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AYU IS A CHAMELEON

Published

5 years ago

March 8, 2022

By Aondowase Alex Torkuma

Opposition parties and desperate politicians are known to employ various political gimmicks in the run-up to any election in the Country. Majority of these unscrupulous politicians would weep up sentiments, exploit divisions, security and economic challenges to elicit sympathy and public support.

As preparations for the 2023 general elections gather momentum, these dishonest elements are at it again, with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) already making comical and unwarranted statements.

In an unusually recent outburst, Iyorchia Ayu National Chairman of the PDP, publicly accused the APC-led administration, of using Soldiers, the Police and the DSS to harass people in the South East.

What a despicable attempt at inciting the public against these agencies and a cheap trick to sway sympathy for his party. But why drag these organizations into the gutters of dirty politicking.

I am not bemused as such misguided statement coming from a stooge and an old cargo like Ayu, who can do anything for a penny to impress his paymasters, is not a surprise.

Ayu could best be described as a Chameleon, as he switches from one party to another, changing every time, as situation warrants, all for his pecuniary interest. Otherwise, how can someone in his right state of mind stoop as low as exploiting the mindless bloodletting going on in the South East to seek cheap popularity.

He makes it look as though the killing of Chief Bola Ige, Harry Marshall, Ogbonnaya Uche, Abigail and Barnabas Igwe, Ayo Daramola, Funsho Williams and Aminosari Dikibo all assassinated and thousands of lives lost during the sixteen (16) years of PDP should be forgotten. As Mr. Ayu grows older, he has either become senile or this is just another display of his political merchandise.

One fact is that whatever situation Nigeria is in today, Ayu has played a role in it. He has remained in the saddle. While Ayu has been in government since Abacha’s regime, he could only be remembered for one thing, the politician that has been a member of all of the country’s major political parties and without any project/achievement to his name.

Ayu was purely up to a destructive agenda at Owerri. He also stated that the PDP if elected next year would resolve the agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This raises more questions about whether Ayu and his co-travelers are not involved or sponsoring the happenings in the South East. Assuming not, how can he be so confident that his party will put an end to IPOB agitation? Is IPOB gratified by his party or a Biafra breakaway from Nigeria. Hope I am not alone with this suspicious feeling. When innocent Igbos were murdered in Oyigbo, Rivers, a PDP-controlled state, where was he? Is it possible that he is oblivious of these incidents due to absentmindedness or in his desire to placate his paymasters and for political mileage, he rather chose the particular bowl of blood shed to see? For jumping on the bandwagon perception of marginalization of the South East, Ayu should know that if the person speaking is unintelligent, those listening are not. In his narrow thought, he expects APC to fix in less than seven years what the PDP failed to do in sixteen years.

It is noteworthy that these fabrications coming from people like Ayu is not surprising. Nigerians know history and will never forget him as the first person to sell out the Abiola-led movement which vehemently protested the annulment of June 12 election. He quickly jumped ship and accepted appointment as Minister of Education under General Abacha, despite persistently tagging Abacha a dictator. Ayu’s major job as Education Minister was campus to campus advocacy, rallying students against anti-government protesters. No wonder, there is no record of any achievement in his name. Ayu’s history of bootlicking and making dangerous political mistakes is not new. He was arrested and charged with terrorism as Atiku’s campaign manager for unduly recruiting Niger Delta militants to undermine Obasanjo’s Presidency. Amazingly, after rejoining the PDP, he was released and apparently that charge is no longer an issue. It is on record that Ayu admitted to receiving N345 million from the $2.5 billion funds for arms purchase in the PDP days, under the guise of consultation on difficult issues. Delicate and difficult issues indeed.

Ayu had been sidelined in Nigeria’s politics and he is just trying to rehabilitate himself. Ayu has turned to a political prostitute and a lapdog/puppet controlled by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom to attack anyone who opposes their dirty politics. It is unfortunate that as National Chairman he allows Ortom to bankroll his nuisances instead of providing good governance to his own kinsmen in Benue. Very reprehensive of an old politician who, despite numerous top government portfolios held from the 1990s to present day, has left no single legacy in Benue State.

Ayu and other kleptocrats alike, should understand that the days of deceiving voters by leveraging on ethno-religious sentiments, regional agitation and unfounded claims are over. Nigerians have had enough of such tricks. Nigeria’s security agencies should look into Ayu’s falsehood propaganda and these peddled claims. Perhaps, Ayu being the National Chairman of the major opposition party has either credible intelligence at his disposal or may just be playing a part of the dirty tactics his party would employ ahead of 2023 elections. One thing is clear though. These irate politicians should leave public institutions who have apolitical orientations out of their show of shame and brigandage. Nigeria depends on their neutrality to continue to grow.

Aondowase Alex Torkuma, a public Affairs Analyst writes from Markurdi

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Business

Turning Africa’s Raw Materials Into Wealth: The ARMS 2026 Industrial Agenda

Published

3 days ago

September 29, 2026

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

For decades, Africa’s vast natural resources have powered industries and economies far beyond the continent, while many African countries have remained largely exporters of unprocessed commodities and importers of finished products.

That familiar pattern is now coming under renewed scrutiny as policymakers, researchers, investors and industrialists seek to change the direction of Africa’s resource economy.

At the centre of that conversation is the second edition of the Africa Raw Materials Summit (ARMS 2026), scheduled for October 19 and 20 at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, under the theme: “From African Feedstock to African Factories.”

Organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), the summit is being positioned as more than another gathering of policymakers and industry stakeholders. It is intended to provide a platform for confronting the structural challenges that have kept African raw materials largely disconnected from local manufacturing.

