Africa Must Finance Its Future, End Raw Exports — Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has urged African nations to take decisive ownership of their mineral resources, finance their own development, and end the long-standing dependence on raw mineral exports that has left the continent vulnerable to global exploitation.

Speaking at the Second Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in New York, held on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tinubu — represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima — called for a mineral-led renaissance that would reposition Africa as a strategic player in global supply chains.

In a statement issued Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, the President stressed that Africa must chart its own financial path. “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 innovation tools like the Africa Mineral Token, Africa shall finance Africa,” he said.

Tinubu emphasised that Africa’s vast deposits of cobalt, lithium, graphite, gold, and rare earth minerals must be safeguarded and managed collectively as a continental bloc. According to him, only unity and deliberate action will guarantee Africa’s sovereignty in global value chains.

He outlined four imperatives critical to unlocking the continent’s mineral future.

First, African countries must end the cycle of exporting raw materials and importing finished products by building beneficiation and green manufacturing industries at home.

Second, with the adoption of the African Minerals and Energy Resource Classification (AMREC) and the Pan-African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), the continent must standardise and own its geological data.

Third, governments must prioritise mineral exploration and national geological mapping to strengthen sovereignty and value creation.

Fourth, Africa must proactively finance its mineral economy through sovereign wealth funds, innovative financing vehicles, and instruments such as the Africa Mineral Token.

Tinubu noted that several African nations are already implementing reforms to discourage raw exports and promote domestic beneficiation. He cited Zimbabwe’s ban on raw lithium exports in 2022, Gabon’s planned halt to manganese exports by 2029, and Kenya’s restrictions on raw gold exports.

Nigeria, he said, is fast-tracking similar policies to stimulate job creation, industrialisation, and inclusive growth.

“Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Mali, Botswana, Gabon, and Ghana are already leading this new age of equal exchange,” he stated, adding that these countries are enforcing bans on raw mineral exports to promote industrialisation and prosperity.

The President commended Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who chaired the Roundtable, and Uganda’s Secretary-General H.E. Moses Michael Engadu for steering the AMSG towards collaboration and productivity.

Also speaking at the event, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Africa UNDP Regional Director, Ahunna Eziakonwa, cautioned African leaders to position themselves to reap the benefits of their resources through partnerships that deliver technology transfer, beneficiation, and job creation.

Similarly, European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Stkela, highlighted the EU’s 2024 Critical Raw Materials Act and ongoing strategic partnerships with Africa to diversify raw material supply chains.

Concluding, Tinubu pledged Nigeria’s unflinching commitment to the AMSG’s mission. “As Chair of this Roundtable, I pledge Nigeria’s full commitment to ensuring that the AMSG fulfils its promise of catalysing a mineral-led renaissance. Let us rise with a communiqué of clarity, a framework for action, and a spirit of unity,” he declared.

The Roundtable brought together African leaders, development partners, and stakeholders in the global mineral economy, with discussions centred on sustainable development, industrialisation, and Africa’s role in reshaping global critical mineral supply chains.