By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
President Bola Tinubu has called on G20 leaders to adopt a global framework that guarantees fair benefits for communities hosting Africa’s critical minerals, warning that resource-rich regions must not be sidelined in the global push for green and digital transitions.
Speaking in Johannesburg on Saturday through Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu urged that value addition begin at the source to ensure mineral wealth translates into inclusive development.
He stressed that transparency and accountability in extraction are moral and economic necessities.
Tinubu noted that critical minerals are key to Africa’s industrial growth but said prosperity requires technology transfer, capacity building and investments that promote dignity and inclusion.
He highlighted Nigeria’s efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda to equip youth with digital and vocational skills.
On artificial intelligence, Tinubu called for global ethical standards to prevent exclusion and job displacement, insisting that AI should “empower rather than marginalise.”
He urged stronger partnerships between developed and developing nations to ensure equitable access to emerging technologies.
Linking critical minerals, decent work and AI as pillars of inclusive growth, Tinubu asked the G20 to support Africa’s shift from raw-material exporter to value-adding producer.
He further called for reforms to global financial systems to ease the debt burden on developing countries and strengthen global stability.
