By Our Reporter
Mr Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development has urged the authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to harness the institution’s mineral and intellectual resources to establish a world-class centre of mining excellence.
Alake gave the charge during a meeting with a high-powered delegation of the university’s Governing Council, led by its Chairman, Professor Ralph Akinfeleye.
The Minister said the proposed centre should bridge the gap between mining theory, mineral extraction and processing, while contributing to the university’s financial sustainability.
According to him, the commercial value of mineral resources available to the university could significantly reduce the proportion of government subvention in its total budgetary allocation if properly harnessed.
He therefore encouraged the university to explore partnerships with private-sector investors, noting that such collaborations could provide the technical expertise, capital and machinery required to develop its mineral assets.
“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,” Alake said.
He added that such an arrangement would enable the university to generate revenue while allowing its experts to participate as consultants and technical partners.
The Minister commended OAU for its longstanding contributions to the training of geologists and other professionals in Nigeria’s mining industry, urging the institution to deepen its role in mineral exploration, research, innovation and commercialisation.
He stressed the need for universities to move beyond knowledge generation to practical application, saying, “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 also 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 in accordance with the Constitution and relevant mining laws.
He disclosed that the Federal Government had restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources through designated bitumen blocks and competitive bidding by investors.
“The University owns the land, but where there are mineral resources, their exploration and exploitation must still be undertaken in accordance with the law,” he said.
The Minister stressed the need for a mutually beneficial arrangement that would protect the legitimate interests of the university while upholding the regulatory responsibilities of the Federal Government.
He further reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to creating a transparent, predictable and investment-friendly regulatory environment that promotes responsible mining, value addition and sustainable economic benefits for Nigerians.
Other members of the OAU delegation at the meeting were Ambassador Edward Sarki, Barrister Joseph Abaagu, Professor Olatunbosun Adedayo and Barrister Yinka Ayanfola.