Africa has for years operated largely within a “pit-to-port” economic model, exporting raw materials while importing expensive finished products.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the summit on Tuesday in Abuja, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, said the event would bring together policymakers, investors, researchers, technology providers and industrialists to develop practical strategies for transforming Africa’s abundant natural resources into industrial wealth.

The challenge, therefore, is not simply the abundance of resources, but the continent’s ability to transform those resources into industrial value, employment, technology and wealth within Africa.

Nigeria alone, according to the RMRDC, has more than $582.4 billion in documented non-renewable natural resources, while the wider continent possesses substantial deposits of critical minerals, agricultural raw materials and industrial feedstock.

Yet, the benefits of this resource endowment have often been constrained by inadequate processing capacity, weak infrastructure, limited technology, financing gaps and fragmented regional value chains.

From Dialogue to Industrial Action

ARMS 2026 builds on the maiden edition held in May 2025, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates from across the world.

The inaugural summit also witnessed the unveiling of the Ten-Year Raw Materials Transformation Roadmap (2025–2034) by the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owen Enoh.

The roadmap was designed around areas including technological capability, climate-resilient processing and backward integration, establishing a policy framework for greater domestic utilisation of Africa’s raw materials.

The second edition is expected to move the conversation further by bringing policy, capital, technology and industrial stakeholders around practical mechanisms for turning raw materials into locally manufactured products.

One of the major proposals highlighted by the RMRDC is the 30 per cent Mandatory Value Addition Bill, which seeks to establish a statutory minimum level of value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.

The Council says the proposed framework could support job creation, import substitution, foreign-exchange conservation and increased manufacturing contribution to the economy.

Building the Infrastructure for Value Addition

The industrial transformation envisaged by ARMS 2026 goes beyond legislation.

A major concern is the “missing middle” between where raw materials are produced and where factories are located.

Poor transportation networks, inadequate cold-chain facilities, weak rural roads, limited testing and certification infrastructure and border-related delays can make locally sourced materials more expensive and less competitive.

Consequently, logistics and infrastructure constitute one of the five principal pillars of the summit.

The objective is to develop more reliable corridors connecting farms and mines with processing centres and manufacturing facilities, thereby reducing losses and improving the movement of industrial inputs.

The Digital Dimension

Technology is also becoming an important part of the Council’s strategy.

The RMRDC says it has developed the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP), described as a digital repository containing information on feedstock deposits, specifications, production outputs and industrial absorption rates.

The Council has also highlighted its transition towards paperless operations and its certification as a Data Controller/Processor of Major Importance by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

Such digital infrastructure could provide investors and manufacturers with better information about the availability and characteristics of raw materials while supporting more informed industrial planning.

Turning Waste Into Industrial Inputs

Another major component of ARMS 2026 is the proposed expansion of the circular economy.

The summit will examine how agricultural by-products, mine tailings, scrap metals and biomass can be recovered and reused as inputs for new production processes rather than being treated simply as waste.

The RMRDC argues that such an approach could lower raw-material costs while supporting more sustainable and climate-resilient manufacturing systems.

For Africa, where industrial expansion must increasingly balance economic development with environmental considerations, waste industrialisation could become an important part of the continent’s manufacturing conversation.

From National Production to African Value Chains

The African Continental Free Trade Area is another important element of the summit’s agenda.

The RMRDC sees AfCFTA as an opportunity to create regional value chains in which raw materials sourced in one African country can be processed and supplied to manufacturers in another.

Under such a model, Africa would move beyond simply exporting commodities to external markets and develop stronger internal networks for supplying chemicals, refined minerals, agricultural inputs and other industrial materials across national borders.

This approach places regional integration at the heart of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.

Bridging Research and Capital

A recurring weakness in many developing economies is the gap between research and commercialisation.

Innovations may emerge from universities, research institutions and laboratories without receiving the financing, equipment or market connections required to become commercially viable.

ARMS 2026 intends to address that gap through technology commercialisation and capital linkages, connecting research outputs with investors, development finance institutions and industrial off-takers.

The RMRDC has also cited partnerships with the Bank of Industry for commercial-scale post-harvest processing and a South-South technology-transfer partnership with the National Innovation Centre par Excellence in Shanghai, China.

A Larger Industrial Conversation

The scale of ARMS 2026 is expected to be significantly larger than the maiden edition.

The organisers project more than 1,800 delegates from all 54 African countries and global industrial partners.

The programme will feature high-level policy dialogues, technical panels, an advanced raw materials and technology exhibition, industrial site visits and the African Raw Materials Industry Awards.

The exhibition, in particular, is expected to showcase locally fabricated processing machinery, advanced domestic materials, green chemicals and engineered commercial inputs.

Beyond the speeches and exhibitions, however, the real significance of ARMS 2026 will ultimately depend on what happens after the summit.

Africa’s challenge has never been a shortage of raw materials. The more difficult question has been how to transform those resources into factories, products, skilled employment, technology and sustainable economic opportunities.

For Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the proposed shift from “pit-to-port” to “feedstock-to-factory” therefore represents a broader debate about the future structure of African economies.

ARMS 2026 seeks to place that debate firmly on the industrial agenda — with value addition, technology, finance, infrastructure, circular production and regional trade at the centre.

If the commitments and partnerships generated by the summit translate into measurable industrial activity, the event could provide another platform for Africa to examine how its enormous resource base can support stronger domestic manufacturing.

The message from the organisers is clear: the continent’s raw materials should not only leave African soil as commodities; they should increasingly become the foundation for African industrial production

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