Abuja / Abu Dhabi – Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, asserted that trade with Africa must be more than a superficial extraction of raw materials — it must be built on mutual respect and genuine development. He cautioned that some developed-countries’ approach to the continent resembled playing Minecraft: mining resources, crafting little, and moving on. (Reuters)
Tuggar said that while rich countries often treat African trade as mining operations for oil, gas, or critical minerals, the real engagement should aim for Africa’s development and address broader challenges such as irregular migration and economic vulnerability. “Sometimes it’s like the game Minecraft: There’s oil, there’s gas, there’s critical minerals, rare earths… No, that’s not the way it goes,” he said. (1330 & 101.5 WHBL)
He also underscored Nigeria’s capacity for trade resilience, pointing to the country’s large internal market of about 230 million people and emphasised the government’s pursuit of strategic autonomy in trade — engaging with multiple global partners including the U.S., China, Brazil and India, rather than aligning ideologically. (Reuters)
Tuggar’s statement comes amid ongoing discussions over Africa’s role in global trade, value-addition, resource extraction, and the need to shift from commodity-export dependency to industrialisation and inclusive growth.
