Illegal mining activities in Nigeria have remained intractable even as the nation bleeds from this economic sabotage of high proportion. Available statistics indicate that billions of naira are lost annually to illegal mining. It is also presumed that the activities of illegal miners contribute significantly to the worsening security challenges currently bedeviling the nation.
In Zamfara State, for instance, there are copious studies and reports suggesting that the killings which have continued and remained unabated are fueled by the activities of illegal miners who have for long been feasting on the state’s abundant deposit of gold and other precious minerals.
Recurring killings on the Plateau, the nation’s acclaimed Home of Peace and Tourism, are also being linked to the existence of some precious mineral resources which have remained largely untapped in the state.
Recently, the Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Mohamed Tunis, revealed that Nigeria loses 91 per cent of its revenue from the mining sector to illegal miners.
Speaking during the three-day seminar on “Illegal mining and its implications in the ECOWAS Region”, Tunis said 80 per cent of mining in the northwest region of Nigeria is conducted illegally thereby costing the nation 91 per cent of likely mining revenue.
It is a given that the potential of the mining sector to turn the Nigerian economy around is enormous. It is also capable of uplifting the economy of most of the countries in the sub-region if well harnessed. The sector is estimated to contribute 7.5 per cent to Ghana’s GDP, 10.2 per cent to Burkina Faso and four per cent to Cote d’Ivoire.
Regrettably, illegal mining has made it impossible for these countries to access this much-needed revenue and grow their economies. Not only has it been herculean to maximise the revenue, the activities of illegal miners have exacerbated the spate of insecurity facing some countries in the region.
It is disturbing to note, in our view, that banditry, kidnapping, thuggery and other forms of insurgency which have continued to make life brutish for residents of most communities in Nigeria have direct link to the activities of illegal miners.
Essentially, the need to regulate this sector informed the federal government’s decision to unveil the 2,200 Mining Marshals who have been charged with the responsibility of smoking out illegal miners and those who flout the nation’s mining laws.
It is heartening to note that the marshals drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) will form part of the new security architecture to not only secure the nation’s mining sites but ensure the nation fully taps into the potential of the mining sector.
We applaud the minister of Solid Mineral Development , Dele Alake, who had earlier unveiled an ambitious seven-point agenda to reposition the mining sector and ultimately attract more foreign investment and revenue for the country.
Alake’s agenda which made ample provisions for the creation of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Corporation and Mines Surveillance Task Force, are commendable initiatives that when dutifully implemented, will change the narrative of mining in the country.
However, beyond the unveiling of the Mines Marshal, the government must muster the political will to grant them the needed enabling environment to perform their functions without let or hindrance.
It is a well-known fact that the activities of illegal miners in the country have the backing of some powerful individuals with political and foreign connections.
Therefore, the government must be ready now, more than ever before, to give the marshals free hand to work. They must be supported too with all the necessary tools including weapons, to effectively discharge this onerous task. We emphasize this requirement because the illegal miners themselves know what they are benefiting from the illicit business and are ready to kill to be able to sustain it.
We recall that similar initiatives such as Agro-Rangers and the Safe School Initiative were put in place where personnel of NSCDC were trained and mobilised to effectively support the task of ensuring security in the farms and provide a safer school environment.
Sadly, schools have remained unsafe just as the farms, suggesting that the Agro Rangers have not achieved the desired objectives. Nigerians surely expect to see a difference with the Mining Marshals. It certainly cannot and should not be business as usual otherwise, the euphoria that greeted the unveiling would have been of no effect whatsoever.
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