It was at the 13th anniversary and awards ceremony of Verbatim Magazine held recently at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, that I developed a virile interest on the personality of Engr. Abdullahi Sule, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State. I became fascinated by his firm grip and masterful dissection of issues around governance in his state, which showcased him as someone who came prepared.
Using his personal story and experience, he did justice to the lecture entitled, ‘Changing Times and Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria: Candid Views of an Uncommon Patriot.’ He noted that “…leadership is all about problem solving. It’s about understanding your environment, understanding the solutions that the people need and being transparent, accountable, having integrity and having a character that aligns with the wishes of the people…We came in with an idea, with a focus, knowing what to do and collectively as a team, we have done that, and the state is better than what we met.”
Noting with humility that Nasarawa is one of the richest states in Nigeria today, he acknowledged that he did not fly blind. Rather, the KPMG study of the State was used to develop his administration’s strategic direction based on received prospects, investment opportunities as well as the hard nut to crack. Afterwards, he built a star-studded team to drive the process. And in building the team, he head-hunted some from outside Nasarawa State, a move that underlies his cosmopolitan sophistication.
An appraisal of his giant strides in the agriculture and mining sectors stood him out, and benchmarked Nasarawa’s exceptional investment drive for other states with untapped strategic minerals and natural resources. In agriculture, for instance, he understood the opportunities presented by the massive arable lands of over 27,000 km2 in the State and pushed for large-scale investments. Though the largest mechanized rice farm in Africa, Olam Rice Farms, that occupies about 13,500 hectares of land (4,500 hectares for crop plantation inclusive) had started operations as far back as 2014, Governor Sule did not rest on his oars when he came on board in 2019.
Through a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2020 between Nasarawa State Government, AZMAN Rice Mills & Farms Limited and the host communities in Toto LGA, plans got underway for the establishment of 14,000 hectares rice plantation under a 45-year lease and compensation pegged at N30,000 per hectare that amounted to no less than N612 million. And in line with Governor Sule’s insistence on full compensation before cultivation, AZMAN had completely sorted out the communities before a divestment plan cropped up. Consequently, the governor had to supervise a seamless hand over of the acquired expanse of land by AZMAN to a new investor, Saro Agro-Allied Limited, in December 2024. These efforts have been geared towards boosting food security, economic empowerment, and wealth creation.
For years, the mining sector with huge deposits of lithium, a highly sought-after mineral in clean energy industry across the globe, had remained largely unharnessed in the Nigeria’s North Central, especially Nasarawa State. The country has no technology or expertise to mine and process it. Artisanal miners cashed in on the vacuum and created criminal cartels that ripped off the country. Hence, Governor Sule had to leverage the federal government’s support and promulgated an executive order that encouraged those with mining licenses to not only mine but also undertake in-country processing of lithium concentrate and carbonate. For clarity, lithium carbonate is the by-product sold to solar batteries makers and electric vehicles (EVs) companies.
A groundbreaking for the exploration of lithium by a Chinese firm, Landmark Lithium Mining Company in Nasarawa LGA was done in mid-2023. At the point of operations, it was discovered that other minerals such as nickel and copper which were lost during artisanal mining needed to be separated and processed differently for other value additions. It took the sagacity of Governor Sule to pull off a more advantageous deal that brought in another company. Thus, a $US 500-million company, Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited took over and built a lithium processing plant with the capacity of producing 4,000 metric tonnes daily or over a million tonnes annually for the next 15 years. It was commissioned by President Tinubu in May 2024. It was noted that about 1,000 engineers and technicians who started work at the company were taken to China for trainings. And in the words of the chairman of the company, Mr. Yongwei “the expansion of the facility will reach annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of lithium concentrate in two years.” The projection is that the factory would generate up to 4,000 jobs with time.
Not yet done, the State’s FDI inflow towered with the declaration of intent to establish another US$200 million lithium processing plant by Mr. Zhenhua Pei, Chairman, CanMax Technologies, who was present at the commissioning of Avatar plant. The Chinese-owned company controls over 30% of global battery material production. The pedigree of Mr. Pei is not in doubt. He is the biggest single shareholder in China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), the biggest battery maker in the world. CATL “controls 2-fifths of world’s EV battery market.” It is a major supplier of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to Tesla’s Shanghai factory in China. Records also indicate that CATL has helped China to upend the US in EV technology offerings.
Still firing from all cylinders, Governor Sule recently hosted another company, Jiuling Lithium Mining Company that wants to invest in the State. Beyond the state, this calls for prioritization of job creation through targeted industrialization. Instead of wasting money on white elephant projects that gives easy access to slush funds, other governors should emulate the investment drive of Governor Sule to jumpstart the nation’s match towards industrialization and technological advancement. We have the working-age population. We have cheap labour. We have arable lands. We have natural resources of global value. We have clement weather. What remains is to mainstream Governor Sule’s model as a wakeup call to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Credit:The Sun