- …says wealth of critical minerals must translate into shared prosperity in Africa
- …seeks fair handling of global financial flows, recurring debt crises
- …urges world leaders to take bold steps in reforming international financial architecture
President Bola Tinubu has urged the international community to adopt a global framework that ensures communities hosting critical minerals in Nigeria and across Africa directly benefit from the resources extracted from their lands.
Eko Hot Blog reports that he stressed that value addition must take place at the source so that local communities are not left behind.
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Nigeria also expressed strong support for the establishment of global ethical standards for Artificial Intelligence, aimed at accelerating development in an inclusive and responsible manner.
Tinubu made these remarks at the Third Session of the 2025 Group of 20 Leaders’ Summit, held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in South Africa, with the theme “A Fair and Just Future for All: Critical Minerals, Decent Work, Artificial Intelligence.” The President was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
According to a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, spokesman in the Office of the Vice President, Tinubu noted that critical minerals hold immense potential for Africa’s industrial transformation.
However, he warned that the mere possession of natural resources does not automatically translate to prosperity. He called for fairness, transparency, and accountability in the extraction and global trade of such minerals.
He stressed that responsible practices are essential to ensure that wealth generated from resource-rich communities contributes to shared progress and long-term development.
“Nigeria calls for a global framework that promotes value addition at the source, supports local beneficiation, and ensures that communities hosting these resources are not left behind. The issue before us goes beyond the arithmetic of economics and speaks to the moral character of the world we seek to build,” he said.
Tinubu also highlighted the need for the world’s green and digital transitions to remain people-centred. He described decent work as the foundation of a fair and inclusive future, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to national prosperity.
He explained that through the Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria is investing heavily in future-ready skills by equipping young people with digital literacy, vocational training, and entrepreneurial opportunities.
For a fair and just global future, he urged G20 leaders to deepen cooperation on technology transfer, capacity building, and investments that uphold human dignity rather than prioritising profit.
On artificial intelligence, Tinubu warned that although AI has enormous potential to boost development, it must remain a tool that serves humanity. He called for safeguards to ensure it does not deepen inequality or displace livelihoods.
“Nigeria supports global ethical standards for AI that ensure safety, transparency, and equity. We must make sure AI becomes a tool of empowerment, not exclusion, and of job creation rather than displacement,” he said.
He emphasised the need for partnerships between developed and developing nations, and between the public and private sectors, to ensure that innovation is matched with inclusion.
Tinubu added that the G20 must confront systemic bias and promote sustained multilateral dialogue so that the benefits of AI are shared equitably and its risks are effectively managed.
He concluded by noting that critical minerals, decent work, and artificial intelligence are linked by a shared responsibility to build a global economy that uplifts people rather than marginalises them, and one that measures its strength by the wellbeing and opportunities it offers to all.
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