The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has challenged Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) to leverage its mineral and intellectual resources to establish a world-class centre of mining excellence and generate more revenue.
Alake gave the charge when a high-powered delegation of OAU’s Governing Council, led by Professor Ralph Akinfeleye, visited him.
The minister said the commercial value of mineral resources available to the university could help reduce its dependence on government subvention and strengthen its financial sustainability.
He urged the institution to explore partnerships with private investors to unlock the value of its mineral assets, stressing that OAU’s technical expertise and academic capacity placed it in a strong position to attract investment.
“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.
He said the partnership model would bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical mining operations, while creating opportunities for research, innovation, employment and revenue generation.
The minister also disclosed that the Federal Government had restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources by opening designated bitumen blocks to competitive bidding by qualified investors.
Alake clarified that ownership of land does not automatically confer ownership of mineral resources beneath it, noting that mineral resources are 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,” he said.
The minister commended OAU for its longstanding contribution to the training of geologists and other professionals for Nigeria’s mining industry.
He urged the university to expand its role in mineral exploration, research, innovation and commercialisation, stressing the need for institutions of higher learning to convert knowledge into practical solutions and economic value.
“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,” Alake said.
He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to providing a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly regulatory environment capable of promoting responsible mining, value addition and sustainable economic benefits for Nigerians.
