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Hi Friends!

It's my delight to be part of this week's engagement contest, the topic is so interesting because our loving creator has blessed each country with natural resources that will sustain all her residents, some of these resources are renewable while others are non-renewable. These could be found under sea, underground on the rocks, mountains or it could be fertile soil. My country is blessed with numerous mineral resources, and today I will relate them own with us.

Give Us A Brief Introduction About Your Country.

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Nigeria is my country, and it's one of the West African countries, the largest and most populated African nation with over 200 Million people we are known as the giant of Africa. It has a diverse geography and our climate ranges from arid to humid equatorial. One unique and most diverse feature of Nigeria is its people. We spoke hundreds of languages the major ones include Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Tiv, Ibibio Fula Edo ,etc and English is our official language. Modern Nigeria dates back to 1914 but was ruled by the colonial Master then until we became independent on 1st October 1960, and Abuja is the capital of Nigeria. Nigeria has abundant natural resources, I will highlight these in the next paragraph.

What Is/Are The Mineral Resources in Your Country Is Blessed With

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The Almighty God love my country so much, that he blessed us with an abundance of mineral resources, I mean we are endowed with both renewable and non-renewable energy! We have sunlight, Ocean and wind and we have a wide variety of different mineral resources ranging from precious metal stones like kaolin, Marple, Gypsum, and Barites, and these natural resources are yet to be exploited. Each state in my country is blessed with different natural resources, like the Abia state blessed with Gold, oil and gas, salt, zinc/lead, My state Akwa Ibom is blessed with an abundance of oil/gas, limestone, uranium, salt, clay and lead/zinc.

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The capital city Abuja is blessed with clay, dolomite, gold, tantalite, marble, cassiterite and Lead/Zinc, others are blessed with bentonite, magnesite, glass-sand, iron ore, tin ore, coal, lignite, gemstone, barite, Lignite, Manganese Diatomite, Wolfram, Hydro-carbon, Bitumen, Phosphate, Feldspar, Granite, Syenite & Titanium, Butyles, Marcasite, Amethyst, Aqua Marine, Graphite, Asbestos, Hyalite, Mica, Rock Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Flosper, Topaz & Tourmaline,
Sihnite, Superntinite, Tantalum, Feldspar, and lithium.

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Pyrochinre, talc, Cole, Tourmaline Quartz & Zireon, Columbite, Amethyst (Topaz Garnet), Barytes, Coking Coal, Dimension Stones, Granite, Chalcopyrite, Emerald, Fluoride, Tourmaline, Si Limonite, Soda Ash & Tintomite, Potash, Silica Sand Cotton, Molybdenite, Phrochlore, Bauxite, Bentonite, Bismuth and Tin etc.
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You can now agree with me when I say that we are blessed superabundantly with natural resources!

Has These Mineral Resources Been Fully Harnessed Nigeria?

No, most of these endowed natural resources are yet to be tapped and harnessed for the benefit of the citizens. Nigerian Government only depends on Oil and gas, and state governments depend on the allocation they receive from the Federal Government monthly while the mineral resources each state is blessed with remain untapped. Some illegal foreign miners and scavengers are the ones benefiting from these natural resources, making millions of dollars monthly while the indigenes are dying in poverty.

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For example my state Akwa Ibom is blessed with abundant oil and gas, lead/zinc, limestones, uranium, clay and salt. The only harness resource is oil/gas while others remain untouched, lead/zinc is as important as oil/gas it is used for building and construction, for making ceramics, for the production of tyres and in paint making.

The government did not build any industry for these, and this is not happening in my state only but in all the 36 states of Nigeria. The law is not making it possible for a normal citizen to even benefit from these natural resources. On the other hand, if these resources are well Harnessed, it could boost the economic status of the entire country, each state will generate revenue instead of depending on federal government allocations.

The Federal Government should amend the constitution so that each state would have power over their natural resources and they will in turn pay taxes to the federal government.

Has The Proceeds From These Natural Resources Been Used Properly By Your Government For The Welfare Of Her Citizens...Support Your Answer (Yes/no) With Good Points.

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Well, to some extent I will say no, because how on earth will a country like mine be among the poorest in the world upon all these endowed resources? First of all our government didn't harness these resources well, and they don't utilise the little ones they have, instead, they are using the resources to enrich themselves while the majority are suffering and in abject poverty. Nigeria is among the 10 top oil/gas countries in the world but we don't have our refinery, the cost of this gas is so high now, Even the subsidy that nominal citizens used to benefit from has been removed, contributing to the high cost of living. The money is not used for any tangible thing, no good roads, no electricity and poor infrastructure in all sectors the situation is deteriorating.

Natural resources are meant to be used for the development and betterment of each country, they are critical for production processes, social and living development, they should be managed properly and sustainably for long-term economic development but my country's own was different from beginning greedy leaders normally steal all that was meant for the public, example is Sani Abacha, and the trend continue to this day.

Conclusion:

The Nigerian Government should amend their constitution and make it possible for the state government to have absolute rights to their natural resources, these will open many opportunities for investment in the mineral resources sector and thus boost our economy. Licences should be given to both local and foreign investors to join in exploiting the vast untapped mineral resources.

The government should implement policies that will promote sustainable production and consumption of these natural resources we are blessed with and also increase their use efficiency, thank you.

I would love to invite my friends @sbamsoneu @daprado1999 and @jozzie90 to be part of this contest.