Out of several hundred licences that were revoked for offences ranging from dormancy to defaults in payment of service fees, only one of the defaulters is raising hell. This foreigner held licences for several years without any operation and refused to pay a single kobo in service to the government. He is now sponsoring economic saboteurs and unpatriotic elements to attack regulation enforcement, claiming it stifles sector sanitisation.

This sponsor is the highest debtor in the sector’s history for annual service fee payments. He tried but failed to frustrate the implementation of the Nigerian Mining and Minerals Act through blackmail, threats, and lobbying.

This individual also sponsored Billyamniu Suraj’s latest tirade against the widely-acclaimed 8-point Agenda of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development. Suraj’s statements include unsubstantiated allegations and fabricated falsehoods meant to undermine the ministry’s reforms in the solid minerals sector.

We are proud of journalists who took a look at this piece of calumny, terrorism, and sabotage against a reform package that is being celebrated worldwide and refused to be part of reversing the progressive reforms. The method of corruption employed by the saboteurs in circulating their noxious articles renders hollow their grandstanding as anti-sleaze and exposes their desperation to settle scores at all costs.

These regurgitated lies and repeated innuendoes are feeble reactions to the sturdy reforms outlined in the Seven Point Agenda roadmap to promote the sector’s international competitiveness and local industrialisation. The impact of the reforms can be seen in the prosecution of over 300 suspects of illegal mining by the Mining Marshals, the incorporation of the Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, foreign direct investment into new private mineral processing centres worth over $ 1 billion, and a historic jump in the revenue of the ministry and its agencies. The success of the reforms has encouraged the Federal Government to put the money where the future lies: a whopping N1 trillion budget was allocated to the ministry this year.

We urge readers to see through the pretentious altruism of these venomous hirelings  and the threat their propaganda poses to  the sustenance of the Renewed Hope Agenda. Deliberately, they present erroneous assumptions about international mining operations and regulations to manipulate less exposed Nigerians into believing that the reform’s policies on legal compliance, such as penalties for dormancy and defaulting on contractual obligations, are not applied in other climes.

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For instance, the author lied  that revocation of mineral titles for failing to comply with the law is against international investment practices, giving the impression that his sponsors were wrongly penalised. Fact-check it. You will discover that 37 mining licences were revoked in Canada between 2023 and this year. Revocation is also applied in Australia and the United States, where mining is regionally administered. For instance, in the United States, Virginia and Kentucky revoked 20 coal mining licences; New Mexico revoked 10 uranium licences; and the US Forest Service revoked 15 hard rock mining licences in the Rocky Mountains. In Australia, the Western Australian government revoked 20 licences, Queensland revoked 15 licences in the Scenic Rim area, New South Wales revoked 10 licences, and South Australia revoked 5 licences.  The United Kingdom was more severe. It banned outright the issuance of new coal licences as part of repositioning the mining sector for renewable energy. In fact, it renamed the Coal Authority as the Remediation Authority.

The saboteurs claim that the increase in regulatory charges is not the norm in foreign jurisdictions because it discourages investment and drives miners out of business. A simple fact check of increases in regulatory charges in foreign mining sectors exposes the falsehood. In the United Kingdom, local authorities and regulatory bodies have implemented fee increases for mineral extraction. The Coal Authority has noted fluctuations in revenues associated with mining licences. In Canada, the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has also implemented fee increases for mining leases and permits, following revisions to the mining regulations.  Similarly, the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry has increased fees over the past two years to cover administrative costs and enhanced regulatory requirements.

There are other blatant lies. The saboteurs fabricated the fiction that the Ministry did not attend the last Africa Down Under conference in Perth, Australia, and deluded themselves that it was due to a phantom court service, despite the glaring fact that the Permanent Secretary, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo led the ministry’s delegation to the event.

The agenda of Suraj and his sponsors is to use the media to harass and arm-twist the ministry into reversing the revocation of licences by hook or by crook. The desperation to disparage the minister as out of sync with the solid minerals sector by casting aspersions on his track record in repositioning the sector is to serve the economic, selfish purpose of reclaiming mineral sites that his sponsor had more than 15 years to mine but woefully failed to do so.

