.says now it’s time to look inwards, change narrative

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit, AFNIS 2026, in Abuja, kicks off in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, pushed for a united African front to harness the full potential of solid minerals on the continent.

Speaking at the opening of the AFNIS 2026 with the theme ‘One Africa, One Resource Vision’, Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, maintained that Africa is the world’s hope in terms of solid minerals, hence the continent needs to synergise and harness its solid minerals as leaders calling the shots.

He also said it is time Africa goes beyond exporting raw solid minerals and should use the richly endowed minerals industrialisation that would create wealth and change the narrative.

He said Africa needs to drive the process of exploration and exploitation of its mineral resources in order to be strategically positioned with strong bargaining power in the global market instead of exporting wealth in the name of raw solid minerals at the detriment of their economy and the people of Africa.

Over 15 African countries, investors, government representatives, mining companies, banks, and others.

He said: “The theme ‘One Africa, One Resolve Mission’ is a declaration of intent that says Africa will no longer approach its destiny as fragmented markets, isolated producers, or separate voices negotiating for positions of weakness. It says that Africa must think together, plan together, and use together.

“The world is changing rapidly. We have a responsibility. We have fierce competition for supply chains, and we’re shaping the global economy.

“In this new world, Africa’s resources are central, as there will be no global energy transition without them. There can be no secure supply of people, no true industrial future; it has got to be bought and finished.

“We must process, manufacture power, and create prosperity. This is the new resource mission that Africa requires, and that makes the theme of Africa’s 2026 most concrete, complex, and succinct.

“For Nigeria, this mission is only aligned in a national direction, under the renewable agenda that is diversified, investment-ready, and driven by production.

“We are strengthening the foundations of industrial growth, energy access, and infrastructural expansion. We understand that our prosperity, our markets, are connected to trade, energy transfer, and so must be our solutions.

“In mind, one African country should build a refinery in another. The gas fields in one region should power factories across borders.

“A solar corridor within a single nation should support a continental grid, and a young innovator in Lagos, in Nairobi, in Accra, in Uganda, in Jolo, in Kampala, should see Africa not as a collection of limitations, but as one vast field. This is Africa.

He also laid it bare that, “We must be honest about the resource wealth, and wealth does not guarantee national greatness.

“History has taught us that resources without mission cannot create greatness. Resources without governance can lead nations to war, while therefore not supporting greatness that requires leadership, creation capital, and partnership between governments and the private sector.”

Meanwhile, the President called on investors to see and take advantage of the abundant, solid minerals God has blessed Africa with.

“I say this clearly, Africa is open for serious business, but the Africa of today asks for a different kind of investment. We welcome capital that builds metrics, partnerships that create jobs, transform development, strengthen local capacity, protect communities, and respect the environment.

“We reject unequal partnership. We seek investors who understand that the future will belong to those who exploit the post. No. The future will belong to those who create the post and those who exploit the post.

“To African governments, I say we must move with the audience. We must harmonise regulations where possible, reduce barriers in intra-African trade, support local enterprise, protect equitable investments, and insist on transparency, accountability, and long-term national well-being

“No African country can fully adopt this future on its own. But together, we can build the skill, confidence, and stability that the world cannot ignore.

He also made it clear that the continent cannot make progress in industrialisation without power, create jobs, educate, manufacture, install, transform and innovate.

“The transition must, therefore, be practical, balanced, and just. We are set for the responsibility to protect the planet. But we also insist on the right to development. Millions of Africans still need reliable electricity.

“Our factories need energy, farmers need storage and processing, hospitals need power, and children need light in the basic infrastructure.

“A just transition must not force Africa to choose between climate responsibility and human dignity; it must deliver both.

“Nigeria will continue to pursue an energy future that expands access, supports industrialisation, uses gas resources responsibly, grows renewable energy, and attracts investment into modern, real work with African partners and global institutions to ensure that our transition does not leave Africa behind. The goal is not to simply produce more energy, the goal is to produce more opportunities.”

In his remarks, the Executive Director, Mineral Resources Development, Romulus Mining (Title Sponsor of AFNIS 2026), Tim Tokun, said enough of the talking, now it is time for action to ensure Africa’s solid minerals make the desired impact on the economy and the development of the people.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Ekong Samson, in his goodwill message, called for collaboration by African countries to take the solid minerals sector to an enviable height, and assured that the Nigerian Senate is open to partnership.

The Chairman, House Committee on Solid Minerals, Hon Gaza, in his goodwill message, acknowledged and commended the Tinubu-led administration for the improved revenue generation from the solid minerals sector under the Alake leadership, describing it as a giant leap as revenue increased to over N1 trillion.

However, he called on the Federal Government to prioritise solid minerals as a priority with the intervention of funds for exploration to place Nigeria in a strategic position.

The Secretary General, African Minerals Strategy Group, AMSG, Moses Engadu, in his goodwill said African minerals need not to be fragmented, Africa can become a powerful economic power in the 21st century, as Africa needs to build industries not to export resources but to build value and build alliances.