By Seun Ibiyemi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has urged Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to harness its mineral and intellectual resources to establish a world-class centre of mining excellence and reduce its dependence on government funding.
Alake made the call during a meeting with a high-powered delegation from the university’s Governing Council, led by Professor Ralph Akinfeleye.
The minister said the commercial value of mineral resources available to the university could significantly increase its internally generated revenue and reduce the proportion of government subvention in its overall budget.
He advised the university to pursue partnerships with private-sector investors to unlock the value of its mineral assets.
According to him, such partnerships would provide the technical expertise, capital and machinery required to develop the resources while allowing the university and its experts to generate additional revenue.
“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,” Alake said.
The minister commended OAU for its longstanding contribution to the training of geologists and other professionals in Nigeria’s mining industry.
He urged the institution to expand its role in mineral exploration, research, innovation and commercialisation, stressing the need to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical economic application.
“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 said.
The minister also clarified that ownership of land does not automatically confer ownership of mineral resources beneath it.
He explained that mineral resources are vested in the Federal Government in accordance with the Constitution and relevant mining laws.
Alake said the Federal Government had also restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources through designated bitumen blocks and competitive bidding by investors.
“The University owns the land, but where there are mineral resources, their exploration and exploitation must still be undertaken in accordance with the law,” he said.
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He stressed the need for a mutually beneficial arrangement that would protect the legitimate interests of the university while preserving the Federal Government’s regulatory responsibilities.
“We must find a win-win situation that protects legitimate interests while upholding the Federal Government’s regulatory responsibility,” he added.
Alake said the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development remained committed to creating a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly regulatory environment capable of attracting investors into the mining sector.
He said the objective was to promote responsible mining, increase value addition and ensure that mineral resources generate sustainable economic benefits for Nigerians.
The meeting formed part of efforts to encourage institutions with mineral and intellectual assets to play a greater role in developing Nigeria’s mining industry while strengthening their financial sustainability.
Other members of the OAU delegation included Ambassador Edward Sarki, Barrister Joseph Abaagu, Professor Olatunbosun Adedayo and Barrister Yinka Ayanfola.
