16. ADEDOJA OLUWATOBI EMMANUEL
HOW THE YOUTH IN AFRICA CAN HARNESS THE MINERAL RESOURCE SECTOR TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION
The earth’s crust of Africa is rich in mineral resources. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), about 30% of the world’s mineral reserves are found in Africa, which accounts for over 20% of the global annual production of five key minerals: 80% platinum, 77% cobalt, 51% manganese, 46% diamonds, 39% chromium and 22% gold. Also, out of 54 African countries, 42 are regarded as resource-dependent, 18 are classified as dependent on non-fuel minerals, 10 as dependent on energy or fuel exports, and the rest as dependent on agricultural export.
In the same vein, African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that Africa’s extractive resources could contribute over USD 30 billion per annum in government revenue for the next 20 years. However, despite the abundance of mineral resources on the continent, most resource-rich African countries are still categorised as low-income countries.
Without any shadow of a doubt, if the mineral sector is properly harnessed, it has the capacity of generating significant revenue for the government, bridging the unemployment gap, and repositioning itself as the employer of choice as well as serving as a key job creator on the continent. This essay focuses on how the youths; Africa’s greatest asset, can leverage the mineral sector to create opportunities for sustainable economic development.
AFRICA’S GREATEST ASSET: HER TEEMING YOUTH POPULATION
While the concept of youths differs from one country to another; states like Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, as well as Sudan confine the category of youths as those falling between the ages of 15 and 35, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) defines ‘youths’ as a young person whose age falls between the ages of 15 and 24. It is also generally accepted that it is a stage of one’s life when he or she begins to shoulder personal responsibilities and commitments to the community.
Suffice it to say that African youths hold a significant portion of the world’s youth population. According to the UNO, the global youth population: between the ages of 15 and 24 years is estimated at about 1.2 Billion, accounting for 16% of the world's population. These offer a lot of possibilities for the continent, as well as a danger if the capacities of youths are not adequately utilised. At least, Africa’s burgeoning youth population possesses the necessary human capital to advance the mineral sector. African youths, as key stakeholders, has all it takes to steer the mineral sector in an upward direction.
HARNESSING THE MINERAL SECTOR FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF AFRICAN YOUTHS
To begin with, African youths must acquire essential skills that will position them for opportunities in the sector. These will not only spur young Africans to participate in the sector but also place Africa’s mineral sector at par with other developed nations of the world. As a result, the sector becomes more viable and appealing for young people to explore. More youths with these relevant skills would be recruited into the sector, providing the necessary manpower to improve the sector’s revenue-generating capacity, leading to economic development.
African youths must be willing to spread head developmental projects in their communities, by leveraging technology to provide innovative solutions to some of the problems facing the sector. Following the launch of fintech platforms like pay stacks and flutter wave, which were co-founded by Nigerians, African youths are making giant strides in their respective capacities. Similarly, Mpesa, one of the world’s largest financial services platforms, was founded by a young African from Kenya. These businesses have grown over the years to become ‘unicorns’ in their market values. Through research and development, more innovations of this sort can be presented to revolutionise the mineral sector of Africa.
Moreover, the mineral sector is broad, yet, only the mining industry has been receiving more attention in past years, other areas like mineral tourism, service supplies, semi-precious stones industry, are still in their developing stages. African youths can channel their energy towards reviving these industries by actively creating awareness in communities, schools, conferences, research-based organisations, and being involved in these areas of the mineral sector.
As part of our diversification drive for the economy, we are at the point where African youths must be willing to play active parts in formulating ideas, visions and designing strategic plans which will subsequently translate into government policies for the sector in the area of governance, legislative reforms, amongst others, which is one of the dimensions of economic diversification that involves an expansion of economic sectors that contribute to employment and production or gross domestic product (GDP).
CONCLUSION
In a bid to have a resilient economy in Africa, diversification must remain a priority and our efforts towards this have to be purposeful. Thus, the mineral sector opens up a window of opportunities that we can explore. Notably, the remarks of former President of United States of America (US), President J. F Kennedy has to keep on resonating in the minds of all African youths. During his inaugural address as the 35th president of the US, he said, ‘‘…ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.’’ Thus, African youths must put off the mentality of over-relying on the government to meet all our needs. Essentially, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 underscores the importance of promoting the rights of young people and meeting their needs, in all diversity. However, every stakeholder has a particular role to play in the sustainable development quest of Africa. Governments in their respective countries must provide an enabling environment for youths to thrive, while youths on the other hand must not fold hands and linger on for too long before acting. We must use the available tools and resources at our disposal to bring about the change we want to see in Africa. I strongly believe that with determination, strong will, individual and concerted efforts, we can achieve this objective.
United States Geological Survey (USGS), available at Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2021, Washington D.C.
L. Signe, C. Johnson, ‘‘Africa’s Mining Potential: Trends, Opportunities, Challenges and Strategies’’, Available at https://www.africaportal.org/documents/21630/PP-10-21-Landry-Signe_1.pdf (Last accessed 17 November 2021).
Africa Natural Resources Centre (ANRC), ‘‘Catalyzing Growth and Development through effective Natural Resources Management’’, Available AfDB_ANRC_BROCHURE_en.pdf (Last accessed 17 November 2021).
Africa Natural Resources Centre (ANRC), ‘‘Catalyzing Growth and Development through effective Natural Resources Management’’, Available AfDB_ANRC_BROCHURE_en.pdf (Last accessed 17 November 2021).
United Nations Organisation (UNO), ‘‘Definition of Youths’’, available Microsoft Word - YOUTH_Definition_2013-1-23.docx (un.org) (Last accessed 25 November 2021).
United Nations (UN), ‘‘Global issues: Youths’’, (2021), available Youth | United Nations, (Last accessed 25 November 2021).
Z. Usman, D. Landry, ‘‘Economic Diversification in Africa: How and Why it Matters’’, (April 30, 2021), Available at Economic Diversification in Africa: How and Why It Matters - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Last accessed 26 November, 2021).
