Heritage Foundation Dialogue Last Wednesday, I attended an event tagged “Nigeria’s Moment: A Transatlantic Strategic Partnership Dialogue”, organised by the Heritage Foundation (driven by Mr Ayo Otuyalo and Mr James Carafano) in partnership with the American Business Council in Nigeria. I suppose part of the objective of the Dialogue, was to find a way to foster a deeper relationship between Nigeria and the United States of America, whether on a Government level in the area of security, supply of military equipment, training and the like, or in the area of commerce, attracting FDI and partnering with American entities. The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu; former Governor of Ekiti State and former Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Kayode Fayemi, a few serving Ministers and other eminent Speakers and Panelists, both local and foreign, contributed to the Dialogue. There were six addresses with accompanying panel sessions. The first session was “Why Nigeria is a Must-Have Partner in the New World Order”, and right from that session to the last, it was revealed that Nigeria is a must-have partner because she’s practically paradise on earth, in terms of her endowments ranging from hydrocarbons, to gem stones, base and precious metals, to extremely generous commercial quantities of mineral and rare earth mineral deposits of at least half of 60 very much globally sought out minerals, to arable land, a young population, to even the strategic physical location of Nigeria herself, amongst many other things. Legal Matters Arising 1) Critical Minerals What obviously interested me the most, were some of the legal issues that arose from the sessions. For instance, during the third session which centred on critical minerals, the issue of Section 44 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution) which vests all minerals in Nigeria in the Government of the Federation, while Section 1 of the Land Use Act 1978 (LUA) vests land within the States in the Governors to hold in trust for the people (also see Item 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution and Section 1(1) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 (NMMA)). Aside from the fact that this constitutional/statutory arrangement defies two common law principles of “Quic quid plantatur solo solo cedit” (“what attaches to the land belongs to the land”) and “Cuius est solum, cius est usque ad coelum et ad inferus” (“whose is the soil, his it is all the way to heaven and to those below”), in terms of the ease of doing business, this multi-layered approach of Federal and State requirements, makes access to mineral deposit sites not just somewhat convoluted and cumbersome, but ends up resulting in hardship of doing business, rather than ease! The issue of the ownership of minerals vis-à-vis resource control and devolution of powers has been debated for decades, yet, nothing tangible appears to have resulted from these debates so far. Having a better constitutional/legal framework in this regard, may help to attract FDI, from America and other countries. 2) Insecurity and Religion Another takeaway from the event is that, without security, an independent Judiciary that metes out justice swiftly and fairly, and a country that has the highest regard for rule of law coupled with a low tolerance for corruption, it may be difficult to reach the Promised Land, either in partnership with Americans or any other serious foreign investors who come from a background where such ideals are cherished and practised, especially because without security, it would be difficult to harness Nigeria’s natural resources, particularly in areas endowed with resources which may be constantly under attack. In Nigeria, insecurity and religion are intertwined. Luckily, the Panel that I moderated was themed “Security, Religious & Cultural Freedom, and Mobility”. The Chairman of the Panel was Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler from Missouri, USA. She gave the address for our session. Panel members were Ambassador Dupe Irele; Olufunke Amos; Pastor Paul Adefarasin and Senator Yar’Adua. Let me start by saying that, Section 38(1) of the Constitution provides for freedom of thought, religion and conscience, and it allows Nigerians to propagate their various religions. I mentioned at the beginning of our session, that I come from a Section 38(1) home, where my late Father, High Chief Omowale Kuye, OFR, was a staunch Muslim and my Mother, Dame Priscilla Kuye, is a holder of one of the highest Papal decorations and honours by the Catholic Church, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. I gave that introduction to show that, I have absolutely nothing against Islam, though I do have a lot against those Clerics who deliver false, inflammatory, nonsensical teachings that aren’t in any Holy Book, and incite the people against themselves. Some home truths must be told. It is doubtf
Don't miss out on breaking stories and in-depth articles.
