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AUXANO Foundation Bringing Hope To Hopeless

Published

6 years ago

February 22, 2021

…As Taka-Lafia Community In FCT Get First Graduate –

Joel Ajayi

Without mincing words, a non-governmental organization known as Auxano Foundation for Empowerment and Development AFED, based in the federal capital territory, is working around the clock to bring hope to the hopeless and give a voice to the needs of the ordinary citizen in the country and beyond.

Through its various programs, Auxano Foundation has indeed demonstrated a determination to put a smile on the faces of the needy.

Its campaigns are based on education, girl-child education, empowerment and eradication of human trafficking in the country.

Auxano Foundation, recently through its activities, has taken charity into the next level with investment in Human Capital Development, with the successful sponsorship of an indigent Nigerian, Mr. Jonathan Tumuyi, to aid in the pursuit of achieving his dreams of University education.

Mr. Jonathan, a Gbagyi indigene from Taka-Lafia, a suburb community that has been existing since the 16th century in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory, successfully passed out of his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Thursday, Feb. 18, being the first graduate from his community with the help and assistance of Auxano foundation.

A 30-year-old, graduate of Educational Administration and Planning defiled all odds to become the first graduate for the community. In an interview with THE GLEAMER NEWS, on Saturday in Abuja, the Director in the foundation, Dr. Grace Babajide, appreciated God on behalf of the organization for the inspiration and successfully completing Tumuyi’s University education.

She said the foundation took the sponsorship of Jonathan right from his 200 level when he was being confronted with too many challenges to cope with, one of which was finance. According to her, Tumuyi was about dropping-out from the University as a result of the challenges but fate drew him to the Charity foundation during one of their outreach to distribute food items to his community.

She said that as of today, Tumuyi is a graduate of`Educational Administration and Planning’, from the prestigious University of Abuja, he did not disappoint the foundation, neither did he disappoint himself. She called on the government to support the Taka-Lafia community who lacks basic amenities, adding that, in the modern-day 21st century, a community could only boost the first graduate without hope of producing any in the nearest future. She, however, urged the youth to borrow a leaf from Jonathan who was focused and determined in choosing his career. She also called on the Nigerian youth to be wary of human traffickers adding that, trafficking issue was on the rise in the country.

According to her, her foundation is working with rescue organizations by carrying out campaign against human trafficking in schools, both primary and secondary to know the dangers attracted to the menace.

Dr (Mrs) Babajide said that most of the funds used in carrying out all the humanitarian assistance were being raised from the pocket of members of the foundation, and called for partnership from well-meaning Nigerians.

“Funding is our major challenge, structure is another one. Currently, we are still a group of volunteers, we don’t really have much, we do things from our pocket, there is no single backing from anywhere,” she said.

**Behold the face of Mr Jonathan Tumuyi the Taka-Lafia community first graduate**

On his part, the beneficiary support, Tumuyi, was full of appreciation to the foundation and urged the government and other NGO’s to come to the aid of the poor masses by supporting them particularly the Taka-Lafia community.

Mr Tumuyi expressed: “Without Auxano Foundation, I wouldn’t have been what I am today.” According to him, in the community called Taka-Lafia when I was a child, I had a passion for education.

“I attended primary school in the village and I proceeded to the government secondary school, Airport where I covered kilometers before getting to school because as at the time, that was the nearest school and from there, I proceeded to Niger State College of Education Minna and after that, I stayed at home for some time, and that gave me more determination to further my education, because I am the only person in the community that have a passion for education and today I am so fulfilled.

“When Auxano foundation came to our community on the14th February 2017 on outreach, they have been a serious help to us, because in our community, I can say we have been marginalized in terms of government presence but when they came and they discovered that Taka-Lafia is under Abuja, they were shocked. “So, they started giving us necessary help to ensure the community comes to being.

“They didn’t help me alone, but they helped the entire community, they gave us basic amenities like bole-hole and organised some health outreach and for me, they made so many impact in my life, educationally, financially and in many other aspects of the community. And when I was in school, they assisted me with funds. “Since God has made them to be a loving organization, having passion for the poor, I want to solicit that government support them to do more.”

However, the Foundation visited the Kuchingoro IDP camp in Abuja in commemoration of the 2020 World Refugee Day, as a way of raising awareness to the plights of displaced persons in Nigeria.

The effort was in collaboration with Teach for Change Nigeria, Yudee Foundation and Healthy and Smart Children Foundation with support from the United Nations with the theme “Every Action Counts.

Also, the Foundation, whose aim is to empower and develop the girl-child in Nigeria, had in the past, as part of her enlightenment campaign, organized a career choice counseling to Government Girls Secondary School Dutse, Abuja, to support the girls to exploit their full potential.

This was part of the Foundations’ annual school and college programs since 2012, on Education Activism to help students, especially girls, to develop mental resilience, confidence and maximize their potentials in line with Sustainable Development Goal, (SDG)-4, among others.

Recall that Auxano Foundation for Empowerment and Development (AFED), a non-governmental organization had embarked on advocacy for greater global support for refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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