When 38-year-old man wakes up before dawn in the gold-rich hills of Zamfara State, his mind isn’t on geopolitics or central banking strategies. He’s thinking of survival. Armed with nothing but a shovel, makeshift torch, and a dream, he joins hundreds of other artisanal miners burrowing into Nigeria’s soil, hoping to strike gold.
And often, they do.
But their finds rarely enrich the nation or their own lives. Instead, the gold is whisked away, sold in informal markets, smuggled across borders, or traded for cash that barely sustains them. Meanwhile, in capitals across the world, central banks are turning to gold to anchor their economies amid rising uncertainty. Nigeria, sadly, is not among them.
Global Banks Race for Gold, Without Nigeria
In 2024, according to the report, central banks around the world purchased more than 1,100 tonnes of gold, the highest in over five decades, according to the World Gold Council. Nations like China, Russia, and even smaller economies like Uzbekistan and Turkey have increasingly sourced gold directly from local mines to hedge against currency volatility and diversify their reserves.
Yet, Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and a nation rich in mineral resources, remains largely absent from this global shift.
Back in 2020, hope was ignited when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched its Gold Purchase Programme under the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI). The plan was ambitious: refine gold locally, build Nigeria’s reserves, and integrate artisanal miners like Sani into the formal economy.
But years later, the programme has lost steam. Bureaucratic inertia, insecurity in mining zones, poor infrastructure, and policy inconsistency have left the initiative largely dormant.
The Human Cost of Missed Potential
For people like Sani, the impact is personal.
“They came with promises,” he says, recalling visits from government officials. “They told us our gold would build the economy, that we’d be part of something big. But nothing changed. We still dig, we still suffer, and the gold still leaves.”
The irony is bitter: while Nigerian miners dig out a fortune in gold under dangerous, unregulated conditions, the CBN holds just 21 tonnes of reserves. Meanwhile, countries like India and Kazakhstan “with far less natural gold” have ramped up local purchases and expanded their bullion holdings.
What could be a national asset remains an untapped resource. The result? Lost jobs, lost revenue, and missed opportunities to shield the naira and reduce dependence on oil and the dollar.
Why Gold Matters More Than Ever
As the world becomes more geopolitically unpredictable, gold is regaining its luster as a safe haven. It offers protection against inflation, a hedge against foreign currency volatility, and a symbol of sovereign strength.
Nigeria, plagued by repeated forex crises and a struggling naira, could benefit immensely from integrating gold into its reserve strategy. But instead of building a gold-backed foundation for financial stability, the country continues to lean heavily on oil, a volatile commodity increasingly falling out of global favour.
A Window That’s Closing Fast
Experts say the time to act is now.
“We’re sitting on a goldmine “literally ” and watching it benefit others,” says mining economist Dr. Hadiza Olufemi. “If we properly formalized artisanal mining, refined gold locally, and used it to support our reserves, we could change the lives of thousands and build economic resilience.”
But the longer the wait, the more Nigeria risks being left behind.
In Zamfara, Sani and others will still rise early tomorrow. They’ll dig, sweat, and hope — just as they did yesterday. But the real gold rush isn’t in the pits of rural Nigeria. It’s in the vaults of central banks, in cities that recognized the power of gold before it was too late.
The Nation Beneath Our Feet
This is more than a story of reserves and policy gaps — it’s a human story of neglect. Nigeria’s failure to harness its gold is a failure to value its people. Those like Sani aren’t just miners, they are foot soldiers of an economy that’s yet to recognize their worth.
As the world races ahead, Nigeria faces a stark question: will we finally dig deeper — not just into the ground, but into policy, vision, and purpose?
Or will we keep watching our future slip away, nugget by nugget?
The gold is here. The choice is ours.
@2025 The Ameh News: All Rights Reserved
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