By: Stella Azi
The Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senate Godwin Akpabio, has described the Africa Raw Materials Summit as a turning point and a clarion call to industrial reawakening for Nigeria.
Declaring open the 3-day Summit organized by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), at the Ladi Kwali Hall of Africa Continental Hotel Abuja, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the Senate President in his address lamented that, though Africa is endowed with abundant raw materials resources, it is still highly dependent on importation of raw materials resources and its derivatives.
“For far too long, Africa has been the warehouse of the world rich in raw materials, yet poor in value retention.
“We mine gold, but we rarely mint coins, we grow cocoa, yet we import chocolate, we extract oil, yet we import crude oil. This is not merely an economic imbalance. It is a historic injustice, one that can no longer be sustained”, he deplored.
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Senator Akpabio, represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology Senator Aminu Iya Abbas stressed that the summit is a clarion call for change to discourage exportation of raw materials without value addition and to create value chains that begin and end in African. He said it is a call to displace, innovate, and industrialize not in theory, but in measurable outcomes.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso appreciated his Excellency, the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his commitment to revitalizing the Nigeria raw materials sub sector, which he said gave rise to the Africa Raw Materials Summit.
“… under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Nigeria First Policy is lighting the flames of an industrial renaissance, a Renewed Hope rooted in local transformation, inclusive prosperity, and strategic value addition”, he informed.
Prof. Ike-Muonso emphatically stated that the Summit is Africa’s proclamation of industrial independence, a renewed consciousness of Nigeria authentically becoming producers of value rather than exporters of potential.
He further stated that it was a Summit where Africa reclaims its narrative, redefines its destiny, and rededicates itself to transforming raw wealth into real wealth using indigenous resources.
Prof. Ike-Muonso therefore calls on African leaders to adopt and advance the transformational initiative to build a productive and self-reliant continent of Africa.
The Summit is a convergence of Africa leaders, policy makers, industrialists, Researchers, investors, financial institutions etc. to reposition the continent for growth and development.
