Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, say gemstones worth three billion dollars are exported annually from Nigeria, with low revenue benefit returns. Saraki, disclosed this in Abuja, at the graduation ceremony for the second batch of the master Gemstone, Jewellery making and design training, said the ministry wants to transform Nigeria from a large consumer of foreign jewellery products to high-quality local jewellery producers to save the country of huge foreign exchange expended on jewellery imports. She explained that Nigeria with its large population has a huge-insatiable appetite for jewellery and it is imperative to create a local jewellery industry that would substantially meet local demand for quality jewellery products and create jobs. According to her, “It is also a known fact that Nigeria is abundantly blessed with several varieties of mineral resources. Among the minerals identified are varieties of precious and semi-precious gemstones. “Some of the most popular Nigerian gemstones include Sapphire, Aquamarine, Beryl, Emerald, Tourmaline, Ruby, Garnet, Amethyst and Zircon which are located across the country, but sadly are illegally exported out of the country in raw forms. “We all know that the value of a gemstone increases when it is cut and polished, however, the majority of gemstones mined in Nigeria are being exported without any value addition since the technical know-how and machinery required in cutting, polishing and finishing jewellery are generally lacking in the country. “As a result, the Nigerian economy does not benefit financially from gemstone trade and value addition. The current contribution of the solid minerals sector to the country’s overall GDP is less than 1% and reports in 2019 revealed that gemstones worth USD3billion are exported annually from Nigeria, mostly unofficially with low revenue returns.
“To bridge these gaps, it has become necessary to build capacity in jewellery making and design. It is my belief that the jewellery industry when fully harnessed could contribute significantly to national economic growth by creating massive job opportunities along its value chain, increasing the standard of livelihood in communities with the boost of creativity, generating huge export contributions and providing opportunities for import substitution”. In his remarks, the Director of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, Patrick Ojeka, urged graduates of the programme to show determination in the skills they’re acquired for the development of the downstream sectors and economic diversification through Gemstone and Jewellery making. He said: “Gemstone as you are aware Nigeria have large various quantity and these is the resources that are being taken out of the country with low value. We hope that dream of the federal government for carrying out this exercise will be achieved by you going to train younger generation Nigerians on skill acquisition, is one aspect of our training that Nigeria generally needs. “You should count yourself lucky to have been selected to have acquired history and we believe strongly as numerous as the instruct has done the best to have lifted you up to this level”. Also, the project coordinator, Engr Sallim Salaam, ask beneficiaries of the master trainer programme, to return to their various states to train and empower others with the knowledge they had acquired.