The Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr. Dele Alake has stressed that prioritising human capital development is essential to fully unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s extractive sector.
He made the assertion on Monday during the inauguration of the maiden edition of the NGSA Post-NYSC Graduate Youth Knowledge Empowerment and Capacity-Building Programme in Abuja organised by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) in collaboration with the Ministry.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Mr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo the Minister emphasized that empowering young professionals with field-ready expertise remains the bedrock of sustainable growth in the mining industry.
‘Nigeria’s vast deposits of gold lithium iron ore barite and limestone offer immense opportunities for economic diversification industrialisation job creation and revenue generation. However maximizing this wealth requires a deliberate investment in our human resource capacity to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application’ Alake stated.
He called on the NGSA to scale up the capacity-building initiative urging the agency to partner with key stakeholders to broaden its reach.
‘To maximise the benefits of our mineral wealth we must expand human development initiatives across the sector. I urge the NGSA to deepen its collaboration with universities research institutions professional bodies and private sector operators. This will ensure that more young geoscientists are equipped with the practical skills required to drive the industry forward’ he said.
Alake advised participants to master core practical modules-including geological mapping mineral exploration remote sensing GIS and laboratory analysis-while urging them to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset.
‘Do not rely solely on conventional white-collar employment. I encourage you to leverage the practical skills gained here to explore entrepreneurship in mineral testing exploration support services mineral processing environmental consultancy and mining technology’ Alake added.
Earlier in his address the Director-General of the NGSA Professor Olusegun Ige explained that the programme was conceived to resolve the shortage of practical exposure commonly faced by geology graduates during their tertiary studies.
‘We received nearly 500 applications for this maiden edition but due to resource constraints we selected a competitive pool with balanced representation across all six geopolitical zones. Our senior experienced NGSA professionals will serve as facilitators to give these graduates the hands-on exposure required by the industry’ Ige noted.
Highlighting the agency’s ongoing commitment to manpower development Ige referenced past initiatives including the sponsorship and recognition of outstanding university research projects-one of whose award recipients was subsequently absorbed into the agency as an intern.
Supporting the Minister’s call former NGSA Director-General Alex Ndubuisi described the initiative as a timely intervention to correct academic equipment deficits in universities urging the agency to expand intake numbers for subsequent editions.
Representing the Director-General of the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) Engr. Simon Nkom the Senior Special Assistant on Technical Matters Mr. Dauda Dinga commended the workshop and advocated for its expansion to cover mining engineering graduates noting that ‘competent geoscientists and mining engineers are the twin pillars of effective mineral title administration and sustainable extraction.’
Also speaking the representative of the Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University Keffi Professor Nathaniel Goki reaffirmed academia’s support for the initiative calling for sustained institutional collaboration between universities and the NGSA in joint research and access to seismic monitoring data.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries trainee representative Nana Yakubu expressed gratitude to the Ministry and the NGSA for the platform pledging that the participants would maximize the training to contribute meaningfully to the nation’s solid minerals landscape.