President Bola Tinubu has issued a powerful call for Africa to seize control of its mineral resources, urging continental leaders to reject dependency and assert sovereignty in global supply chains. The message was delivered by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Africa Minerals Strategy Group roundtable during the UN General Assembly in New York.
“We must take the bull by the horns in financing our future. Never again shall we wait for capital to trickle in. With sovereign funds, blended vehicles, and innovative tools like the Africa Mineral Token, Africa shall finance Africa,” Tinubu declared.
The President outlined a four-part strategy to transform Africa’s mineral sector: moving up the value chain through local processing, owning geological data through continental standards, accelerating exploration efforts, and developing homegrown financing mechanisms.
Highlighting the strategic importance of unity, Tinubu emphasized that “to safeguard this sovereignty, we must guard our cobalt, lithium, graphite, gold, and rare earths not as fragmented states but as one continental bloc, wielding collective power in global supply chains.”
The roundtable, chaired by Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Development Minister Dr. Dele Alake, brought together international partners including UN Development Program Africa Director Ahunna Eziakonwa, who cautioned against exploitative partnerships, and European Union Commissioner Jozef Stkela, who noted the EU’s existing mineral partnerships with African nations.
In parallel meetings, Vice President Shettima engaged global investors, assuring them that Nigeria’s economic reforms have created favorable conditions for business.
“In President Tinubu, you have an ally who speaks your language, the language of business. Nigeria has turned the corner, there has never been a better time to invest,” Shettima told business leaders at a roundtable hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding.
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