Nigeria’s Lithium Boom Struggles to Benefit Its Communities

With the right policies, Nigeria could boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve rural livelihoods. But in the rush to exploit its reserves, local communities may also pay a price through environmental pollution, land degradation, and insecurity that often accompany poorly regulated resource extraction.

Nigeria is looking to cash in on a global lithium mining boom while trying to avoid the curse of environmental damage, community grievance, and corruption that has scarred more than half a…