President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has called for a complete overhaul of the global financial structure regulating Africa’s mineral resources, stressing that African nations must take charge of financing their mineral sectors and also secure influence over the global supply chains of African products.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, President Tinubu made this demand at the Second Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the margins of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
“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. 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 President stated.
Tinubu emphasized that protecting Africa’s sovereignty requires collective action by development allies and partners to ensure that Africa’s mineral economy becomes a reality and benefits the continent.
Reiterating Nigeria’s commitment under the Renewed Hope Agenda, President Tinubu pledged that the country would continue to support efforts that would lead to a mineral-led economic revival. He urged African leaders to break free from what he described as the “ignoble cycle” of exporting raw minerals only to import finished goods, insisting on accelerated government-led exploration and industrialisation.
The President outlined four key imperatives to unlock Africa’s mineral future. First, he said African nations must climb the value chain. “We must end the ignoble cycle of exporting rocks and importing finished goods. From beneficiation to green manufacturing, Africa must build industries on African soil,” he stated.
Second, Tinubu pointed to new instruments for resource data management. “I am proud to announce that with the African Minerals and Energy Resource Classification (AMREC) and the Pan-African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), we will no longer beg for geological knowledge of our own land. Africa’s data will be mapped, standardised, and owned by Africans.”
On the third imperative, he stressed the importance of exploration and mapping. “Without exploration, there is no sovereignty. Without mapping, there is no value. Every member state must prioritise country-wide surveys, strengthen geological agencies, and pool expertise through AMSG. For when Africa owns the map, Africa owns the future.”
The fourth priority, according to Tinubu, was financing. He maintained, “With sovereign funds, blended vehicles, and innovative tools like the Africa Mineral Token, Africa shall finance Africa.”
Calling for a collective show of leadership, President Tinubu urged sovereign wealth funds, private sector partners, and development allies to work with Africa in reshaping the continent’s mineral story. He highlighted examples of African nations taking bold steps to control their resources.
“Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Mali, Botswana, Gabon, and Ghana are already leading this new age of equal exchange, enforcing bans on the export of raw minerals to promote domestic beneficiation. Zimbabwe’s ban on raw lithium in 2022, Gabon’s decision to end manganese exports by 2029, and Kenya’s plan to restrict raw gold exports are historic acts of courage. Nigeria is accelerating similar reforms, for we know this is the road to jobs, to industries, and to prosperity,” he said.
The President also commended Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, who chaired the event, and the Secretary-General of the AMSG, H.E. Moses Michael Engadu of Uganda, for steering Africa toward a productive and proud future.
“As Chair of this Roundtable, I pledge Nigeria’s unflinching commitment to ensuring that AMSG fulfils its promise of catalysing a mineral-led renaissance. Let us rise from this dialogue with a communiqué of clarity, a framework for action, and a spirit of unity,” he declared.
Earlier in his remarks, Dr Dele Alake called for cohesion among African nations, stressing the need for partnership, transparency, and determination to build a harmonised minerals sector. According to him, “these resources are indispensable for global sustainable development and remain catalyst for Africa’s rapid industrialisation.”
UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Africa at the UNDP, Ahunna Eziakonwa, cautioned African leaders to position themselves strategically to prevent exploitation. She said, “There is a scramble and a lot of interest in Africa’s minerals, people are coming to partner, Africa can shape the quantum of that partnership and determine what works from the partnership.”
She also noted that partnerships must lead to technology transfer, beneficiation, and job creation, ensuring that African resources work for African people.
Also speaking at the event, European Union Commissioner for International Partnership, Mr Jozef Stkela, highlighted the EU’s efforts in securing raw materials. He said, “In the last few years, the European Union structured its approach, boosted, and secured its supply of critical raw materials.”
He disclosed that the EU adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act in 2024 to increase domestic production and diversify supply sources outside Europe. “Under this Act and our global gateways strategy, we have signed 14 strategic partnerships with the raw materials value chain of which four are in Africa,” he stated.
In a related development, Vice President Kashim Shettima also attended a roundtable hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) in partnership with Flour Mills of Nigeria and other business conglomerates, where he presented Nigeria’s investment opportunities and reforms under President Tinubu’s leadership.
The Vice President assured investors of the government’s commitment to business-friendly reforms. “In President Tinubu, you have an ally, a friend, and a colleague who grew up in the American ecosystem, who speaks your language and the language of business,” Shettima said.
He further explained that the Nigerian economy had turned the corner under the ongoing reforms, recording stability and improved figures. He urged investors to take advantage of the enabling environment, stressing that there had never been a better time to invest in Nigeria.
Vice President Shettima also met with the Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Christian Stocker, at the UN Headquarters in New York. Both leaders agreed to deepen ties and explore new areas of cooperation between Nigeria and Austria.