Only a lawless group of unpatriotic agents would argue that companies which default on their legal obligations to the government should be patted on the back, asked to sin no more, and allowed to retain their contracts! In actual fact, besides paying their arrears, they should be tried for economic sabotage. The Nigerian Mining and Minerals Act has been in operation for a decade and a half. It allows licensees to surrender their titles and go home in peace if they couldn’t stand the heat in the regulatory kitchen. Investors who want to profit by cheating the government have no place to hide under the current regime.

In their desperation to muddle facts with fiction and confuse the public, Suraj and his fellow saboteurs chose to play pranks with statistics from the National  Bureau of Statistics. They chose the category that relates the contribution of mining and quarrying to the Gross Domestic Product year on year, gloating over the data that it fell to N1.39 trillion, a 21 percent decline from N1.76 trillion in 2023. In this laughable instance of hypertrophy, they deliberately overlooked the data from the same NBS, which noted that the overall growth of the sector rose from 2.84 per cent in 2023 to 4.85 per cent in 2024. Also, that contribution to aggregate GDP rose from 5.56 per cent in 2023 to 5.64 per cent in 2024. And most significantly, they chose to remain blind to the miraculous jump in the contribution of metal ores from N42 billion in 2023 to N103.5 billion in 2024.

The hack’s attack on the Seven Point Agenda is like throwing fluff at an armoured car. The programme is being celebrated locally and globally as the best thing to have happened to the solid minerals sector. Contrary to Suraj’s disinformation, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake is receiving accolades at home and abroad for the yeoman’s work of introducing and implementing the programme. Recently, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the United Kingdom-based Africa Leadership magazine gave him the African Leadership Public Service Excellence Award. Before the ceremony ended, the representative of the State of South Carolina House of Representatives announced and presented a certificate of recognition commending his reforms as Minister of Solid Minerals Development. Indeed, knowing that he rarely has time to travel to collect these awards, organisers aim to secure his presence at international conferences.

Suraj’s failure to pooh-pooh the success of the Seven Point Agenda by pulling the wool over the eyes of his readers landed him in a cul-de-sac of contradictions. In one breath, he alleges that the sanitization of the licensing system has chased investors like his sponsors out of the country. In another breath, he complains that Chinese investors are coming in droves and are so active that they have allegedly created environmental problems. In one breath, he alleges that the new rates have impoverished miners and chased them out of business, yet, in another breath, he complains that the N6.9 billion revenue recorded by MCO and the N7 billion revenue of the Mines Inspectorate in the first half of 2025 masks a “devastating reality”. Are there ghost-investors paying these revenues? In another instance, he recognises the visible impact of the Mining Marshals yet insinuates that their operations are selective!

It is important to alert Suraj and his fellow saboteurs to the thin line between civility and criminality. The Seven-Point Agenda was adopted by the Federal Executive Council as the policy of the Tinubu administration for the solid minerals sector. The Central Delivery Co-ordination Unit of the Presidency monitors and evaluates its delivery every quarter. Last year, the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development was awarded the best in meeting its targets. While patriotic criticisms of its implementation is legitimate, a propaganda campaign that seeks to sabotage the policy through deliberate falsification of facts and disorientation of the public strays into the arena of abuse.

To cloak their bile in the robe of altruism, the hacks glibly referred to corruption in the system without mentioning a single case of connivance or suppression. Throwing wild accusations and allegations without a shred of evidence is, in itself, a crime and would be referred to the appropriate quarters.

The problem is that the particular sponsor of Suraj and his ilk had gotten away with impunity before, so they are unused to lawful ways of doing business. It should be emphasized that a thousand Suraj and their cohorts can never, and will never, stop the reform train in the solid minerals sector. A thousand sponsored hollow media vituperations will never reverse the resolve of this administration in repositioning the sector. They can shout and weep from now till kingdom come. It will all be in vain- like waiting for Godot!

