Nigeria's vast natural resources have yet to translate into jobs and economic growth, according to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC). The country's subsoil holds more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources. Despite this, Nigeria and the wider African continent face economic vulnerabilities due to their reliance on exporting largely unprocessed raw materials.
The RMRDC Director-General, Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, disclosed this in Abuja during a press briefing ahead of the second Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026). He stated that Africa's 54 countries are endowed with vast deposits of critical transition minerals, agricultural raw materials, and industrial feedstock. However, these resources have yet to be fully harnessed for domestic industrialization and job creation.
The continent's continued dependence on exporting raw commodities leaves its economies vulnerable to external commodity price shocks, puts pressure on national currencies, and limits opportunities for its growing youth population. Ike-Muonso emphasized that the situation could be reversed through greater domestic processing, value addition, technology development, and investment in resource-based manufacturing.
The RMRDC boss announced that the second edition of ARMS would hold on October 19 and 20, 2026, at the Abuja Continental Hotel. The summit, themed "From African Feedstock to African Factories," aims to bring together policymakers, investors, technology providers, researchers, and industrialists to develop practical solutions for transforming raw materials extracted in Africa into finished and semi-finished products on the continent.
Ike-Muonso said ARMS 2026 would build on the maiden edition held in May 2025, which attracted over 1,000 delegates from across the world. The inaugural summit also provided a platform to unveil the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034). This roadmap provides a framework for developing local technological capabilities, climate-resilient processing, and backward integration.
The RMRDC has pursued several reforms to reposition the raw materials sector and strengthen its contribution to industrial development. These initiatives include the proposed Raw Materials 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which seeks to establish a statutory minimum level of value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export. The bill is projected to generate over 1.2 million skilled jobs within five years and conserve foreign exchange through import substitution.
The summit is expected to attract over 1,800 delegates from the 54 African countries and global industrial partners. The programme will feature high-level plenary sessions, policy dialogues, and interactive panels on various topics, including backward integration, industrial testing, and traceability. Ike-Muonso urged the media to scrutinize the policies and commitments emerging from the summit and monitor progress on the proposed 30 per cent value-addition policy.
Key points
- Nigeria's subsoil holds over $582.4 billion in non-renewable natural resources.
- The RMRDC proposes a 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill to boost domestic processing and job creation.
- The second Africa Raw Materials Summit will focus on transforming raw materials into finished products on the continent.
