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By Salif Atojoko

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday charged African leaders to combat exploitation of the continent’s solid minerals.

The President said this when he received a delegation of African Ministers of Solid Minerals under the auspices of African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG).

The group was led to the President by its Chairman, Mr Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, at the State House.

“We will lead the continent to self-realisation on the value of our minerals and economic ingenuity, and this will occur as we free it from undue exploitation and abuse,” the President said.

In his remarks, Alake said the group was formed out of necessity and the realisation of the “divide and rule tactics’’ that had weakened the negotiating power of African countries in the global market.

He explained that the international fora held to strategise on solid minerals in Africa in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier in the year, highlighted the need for Africans to seize the opportunity that the global energy transition offered.

“The world needs critical metals for energy transition; green energy, and these critical metals are largely deposited in Africa.

“So, African nations and representatives at that Riyadh Conference came together and decided that if we do not come together and speak with one voice, then those who have exploited Africans for centuries will continue to do so,” he stated.

Alake said, “divide and rule tactics’’ had been consistently used over many years to weaken the bargaining power of African countries and the real valuation of their natural assets.

“They have been employing divide and rule tactics.

“So, we had presentations and adopted the local value-addition policies, which have been recommended for all African countries, and a number of presidents have started making pronouncements on policies along the line,” he said.

According to him, at the Riyadh Conference, this group was formed to synergise among African countries to ensure uniformity of policies.

He said this would prevent a situation where an investor would come to Nigeria to invest in a particular area, and if the terms were too stringent, go to Benin Republic, Congo, or Malawi.

“We saw that if we all come together to form a common policy direction, and when an investor comes to Nigeria and meets a brick wall, he will meet a brick wall in all other African countries and will be compelled to return to the first country.

“So, the issue of divide and rule which has been a mechanism used to exploit our continent for centuries will no longer be tenable,” the Minister said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Abiemwense Moru

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