*Bamigbetan is Special Adviser to the Minister of Solid Minerals

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Each time I pass the building on my way to work, the Museum calls me. I make a mental note of the enticing distraction and promise to get there a few hours after clearing my desk.

I never do. Meetings, calls and assignments confine me to my space. Then, it is too late to go.

Then, I got lucky. During the last Sallah break, I was hungry. All I wanted was Sallah ram. From one restaurant to another in Wuse,  Abuja, none had ram meat. I wondered how they could be so insensitive and uncustomer-centric, denying their customers the divinely ordained sacred meat of this Eid. I expected my salutation of Barka de Sallah to pave way for the offer of hot ram meat.

By 6pm, I got to Lagos Bistro, Wuse. I thought, since it had something to do with Lagos, it would be savvy enough to meet the thirst of my palate.

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Well, they had ewa agonyin. As I walked towards the entrance, I realised so many businesses competed for space in the arena. The Museum stood out. I had my meal and left.

Today, I returned to the Lagos Bistro. But before devouring their ewa agonyin, I booked a tour of the museum. No dull moment. From musical museum to conflict resolution to currency museum. And finally, the artifacts museum. I couldn’t resist the effigies of the twins. Okan nba bi, eji lo wole to mi wa!

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“Alake on Rescue Mission” is much more than a photo book of activities, events and work of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Oladele Henry Alake, in one year in office. It’s a serious-minded and exciting piece of writing on the minister’s stewardship.

If you see it as the official book on the Minister’s achievements in one year in office, you will hit the nail on the head. Appointed on August 15, 2023, Dr. Alake has spent around 14 months as Minister of Solid Minerals, meaning one year has actually passed on his watch of the ministry.

The book’s release was also planned to coincide with the minister’s 68th birthday on Sunday, October 6. However, the organisers of this book launch missed this date by a few days. Perhaps this was deliberate.

Because the book is on Alake’s stewardship, hard as one may try, it will be difficult to separate its contents from Alake’s scorecards. Both are mutually inclusive and as such, a review of the book also means an evaluation of the minister’s one year in office.

The 46-page book, which includes 24 articles, 34 pictures, and two appendixes, gives an account of all that has happened under Alake’s watch of the ministry. It presents a holistic idea of the changes that have been brought to bear on the mining sector in just one year.

In the first article, written by Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, the minister’s special adviser, we were taken through Dr Alake’s seven-point agenda for the ministry. Fashioning out a seven-point agenda within the Solid Mineral Development component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda underscored the seriousness with which Minister Alake had approached his assignment.

Many of us here recall the shock and trepidation that greeted the appointment of Dr. Alake, a media and communication expert and brilliant strategist, as Minister of Solid Mineral Development on August 15, 2023. Naysayers had predicted that Alake would find it difficult to find his feet in the technical field of mining, where geologists and mining engineers hold sway.

Indeed, the strategic importance of the mining sector to the country can hardly be over-emphasized.

According to official data, Nigeria is said to be endowed with over 40 types of minerals including gold, silica, lead, marble, tin ore, zinc, coal, iron ore, granite, laterite, manganese and limestone.

Nigeria sits on mining reserves worth $750billion following a preliminary report on assessment of the mining potentials by a German firm, GeoScan.

But the sector remains under developed, accounting for only 0.3% of Nigeria’s GDP.

So given the mining sector’s strategic place in the nation’s development goals and its potential to be a significant revenue earner for the country, President Tinubu might have decided to put in charge of the sector a trusted ally, a patriot,and an incorruptible man who he knew would make the difference.

Bamigbetan writes that Alake’s forte is strategy. It can be argued, and rightly, too, that one can conquer any ground with planning and strategy. Has Minister Alake mastered and conquered the mining sector? I will soon return to this vital question.

