On Wednesday 16th August 2016, naijhq.com reported the discovery of a massive iron ore deposit was discovered in Cross River state.[1] The picture of the discovery showed some Asians who may have discovered the massive iron ore, instead of Nigerian researchers. So, a concerned Nigerian, ITbomb, asked “why waiting for outsiders to come and discover stuff in our backyard when we have research centres with PhDs and Professors?”[2] Many responders mocked Nigerian professors and researchers as useless people, whose potbellies may not permit them to bend down for research. Yet, many Nigerians have failed to consider the motivating factor behind research in different parts of the world.
The cost of conducting real researches are high both on human, capital and material resources. About US$160 billion is spent yearly on biomedical research[3] in the United States. The researcher may retain patency for his product. China budgeted $43 billion for research in 2016, other countries like India, England, Australia and Netherlands also voted billions of dollars to research. But in the Nigerian 2016 budget, there was no allocation for research institutes,[4] against US$160 billion budget for only medical research in US.
Nigerian researchers and postgraduate students do not have the type of funds required to conduct real scientific researches. They even incur huge costs to repeat researches that are already concluded in other developed nations. ‘Abeg copy and paste that thing jor, come collect your certificate dey go.’ Secondly, Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act denies Nigerian researchers access to mineral resources. It states that…
“… all lands in which minerals have been found in Nigeria and any area covered by its territorial waters or constituency and the Exclusive Economic Zone shall, from the commencement of this Act be acquired by the Government of the Federation…”[5] “No person shall search for or exploit mineral resources in Nigeria or divert or impound any water for the purpose of mining except as provided in this Act.”[6] “The property in mineral resources shall pass from the Government to the person by whom the mineral resources are lawfully won, upon their recovery in accordance with this Act.”[7]
Hence, there is no real motivation to explore the forests and bushes, since any discovered mineral is immediately seized by government. If the resource is seen in your ancestral land, you are forced to forfeit your ancestral land. Sometimes, you may be lucky to receive some compensation after a lot of court case spending. So, why should anyone search for resources in his village, knowing that the land will be confiscated by government and given to foreigners or political allies? Even when the resources are not given away for immediate use, they are militarily locked out of the people’s reach. Hence, the foreign companies will gladly research into these lands, because they have both financial and political muscle to win the properties in them. And until the ethnic communities recover the right to own and manage their resources, there will be no real interest in research or education in Nigeria.
[1] https://www.naijahq.com/2017/08/massive-iron-ore-deposits-discovered-cross-river-state/
[2] http://www.nairaland.com/3991958/iron-ore-discovered-cross-river#59527194.
[3] Cf. Dan Dunkley, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60149-X/fulltext?rss=yes
[4] Channels Television. February 12, 2016, 2016 Budget: Scientists Lament Zero Allocation To Research Institutions. http://www.channelstv.com/2016/02/12/2016-budget-scientists-lament-zero-allocation-to-research-institutions/
[5] Nigerian minerals and mining act 2007 act no. 20, chapter 1, Part 1, Section 1, paragraph 2
[6] Nigerian minerals and mining act 2007 act no. 20, chapter 1, Part 1, Section 2, paragraph 1
[7] Nigerian minerals and mining act 2007 act no. 20, chapter 1, Part 1, Section 1, paragraph 3