Experts have tasked government to pay more attention to the development of the country’s mining sector.
CEO Emotan Global, Joseph Emotan, said the Nigerian government had not been paying adequate attention to the developement of mining and steel development.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the Mining Review Africa on Thursday, Emotan said Nigeria was famous for selling its own materials at extremely low prices to foreign nations only for them to be repackaged and brought back at high prices
She said, “Nigeria’s current position as regards the general value addition on mineral has received little or no attention over the years.
“We have become famous for outrightly selling our raw materials to foreign countries at extremely low prices only to have them shipped back to us at very high costs after being processed.”
Emotan wondered why Nigeria was not showing up as a centre for gemstones despite its endowments in precious stones.
Another participant at the webinar, Mary Iwelumo, said Nigerians’ failure to buy locally made products had made the contribution of the mining sector to be very low.
She said, “Nigerians import minerals into the country. We are not buying locally made products. Some of the cash to be kept in the country is being taken out.”
Iwelumo said Nigerians should keep the value in the country by making sure the quality of minerals produced were durable and able to stand the test of time.
She urged the government to regulate the sector properly and ensure that people know that they are getting real value for their money.