In the following three articles in the book, namely “Working with Dr Dele Alake,” “Celebrating Dr Henry Oladele Alake,” and “Driving us to Aim Higher,” three top public officers working with Dr Alake, including the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Mary Ogbe; Director-General, Mining Cadastral Office, an agency under the ministry, Engineer Simon Nkom; and the Head of Solid Minerals Development Fund respectively narrated their experience working with the minister, while also highlighting their roles and responsibilities within the ministry.

The trio seemed to be unanimous in their verdict. Permit me, however, to quote the Perm Sec: “Dr Alake’s unwavering dedication to Nigeria and excellence is something that we all strive to emulate as we work together to realise the full potential of our nation’s solid mineral sector.”

Writing on the topic “Dele Alake and the Power of Positive Influence,” Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, in his contribution to the book, harped on the close relationship between President Tinubu and Dr. Alake. He surmised that “for many aides, associates, cabinet colleagues and friends of the President who have suggestions and advice for the President and cannot immediately reach him, Mr Alake is the go-to, knowing he has the ears of the President and will never shy from offering sound advice to him.”

It is noteworthy to mention a couple of other articles like the “Investment Report,” which gives an update on the situation with respect to foreign investment within the mining sector.  There is also a plethora of other articles, spotlighting the media and its relationship with the ministry like “Alake in the Eyes of the Media,” “Broadcasting Mining” and “Boosting Mining with Digital Media” among others.

What they all signpost is a good relationship with the ministry and a promise of more support.

Perhaps, a more interesting and instructive feature of the book is the addition of two articles written in those dark days of the military by Alake in his columns in the defunct National Concord. In “Civility in Public Appointments” published on November 23, 1987 and “Needed, a Cautious Economic Policy,” penned on March 13, 1989, the readers confront the firebrand and irrepressible activist who spared no word in condemning military regimes and their policies. If hitherto, many of those gathered here witnessed the sharp tongue of Mr. Alake against political opponents particularly during the campaign for the election of President Tinubu, now they would encounter his sharp pen as well.

In all, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the leading article, bearing the title of the book “Alake on Rescue Mission” gives us a helicopter view of Dr. Alake’s watch in the ministry and impact in one year, and thus offers us room for interrogation.

Alake has lived up to the billing. He has worked the path trodden by seasoned journalists like Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Bisi Onabanjo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, all of blessed memory and, of course, Dr. Christopher Kolade and our own Aremo Olusegun Osoba who all made the difference in public office. Looking at my crystal eyeball, even at 68, the future is still ahead of Dr. Alake.

The minister drew up a seven-point agenda. The first component, and perhaps the most important of the 7-point agenda, is the formation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation (NSMC). Realizing that attracting big investors is a major challenge of the sector, Bamigbetan tells readers that the NSMC “is the face of the Nigerian Mining Sector in the global business space, the go-to company for transactions and the deals to deepen the capital formation that will keep investors coming.”

The book reveals that the minister had sought to avoid the pitfalls of the defunct Nigerian Mining Corporation in coming up with the structure by comparing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, company. Bamigbetan writes that “Leaning towards the latter, the minister is proposing a NSMC with 25 per cent shares held by the Federal Government of Nigeria, 25 per cent by Nigerians through a public offer, and 50 per cent by private corporate placement with the condition that no private placement exceeds 10 percent.”

It is important to note, however, that more than one year down the line, the NSMC is still in the works.

The question can be asked also as to whether foreign investments have rolled in into the mining sector. Following the Investment Report on Pages 11 to 14, there is cheering news. Under Alake’s watch, Nigeria has seen a steady rise in companies establishing mineral processing plants in the country. For example, in April 2024, the minister attended the commissioning of the Asba Group’s lithium processing plants, which is said to worth $50m and in a follow-up letter to the minister, further investments in a tin/tantalite processing plant worth $146m and a Tin/Columbite processing plant in Bauchi State worth $67m are underway to bring the group’s investment to approximately $263m.

There is also the $5m, which is already in Nigeria Lithium pegmatite belt of Kwara, Niger and FCT Abuja, by Canada-based Orosur Mining through its UK subsidiary Lithium West Limited as well as the commitment of Woodcross Resources to establish a tin refinery in the country, which will be the first of its kind.

