KEY POINTS
- Minister Dele Alake urged Obafemi Awolowo University to build a world-class mining centre and monetise its mineral and intellectual resources.
- He proposed joint ventures where investors provide capital and machinery while the university earns revenue and its experts act as technical partners.
- Alake stressed that mineral rights are vested in the Federal Government, and said Nigeria has opened bitumen blocks to competitive bidding.
Nigeria’s Solid Minerals Development Minister Dele Alake has urged Obafemi Awolowo University to leverage its mineral and intellectual resources to build a world-class centre of mining excellence.
Alake made the call while receiving a high-powered delegation of the university’s Governing Council, led by Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, according to a statement. Moreover, he said the proposed centre should bridge the gap between theory and the real work of extracting and processing minerals.
Turning assets into revenue
According to the minister, the commercial value of minerals available to OAU is large enough to reduce the share of government subvention in its budget. Consequently, he encouraged the university to explore joint ventures with private investors that would unlock its mineral wealth.
Alake said OAU’s technical expertise gave it a clear edge in attracting backers. Specifically, he suggested a model in which investors supply capital and machinery while the university earns revenue and its experts serve as consultants and technical partners. Furthermore, he framed such partnerships as a way to fund the institution without leaning on the state.
Ownership and the law
However, Alake stressed that land ownership does not confer ownership of the minerals beneath it. Specifically, he said those resources are vested in the Federal Government under the Constitution and mining laws, so any exploration must follow due process. Therefore, he called for a win-win arrangement that protects legitimate interests while upholding federal regulatory authority.
He also broadened the point to national policy. Additionally, Alake said the government had restructured Nigeria’s bitumen development by opening designated blocks to competitive bidding by qualified investors.
The minister commended OAU for decades of training geologists and mining professionals. Nevertheless, he urged it to deepen its role in exploration, research, innovation and commercialisation, insisting universities must translate knowledge into enterprises and economic value. Ultimately, he reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly environment that promotes responsible mining, value addition and lasting benefits for Nigerians.
