President Bola Tinubu has called for a decisive shift from the export of raw minerals to the development of value-added industries, asserting that Nigeria must leverage its natural resources to drive industrialisation, create jobs, and foster shared prosperity.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the inauguration of the 6,000 metric tonnes-per-day (MT/D) Diamond New Energy Lithium Processing Plant in Nasarawa State on Thursday, the President stated that Nigeria’s abundant mineral resources would only translate into national prosperity if they were harnessed through productive industries.
Tinubu argued that countries do not attain greatness simply because they possess abundant natural resources but because they combine those resources with vision, strong institutions, technology, enterprise and industrial capacity.
“We will either maximise our industrial advantage and turn our endowments into engines of prosperity, or we will spend our years manufacturing excuses for our lack of innovation,” he said.
He noted that many resource-rich countries remain trapped in poverty because they have failed to convert their natural wealth into productive capacity, while nations with fewer natural resources have risen to global prominence through discipline, innovation and industrial organisation.
President Tinubu stressed that Nigeria must move beyond celebrating its deposits of gold, lithium, tin, iron ore, bitumen, coal, and rare earth minerals to building industries that process them into finished products.
“Natural resources may be a blessing, but only vision can turn them into wealth. Only institutions can protect that wealth. Only industry can multiply it, and only people can give it meaning,” Tinubu said.
He explained that national development requires a deliberate transition from extraction to processing, from potential to production, from raw materials to value-added goods, and from isolated investments to integrated industrial ecosystems.
The President described the inauguration of the lithium processing plant as a strong vote of confidence in Nigeria’s economy, Nasarawa State, and his administration’s ongoing economic reforms.
He affirmed that the project demonstrates that Nigeria is positioning itself to participate competitively in the global minerals economy by creating jobs, building skills, strengthening local enterprises, and expanding the country’s productive base.
Tinubu reiterated that the solid minerals sector occupies a strategic position in his administration’s economic agenda, especially as the global transition to clean energy continues to increase demand for critical minerals such as lithium.
He observed that lithium has become one of the defining minerals driving battery technology, electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage, adding that Nigeria must seize the opportunity to become a major player in the global value chain rather than remain a supplier of raw materials.
President Tinubu commended the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, for implementing reforms aimed at repositioning the sector, restoring investor confidence, and ensuring that Nigeria’s mineral resources are managed responsibly.
He also praised Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule for creating an investment-friendly environment that has attracted major industrial projects to the state.
According to him, while nature deposits minerals, it is leadership that attracts investment, adding that the governor has demonstrated the leadership needed to unlock the state’s vast mineral potential.
Tinubu congratulated the management of Diamond New Energy on the successful completion of the project, describing the investment as timely, strategic, and aligned with Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to partnerships that create employment opportunities, facilitate technology transfer, and deepen local capacity, stressing that foreign investments would be judged by the factories established, technologies transferred, and Nigerian workers trained.
The President also urged host communities to support legitimate investments by maintaining peace and stability, noting that sustainable development can only thrive in an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation.
He invited both local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities emerging from the administration’s economic reforms, expressing confidence that continued investment in the solid minerals sector would accelerate industrial growth, strengthen communities, and contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
