Alake Urges OAU To Develop World-class Mining Centre
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has urged the Obafemi Awolowo University to leverage its mineral and intellectual resources to establish a world-class centre of mining excellence.
Alake made the call, according to a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise.
The minister spoke while receiving a high-powered delegation of the university’s Governing Council, led by Professor Ralph Akinfeleye. He said the proposed centre should bridge the gap between theory and the extraction and processing of mineral resources.
Alake said the commercial value of minerals available to the university was sufficient to reduce the share of government subvention in its total budgetary allocation.
The statement said other members of the delegation included Ambassador Edward Sarki, Joseph Abaagu, Prof Olatunbosun Adedayo and Barrister Yinka Ayanfola.
Alake encouraged the university to explore partnerships with private-sector investors to unlock the commercial potential of its mineral assets.
He noted that the institution’s technical expertise gave it an advantage in attracting investors.
He said, “You have the resource endowment underground, and you have the intellectual capacity. You can bring in investors through a joint venture, and they can provide the capital and machinery. At the same time, the University earns revenue and your experts participate as consultants and technical partners.”
The minister also said the Federal Government had restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources by opening designated bitumen blocks to competitive bidding by qualified investors.
He stressed that ownership of land did not automatically confer ownership of the mineral resources beneath it, which, according to him, were vested in the Federal Government under the Constitution and relevant mining laws.
“The University owns the land, but where there are mineral resources, their exploration and exploitation must still be undertaken in accordance with the law. We must find a win-win situation that protects legitimate interests while upholding the Federal Government’s regulatory responsibility.”
Alake commended OAU for its longstanding contribution to the training of geologists and other professionals in Nigeria’s mining industry.
He urged the institution to deepen its role in mineral exploration, research, innovation and commercialisation.
“The gap between intellectualism and application must be closed. Universities should not only generate knowledge; they should translate that knowledge into solutions, enterprises and economic value for society”, he added.
The minister reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly regulatory environment that promotes responsible mining, value addition and sustainable economic benefits for Nigerians.
