Thanos, who?
Nigeria might be getting a mining university soon
Good morning, Big Brains. I just found out today that there are actually living, breathing human beings in Nigeria who do not like harmattan. Being a foreigner is your only excuse for not liking this season; otherwise, you’re just bad vibes. This is literally worse than being a Semo lover.
- Chigor
Word count: ~ 1, 000
Reading time ~ 4 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Nigeria might be getting a mining university soon
Santa BOI has shared early Christmas gifts
The Big Deal
Nigeria might be getting a mining university soon
You probably raised an eyebrow at our Thanos header, but we promise we weren’t doing too much with it. The Nigerian Senate literally put those words in our mouths.
It would seem Nigeria is on its way to giving Thanos a run for his money because we are about to collect a shit ton of precious stones… or at least raise an army of people to do that for us. On Tuesday, December 10, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill to establish the Federal University of Mining and Geo-Science in Jos, Plateau State.
The bill, which seeks to upgrade the already existing Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geo-Sciense (NIMG), Jos, into a federal university, was sponsored by Diket Plang, an APC Senator representing Plateau Central, and passed its first reading earlier in the year.
Following its passage at the Senate on Tuesday, the bill will now be transmitted to the House of Representatives for alignment and then to the President for assent.
Why is this a big deal?
The Senate is actually on to something here; a university specialising only in mining will position the sector for greater things by birthing a skilled workforce, driving research and innovation, mineral exploration and exploitation, and improving mining practices.
We are not saying that establishing a mining school is the magic wand the country needs to revive its mining sector, but having one will go a long way in eliminating things like the exploration and exportation of minerals with minimal profit to the local economy.
The features we’ve listed so far are great, but It’ll be a sin if we don’t mention the most important benefit of this university– the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. For a long time, Nigeria has latched onto the oil sector for money (and breath of life) but apart from the world-famous crude oil, the country is also rich in over 40 minerals like limestone, zinc, iron ore, gold, and lithium, currently valued at about $750 billion, yet, they are hardly a source of revenue for the country; in 2023, the mining sector only managed to contribute a meagre 0.77% to the country’s GDP.
It’s actually wild when you think about it because, in Nigeria’s early days (1960s-early 1970s), it was a big time exporter of minerals like columbite and tin, but when it discovered crude oil in Bayelsa State in the mid-1970s, it threw the mining sector away and picked up its shiny new toy, oil.
Recently though, there seems to be a bit of action in the sector; in November 2024, Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, sealed a mining exploration partnership deal with France, though the deal has been described as both beneficial and potentially risky by analysts who have cited France’s technological edge as “both a strength and a potential threat,” the argument being that France could use its advanced monitoring and exploration tools (meant to prevent illegal mining activities and boost mineral extraction) for ulterior motives as it has been rumoured to do in neighbouring West African countries
We can’t predict how the Nigeria-France deal will pan out, but we have a fair idea of how the mining university can come in handy for the country– Problems such as lack of geological data, weak human capital (no skilled, educated, or experienced workforce in the sector), and lack of enforceable regulations, which have been identified as the roadblocks to the success of the mining sector are things that can be solved through the establishment of an efficiently-run mining university.
This is not a new concept either. Specialised universities for specific sectors have long existed among nations. That’s why there are universities for military studies, defence, mining, and others around the world. To get itself off to a strong start, Nigeria can also learn from countries like the United States and Australia, whose mining schools are rock solid and world-renowned.
Santa BOI has shared early Christmas gifts
You might be pressing your calculator for your Detty December doings but some people are smiling to the bank right now, all thanks to Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI).
On Monday, December 9, BOI announced that it has disbursed ₦22.89 billion to 29 manufacturers as part of its effort to relieve the manufacturing sector of the massive gbese it’s been seeing for some time now.
BOI’s Managing Director, Olasupo Olusi, who made this announcement during an interactive session with the Organised Private Sector, said the ₦22.89 it just shared is part of its ₦75 billion Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Intervention Fund.
In addition to this, Olusi said the agency is also disbursing ₦6.3 billion for 20 similar projects it is funding.
Why does this matter?
Like almost everything in Nigeria, the country’s manufacturing industry has been gasping for air for a while now– it’s in the big things like the exit of multinational companies like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Kimberly-Clark, and in scary things like the closure of about 767 manufacturing companies in the country and the operational struggles of 335 others due to sky-high inflation, bad investment climate, subsidy removal, and unstable exchange rates.
The industry just can’t seem to catch a break. In November 2024, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said that unsold products worth ₦1.24 trillion (a 357.57% increase from last year) were stuck in different warehouses during the first half of 2024 as their owners were unable to sell them off. Also, manufacturers that have managed to survive the wave of shutdowns that killed off 767 companies now operate at lower capacities than they used to ( 56.4% as of the first half of 2024).
Saying that MSMEs are important to Nigeria’s economy would be putting it lightly because they are currently responsible for 90% of jobs in the country, even as they struggle. Imagine what would happen if they completely collapsed.
As it stands, the industry is fighting many battles, and according to the African Development Bank (AFDB), it would need $160 billion for a bail out. BOI’s ₦75 billion MSME Intervention Fund is only 0.028% of that amount, but half-bread is better than none, no?
This Week’s Big Question
“If you could have one thing for Christmas, what would it be?”
Sarah’s response– “I have an imaginary cart I want to clear from Shein.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Sarah’s, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
NOA Translating Tinubu’s Tax Reform Into 36 Nigerian Languages: The National Orientation Agency says it’s translating the much-discussed tax reform bills into 36 Nigerian languages to help more people understand and engage with it.
I inherited 70% idle young population –Zamfara Gov: The governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, says the youth in the North West State are mostly idle, but his administration is working hard to change the narrative.
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