Collaboration between governments and communities in Nigeria can be a game-changer and mean a new era of huge earnings and prosperity for Nigerians from the country’s mining resources.
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo stated this in a virtual speech delivered on Thursday at the maiden edition of the Strategic Engagement on Sustainable Mining titled: Resurrecting our Buried Prosperity.
Prof. Osinbajo said that Nigeria would only harness the full potentials in the sector if the country adopts a collaborative and cooperative approach.
“If we work together, we will reap far more than we could ever gain by working alone,” Osinbajo said.
Vice President Osinbajo said that the strategic engagement “would lead to the production of or the fine-tuning of a clear working document that spells out with clarity the roles and responsibilities of each party, the federal, the states, the local governments, and the mining communities.
“Even where these roles and duties have been defined in existing legislation, this is an opportunity to simplify the language, explain the relationships, take input on implementation concerns, and get everyone’s buy-in.”
Osinbajo said that Nigeria has large solid mineral deposits, pointing out that as far back as 1940; Nigeria was already globally a leading producer of tin, columbite and coal.
According to him the potential coal reserves are today estimated to be as high as 3billion tones.
He added that much of the country’s coal is high-grade clean and bituminous with a low sulphur and ash content.
“Even farther back in 1913, gold in commercial quantities had already been found in parts of Northern Nigeria and what is now Osun State.
“Bitumen was discovered as far back as 1900 mostly in the southwest zone, the bitumen belt covering what are now Ondo, Ogun, Lagos, and Edo States and today with deposits in excess of 42 billion tons we have the second-largest bitumen deposit in the world and almost twice our oil reserves.”
Osinbajo said that Nigeria’s 3 billion tons of iron deposit is the 12th largest in the world.
The Vice President noted that the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) confirms that Nigeria has over 44 mineral deposits in commercial quantities in over 500 locations across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
“So buried in the ground in various parts of Nigeria are riches that could ensure that no Nigerian is unemployed, underfed, or neglected.
“And this is not mere speculation because, before the discovery of oil, Nigeria developed its infrastructure, roads, rail, dams, provided free education in the western region for example, from the proceeds of minerals, agriculture and taxes.”
Principal issues
Vice President Osinbajo noted that the principle issue militating against the mining sector is that of the challenges of implementing a regulatory framework.
“While the Ministry of Mines and Steel has the legislative mandate to regulate mining in the country, many states and local governments have embarked on the imposition of their own rules and regulations on miners in their States, including issuance of registration, permits, Community Development Agreements (CDA) and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on miners.
“Some State Governments, in a bid to shore up their revenues, impose illegal fees, taxes, and levies on foreign and local licensed mining companies and operators.”
Suggestions
Osinbajo offered some suggestions on the way forward for the mining sector.
He said: “the federal government, states and local governments have to jointly develop working arrangements to ensure that mining is attractive to investors, profitable for states and local governments, not just from proceeds but also from personal income tax paid to states by mine workers and staff of mining companies.
“The communities where mines are located must also have some direct benefits aside from jobs for their residents. We must find a formula for compensating the communities for environmental degradation and erosion.
“There must also be a framework for ensuring that environmental degradation is remedied.
“We must discourage the export of raw minerals. Refining, processing, or beneficiation is the only real way to maximize our mineral wealth and create good-paying jobs and opportunities for our people.”
Vice President Osinbajo urged all officers of the Ministry of Solid Minerals to rededicate themselves to the realization of the set target of a 6% contribution of the mining sector to the nation’s GDP by 2025.
Emmanuel Ukoh
