By Yunus Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared open the 5th edition of the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026) with a call for African nations to forge a united front in confronting challenges of a transition from export of raw minerals to one of value addition.
Tinubu, in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake today the Conference Centre of the presidential villa, cautioned that Africa must not continue to export its future in raw form whilst it imports poverty in finished form.
“We must build our own value chains,” Tinubu said. “This is the new resource vision that Africa requires. Africa’s resources must be symbols of sovereignty and not of dependency.”
The Nigerian president, who is also chairman of the Heads of State of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) said Africa must be seen as one vast field of opportunities.
He expressed readiness of his government to work with other court tries on the continent to build a structure where mineral wealth benefits local needs more than foreign interests.
“We welcome partners that add value to us,” he said. “We reject unequal partnerships. The future belongs to those who create value and we stand ready to do this. Together we can build on a scale and with a confidence that the world cannot ignore.”
Earlier in his welcome speech as the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Alake emphasized the need for the youth to be integrated into the sector. He said African youth must be trained to play a key role in shaping the new growth area that the Solid Minerals sector has become.
“Africa holds the minerals that will shape the future,” he said. “However minerals do not grow economies. The transition that Africa must made is to a model that puts solid minerals at the heart of industrial and economic growth.
We must move from a system of low value and opacity to one that retains value and attract credible investors.”
The Secretary General of the AMSG, Moses Engadu noted that the demand for strategic minerals will continue to rise along with demand for energy security and renewables.
“This presents a unique opportunity for our continent, ” he said. “Africa is stronger together. The future of Africa’s resource management cannot be built on fragmentation as no single country possesses the funding and the technology and manpower to exploit its resources, but collectively Africa do.”
Engadu said natural resources will not, by themselves, create prosperity, but vision and collaboration would.
” We must export value and shape terms of global trade, ” he said.” We must attract and divert investment to the necessary sectors as our future needs an alliance built on transparency and trust.”
