Economic diversification through mining requires gender and community rights focus

The policy brief advocates for shifting Nigeria's mining governance away from the oil and gas model to better incentivise states and empower marginalized groups. It highlights the potential of semi-precious stones for livelihood creation and warns that failure to protect community rights and gender equality will hinder the sector's ability to create an estimated 250,000 new jobs.

• Nigeria's current mineral revenue-sharing formula is insufficient to motivate state governments, as the 13% derivation used in the oil and gas sector provides a "paltry incentive" for grassroots actors to drive job creation.
• The mining sector has significant potential for employment and economic growth, with known reserves of approximately 47 distinct minerals that could support the creation of 250,000 new jobs.
• Gender-based legal barriers in the 2004 Labour Act, specifically sections 55 and 56, restrict women's participation in the mining sector by prohibiting them from manual underground labour and working certain hours.
• Illegal mining and poor governance have led to communal conflicts and human rights issues, as evidenced by incidents in Ebonyi state involving police brutality and intra-community rivalries over mining consent.
• The document recommends adopting the African Mining Vision (AMV) principles and learning from federal systems like Canada and Australia, where states have more control over mineral endowments to grow internally generated revenues.

APA

Bello, D. O. (2018). Economic diversification through mining requires gender and community rights focus. Good Governance Africa. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/NGI-Mining-Prosperity-for-Nigeria.pdf

Chicago

Bello, Dr Ola. Economic diversification through mining requires gender and community rights focus. Good Governance Africa, 2018. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/NGI-Mining-Prosperity-for-Nigeria.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bello |first1=Dr Ola |title=Economic diversification through mining requires gender and community rights focus |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=2018 |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/NGI-Mining-Prosperity-for-Nigeria.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bello2018economic, author = {Bello, Dr Ola}, title = {{Economic diversification through mining requires gender and community rights focus}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2018}, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/NGI-Mining-Prosperity-for-Nigeria.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }