In addition to refining its own crude oil, Nigeria may be on its way producing its own heavy steel. On Sept. 4, Nigeria signed an agreement in Moscow for revitalizing the Ajaokuta Steel Mill (ASM) and the associated National Iron Ore Mining Company, both located in Kogi State, in central Nigeria. Representatives of the Nigerian government and Russian state enterprise Tyazhpromexport (TPE), which had built the enormous plant over four decades ago, signed the agreement that calls for the “rehabilitation, completion and operation” of the plant.
Prior to signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week, a delegation from TPE had toured the plant in August, making an assessment of what it would take to modernize and finally bring the project—which has sat virtually unused since its completion in 1982—online. Another onsite evaluation will be done in October, after which they will make final arrangements for the project. While no dollar amounts have been announced, Ajaokuta is a multibillion-dollar facility (even in 1980 amounts), capable of producing “heavy” steel products, such as I-beams and rails for highway bridges and railroad construction. Whereas Nigeria, and some other African countries, have several facilities capable of producing “light” steel products, Ajaokuta is the only facility capable of producing “heavy” steel in the country, and the only one on the continent outside of the ArcelorMittal plant in South Africa.
As welcome as the announcement is, any development concerning the Ajaokuta Steel Mill must be heavily footnoted by stating that it is impossible to understate the unbounded determination of British neo-colonial, anti-development forces to prevent its coming into operation. As we are seeing today with the Dangote refinery, the number and variety of the faces being used by the opposition is almost endless. Construction of Ajaokuta began in 1979, after the Soviets discovered an iron reserve of sufficient quantity and quality in central Nigeria. Almost immediately after its completion in 1982, Nigeria suffered a military coup, which prevented the plant—now repeatedly said to be “98% complete”—from opening. Continued attempts (of unknown sincerity) by the military rulers during the 1980s somehow never came to fruition, until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 put an end to all discussions.