However, it does appear that some of the factors that will attract investors to the sector may not be solely within the realm of the ministry. The government’s fiscal policies, business environment and economic situation in the country must mesh with the arrangements put in place by the ministry to attract more genuine investors.

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With respect to the second component of the agenda, the countrywide geological exploration of key minerals, to de-risk the investment and ensure the government acquires the precise geological data, the ministry had proposed N70 billion to the National Assembly in its budget. This important project is still being hampered by funds. As we say in this country, Nigeria may have happened to the ministry.

The minister has, however, recorded remarkable success in the area of the establishment of the Mining Marshals and introduction of satellite technology to monitor mining operations among others. On March 20, Alake inaugurated the Mining Marshals, drawn from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior. With 60 officers per unit per the Federal Capital Territory and each of the 36 federation states, the Mining Marshals took off with 2,220 units. About a month later, the NSCDC boosted the Marshals with 350 additional 350 officers.

Given his commitment towards the resurgence and full development of the mining sector in Nigeria and Africa, Alake was also elected as the pioneer Chairman of the African Minerals Strategy Group, whose formation he spearheaded. Alake’s appointment to lead the group is a testament to his excellent leadership in the sector.

Putting the book “Alake on Rescue Mission” together, in the final analysis, is commendable. The book will be an invaluable resource for students, scholars, administrators, miners, and investors seeking knowledge and information about the ministry, its activities, and its offerings.

The content is rich, while the quality is high. Save for some identifiable typos, each article is a piece of good, clear, well-structured and easy-to-read writing. Its high aesthetic quality is also typical of the man the book is arranged to honour.

The jury is out on the minister’s performance in office. But has Minister Alake discharged himself creditably thus far? I think so. Alake has lived up to the billing. He has worked the path trodden by seasoned journalists like Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Bisi Onabanjo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, all of blessed memory and, of course, Dr. Christopher Kolade and our own Aremo Olusegun Osoba who all made the difference in public office. Looking at my crystal eyeball, even at 68, the future is still ahead of Dr. Alake.

On this note, I would also like to wish him many more years and robust health so he can continue offering our country more valuable services.

I thank you all for listening to me.

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Speaking at an emergency meeting with the manufacturers in his office on Friday in Abuja, Alake said there was popular outcry against the role of the manufacturers in the easy access of unauthorised persons to explosives and indiscriminate storage across the country.

Noting that the government was reviewing the system for tracking  the movement of explosives from the manufacturers to  end-users, the minister urged them to look inwards and fish out workers who might be responsible for illicit sales or manufacturing of  explosives.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the three licenced manufacturers of explosives – Solar Nigachem Limited, Intrachem Limited and Dynatrac Limited.

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Speaking on behalf of the companies, the Chief Executive Officer of Intrachem Limited and chairman of Association of Commercial Explosives Dealers, Barrister Biodun Abu, explained that the manufacturers had complied with the regulations of the government in terms of security surveillance of their operations by deploying Close Circuit Television in their factories and coding the explosives for easy tracking of the manufacturer and the company that ordered for them.

In addition, Abu said manufacturers and their clients obtained approvals for escorts to transport their goods to the end-users but were unable to verify incidences of possible leakages when it got to the clients.

Introducing the manufacturers earlier, the Director, Mines Inspectorate Department in the Ministry of Solid Minerals, Imam Ganiyu, said the explosives manufactured in Nigeria were slurry and needed detonators to explode.

He said although Nigeria banned the use of dynamite for mining operations in 2007, neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Mali still used the explosives, adding that such explosives might find its way illegally into Nigeria through the borders.

Others at the meeting were Maureen Tiamiyu, A.Muibi, Recall Hegen Ali, (Solar Nigachem Limited); Chidi Opara, Ohio Musa, ( Dynatrac Limited), Engineer Yomi Aluko, Intrachem Limited, Engr Babajide Alatise, (Tuntise Investment Limited) and Special Adviser to the Minister, Kehinde Bamigbetan.

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