LET THE 36 NIGERIAN STATES JOIN THE SOUTH SOUTH TO MAKE THIS FIGHT FOR 50% CONTROL A SUCCESS, Exploring the resource control option, by Futureview on October 21, 2014 / in Viewpoint 3:24 am / Comments Futureview Group, CEO, Mrs. Elizabeth Ebi announces a new Futureview Research initiative on Resource Control in Nigeria. Futureview will look to examine all 36 states in Nigeria and both tapped and untapped opportunities in their natural resource usage. Futureview is a leading investment bank in Nigeria. On May 29, 2014, Nigeria celebrated 15 years of uninterrupted democratic rule. On October 1st, 2014, Nigeria also celebrated 54 years as an independent nation in West Africa. With this in hindsight, the issues that promote the sustainability of democracy and sustain the structures of national development need to be addressed. In this article, we discuss one of the most sensitive issues that has impacted our fragile democracy in recent times, that is the resource control policy option and its place in national growth and development of our country. The word “resource” can simply be interpreted to mean the wealth, supplies of goods, raw materials, minerals e.t.c, which a person or a country has or can use for development or production (Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 1962: 838). The control and determination of natural resources, i.e the way and manner state authorities allocate and distribute government revenue among the various tiers or levels of its administration, is the broad understanding of resource control in our context. Resource control has remained a contentious issue in Nigeria because of the widely held belief that the exercise of autonomy by the component states of the federation (states and local governments) regarding the provision of social and economic services for their people are largely dependent on the portion of the “national cake” allocated to them. In other words, the greater the portion of the total revenue allocated to both state and local governments, the greater the degree of independent decision making of these governments in carrying out various socio-economic tasks of growth and development in order to advance the general welfare of their citizenry. The failure of the federal government to find a political solution to this problem has led to a very plausible demand for resource and self determination within the federation (Ikelegbe 2001). Over the years, the federal government has tried to address the problems occasioned by cries for resource control through administrative agencies such as OMPADEC (Oil Mineral Producing Areas development Commission) and NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission). As a result of corruption and lack of commitment on the part of the government and multinational companies these efforts amounted to nothing (Frynas, 200; Akpan, 2004). Several other attempts made at reaching acceptable revenue sharing formulae have yielded little or no result. In the light of the above scenario, it has become important to take a critical look at the natural endowment of some select states of the federation to ascertain the often held belief that greater focus and development of local resources would reduce and eliminate the incidence of state and local government in the states relying on the center for survival. There are about thirty-four (34) minerals that have been identified in the country, of which only 13 are being actually mined, processed and marketed. They are coal (which has an export potential of 15 million tonnes per annum valued at US$1billion) kaolin, baryte, limestone, dolomite, feldspar, glass sand, gemstones, gold, iron ore, lead-zinc, tin, other associated minerals and recently gypsum. The remaining twenty (21) minerals, though in demand are untapped. The volumes of domestic trade deficit and foreign exchange losses resulting from this deficiency are colossal. The availability of these minerals opens up opportunities in the following areas: (a) Exports and use in domestic industries for generation of foreign exchange and internal revenue. (b) Emergence of new industrial and downstream products. (c) Increased employment of Nigerians, particularly in the rural areas where the minerals are found. (d) Technology transfer and development. (e) Development of infrastructure, especially in the rural areas (roads, hospitals, rail, schools and housing) The multiplier benefits to the citizenry are enormous. In fact, the solid minerals sector can very easily be the largest employment sector of the economy, since deposits abound in virtually every State of the Federation. Prior to the creation of the new ministry of Solid Minerals Development, enquiries and demands were made for Nigerian solid minerals, especially coal. Since inception, orders to the tune of 15 million tonnes of coal have been received. Natural resources distribution data made available on the website of the federal government (nigeria.gov.ng) reveal that Nigeria is richly endowed with a variety of Natural resources ranging from precious metals various stones to industrial such as Barites, Gypsum, Kaolin and Marble. Most of these are yet to be exploited and statistically, the level of exploitation of active mineral sites is very low in relation to the extent of deposit found in the country. Ogun State, for instance located in South-West Nigeria and bordering the popular Lagos State is endowed with immense industrial minerals including minerals including limestone, gypsum, kaolin, feldspar phosphate in Egbado North and South and Sagamu; mica, glass sand, clay granite in Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South and Ado-Odo/Ota; tar sand, kaolin, clay and phosphate in Ikenne, Ijebu-East, Ijebu; North, Ijebu-Ode, Obafemi- Owode and Ogun Waterside LGAs. Forest, agricultural and mineral resources in the state provide the much needed local sources of raw materials for industries. Cement manufacturing plants at Ewekoro and Sagamu were based on the available limestone and other components in the state. Glass sand, feldspar and clay available in the state would supply the required raw materials for glass, ceramics and pottery industries, while Kaolin is an important raw material for making Chalk, paint, Kaolin poltice and plaster of Paris (POP). Efforts to increase the state’s GDP through the mining and minerals sector, however, have been severely hampered by factors including inadequate technology, non-transparency and ineffective regulations guiding activities in the sector. Perhaps, most damaging to that mission to reform the sector is the activity of illegal miners, who are often described as informal or artisanal miners. The challenge posed by activities of illegal miners has remained intractable in spite of the administration’s efforts to streamline their ‘operations’ by encouraging the formation of co-operatives. In similar manner in different locations in the country could be found these “illegal miners” engaged in one form of mining activity or the other often in collaboration with ‘briefcase investors’ who act as middlemen between the ‘miners’ and the end buyers of the products. Poor regulation of activities by this category of miners – which number in hundreds of thousands- have effectively ensured that government’s stake in the exploitation of these natural resources is sidelined, and government revenue through taxation and royalties are denied. It is about time government evolves an all embracing resource control and resource management policy that integrates the activities of these illegal miners in a consistent and well sustained effort to enhance government revenue and reap the benefits of the presence of these solid minerals in every state of the federation. - See more at: vanguardngr/2014/10/exploring-resource-control-option-futureview/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.sux4eNku.dpuf
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 00:48:33 +0000
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