Dayo Akintobi, a public affairs expert, characterizes Nigeria’s extensive mineral wealth not as a burden but as an untapped advantage, attributing the country’s failure to harness this potential to years of neglect and ineffective governance.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s morning program, ‘The Morning Brief,’ Akintobi highlighted that despite Nigeria’s rich deposits of minerals, both the nation and the local communities where these resources are found remain largely excluded from the benefits of their extraction.
“This situation is not a curse; rather, it represents a mismanaged opportunity because the broader population and the communities sitting on these mineral reserves gain the least from their exploitation,” he remarked. “The challenges facing the mining sector closely resemble the longstanding issues experienced in the oil and gas industry.”
He pointed out that the mining sector’s stagnation reflects the same pattern of oversight and mismanagement that has historically plagued Nigeria’s oil and gas fields, underscoring how insufficient governmental focus has stifled the industry’s potential to drive economic progress.
“The core problem is the lack of substantial attention-particularly from government institutions-towards the valuable mineral deposits beneath our soil, which could generate significant wealth if properly processed or marketed,” Akintobi explained.
Nonetheless, he praised recent initiatives led by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, acknowledging the strides made in reforming and cleaning up the sector under the current administration.
“Minister Dele Alake has undertaken considerable efforts to overhaul the mining ecosystem, improving how mineral resources are extracted and clarifying ownership rights,” Akintobi noted. “Previously, foreign entities often negotiated directly with local villagers who were unaware of the true worth of their resources.”
He cautioned that the absence of robust regulatory frameworks and community education has enabled foreign operators to exploit these resources, undermining both national interests and local development.
According to LEADERSHIP, Akintobi’s comments coincide with the federal government’s renewed push to revitalize the mining sector as a key economic pillar, aiming to diversify Nigeria’s income streams beyond oil and promote fair distribution of mineral wealth among affected communities.
