency of Nigeria can bring to us,” he said.
Describing the proposed collaboration with NAN as the council’s most strategic media partnership yet, he said it would also revive the journal and give greater visibility to decades of research produced since the council’s establishment in 1988.
“We have generated a vast body of research over the years. Working with NAN, we want to ensure these findings reach those who can utilize them for national development,” he added.
Earlier, NAN Managing Director, Malam Ali M. Ali, said the visit was aimed at forging a strategic partnership to promote the commercialization of research outputs and enhance public awareness of scientific innovations.
Ali noted that many research institutions in Nigeria receive little public attention despite their significant contributions to national development.
“NAN is Africa’s largest news content provider. Unless these remarkable achievements are properly publicized, they may remain unknown. Our goal is to amplify your work to local and international audiences,” he said.
He highlighted NAN’s nationwide presence, with more than 500 reporters, offices in all 36 states and the FCT, 12 zonal offices and correspondents across the country’s 109 senatorial districts.
According to him, the partnership aligns with the Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope programme.
Also speaking, RMRDC’s Director of Agriculture and Agro-Allied Department, Dr Sebastian Ebierekwe, said the media remains critical to transforming research into commercial success.
“You may have abundant raw materials, innovation and skilled manpower, but if nobody knows about the products, they cannot drive economic development,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the partnership would accelerate industrialisation and promote import substitution.
Similarly, the Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Development, Mr Abubakar Kollere, described the collaboration as strategic, revealing that countries including Kenya and Uganda had recently approached the council for guidance in establishing similar agencies.
Meanwhile, RMRDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mrs Rebecca Nnamdi-Anum, requested NAN’s support in training the council’s media team and partnering on the second edition of the African Raw Materials Summit.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from both organisations, including NAN Editor-in-Chief, Mr Mufutau Ojo; Director of Marketing, Mrs Hadiza Aliyu; Director of Special Duties, Malam Ismail Abdulaziz; Deputy Director of the Performance Management System, Dr Udodirim Ugbonna; and Deputy Director of Investment Promotion and Consultancy Services, Mr Musa Damay.
