By Adaora Adibe
The President of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, Prof. Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, FAS, has called for deeper value addition, and industrial repositioning saying that the reasons for the establishment of the Council in 1987 remain as relevant today as they were 38 years ago, given current global technological, industrial and economic realities.
Prof. Onwualu made this assertion while delivering the public lecture marking the 38th anniversary of RMRDC in the RMRDC headquarters, Abuja. The lecture, themed “Celebrating the Journey and Defining the Next Frontier,” reviewed the Council’s genesis, evolution, achievements, present challenges and future strategic direction.
Reflecting on the genesis of RMRDC, Prof. Onwualu, a former Director General of RMRDC, recalled that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector in the 1980s was heavily dependent on imported raw materials and machinery, a situation exacerbated by the economic downturn and foreign exchange crisis following declining oil revenues. He noted that a 1983 workshop jointly organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) and the then Ministry of Industry recommended the creation of a national body to drive local raw materials development. This culminated in the establishment of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) by Decree No. 39 of December 17, 1987, with full operations commencing on February 10, 1988, in Lagos, and later strengthened by Amendment Act No. 28 of 2022.
He highlighted Nigeria’s vast endowment of agricultural and industrial mineral raw materials spread across all geopolitical zones, stressing that the country possesses sufficient primary commodities to supply raw materials for all ten sectors of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria from every local government area.
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According to him, the Council’s programmes over the past 38 years have been deliberately structured to close critical gaps along the raw materials value chain, including information and awareness gaps, technology gaps, global knowledge gaps, raw material supply gaps, skills gaps and investment gaps.
“These interventions have helped to enhance local raw material utilization, reduce import dependence in key sectors, strengthen industrial resilience and support national economic diversification,” he said.
Prof. Onwualu disclosed that RMRDC has recorded significant research and development outputs, including completed R&D projects published as journal papers and patents, pilot plants across agro and mineral value chains, and industrial commercial plants ceded to the private sector. He noted that the Council has developed and patented 46 commercializable technologies, ranging from waterborne paints produced from natural rubber latex, automotive brake pads from palm kernel shells, to automated rapier weaving machines for commercial Aso-Oke production etc.
Despite these achievements, he identified persistent challenges confronting raw materials development in Nigeria, such as limited commercialization and scale-up of research outputs, infrastructure and energy constraints, financing gaps, skills mismatch in emerging industries, insecurity, ineffective tariff regimes and difficulties in implementing import substitution policies in large-scale manufacturing.
Placing RMRDC within today’s industrial and innovation context, Prof. Onwualu cited rapid technological changes, heightened global competition, opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the growing emphasis on digitization, sustainability, and inclusive industrial systems. He further emphasized the need for Nigeria to strategically harness its abundant raw materials through research-driven value addition, stronger industry, academia collaboration, and supportive policies to enhance competitiveness, reduce import dependence, and stimulate job creation across the value chain.
He stressed the need for RMRDC to reposition itself to remain relevant and impactful, noting that this informed the development of the RMRDC Strategic Roadmap (2025–2034) noting that a major pillar of the roadmap, is the policy mandating a minimum of 30% local value addition to raw materials before export.
Describing the policy as critical to Nigeria’s industrial future, he said, “the 30% local value addition requirement is a game changer and must be supported by government, academia and industry if it is to achieve the desired impact.”
Other priorities in the roadmap include increased focus on commercialization and industrial impact, strengthened public-private partnerships, enhanced institutional capacity and governance, and repositioning RMRDC as a catalyst for Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
Prof. Onwualu outlined key strategic priorities for the next frontier, including deepened value addition beyond primary processing to advanced materials, strengthened research-to-market pathways, expansion of pilot-to-plant scale-up initiatives, modernization of raw materials data systems using artificial intelligence, and promotion of sustainability through green economy and circular economy initiatives.
He concluded that Nigeria’s industrial growth and global competitiveness depend largely on effective development of local raw materials, innovation, and sustainable value addition and commended the leadership of Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso for driving a series of innovations, stressing that the RMRDC must continue to play a central role in creating an enabling environment for import substitution, industrial resilience, and economic transformation.
