Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State | Image: Facebook
The communities lack hospitals, good roads, schools; and their only source of water, Rafin Raki River, is polluted by the activities of Chinese mining company – Multivite Mining Company – and illegal miners in areas like Abuni
By Valentine Amanze
Nasarawa, just like many other states in Nigeria, is blessed with abundant natural resources.
The North-central state, aside gold, has other solid minerals like lead, copper, zinc and lithium, in abundance in Uke district of Karu council and Awe Local Government Area.
However, the solid minerals in the Nasarawa communities have become a curse – taking the trajectory of crude oil discovery in Oloibiri in 1956.
Just like Oloibiri suffers government neglect, the people of Uke and Awa have only abject poverty to show for their natural resourses that have made many Chinese and government officials rich.
Cases abound of teenage girls forced into sex slaves in exchange for food items and jewelries; not even money.
Many under-aged girls in the communities have taken their plight as lifestyle since there is no alternative.
In fact, the communities lack hospitals, good roads, schools; and their only source of water, Rafin Raki River, is polluted by the activities of Chinese mining company – Multiverse Mining Company – and illegal miners in areas like Abuni.
In Uke and Awe areas life is unbearable and brutish.
Philip Jakpor, RDI boss
The striving mining business in the communites came with its burden; parents nolonger have control of their teenage female children, while houses are cracked daily by the heavy blasts from the miners’ equipment.
Worst still, Multiverse Mining Company has refused to accept responsibility for the plight of the people, insisting that the government is aware of their presence in the communities.
The neglect and abandonment however attracted the attention of some Civil Soceity Organisations (CSOs) – Renevlyn Development Initiative, Environmental Defenders Network, Citizens Free Service Forum, and Neighborhood Environment Watch Foundation –
who converged on Ikeja Lagos Wednesday October 2, 2024, to sensitise the world the communities’ plight in the 21st century Nigeria.
At a media interaction on the State of Mining Communities in Nasarawa State, Mr. Philip Jakpor, the executive director, RDI, lamented the plight of the affected communities.
He described mining impacts in Nasarawa communities as a ticking time bomb, stressing that his outfit raised the alarm on the state of the environment in Uke district in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State following the commencement of extraction of gold and lithium there.
“We had noted the state of the environment, the exploitation of young girls as young as 13 years for the sexual satisfaction of licensed and illegal miners as well as the insecurity occasioned by the influx of foreigners in that community.
“Unfortunately, we are yet to hear of any positive change since our report was published. Instead, disturbingly, we have been able to document that the situation is even worse in Awe where locals allege that a Chinese firm – Multiverse Mining Company – is also impacting a community called Abuni negatively.
“What makes Abuni unique is the abundance of solid minerals in its landscape, making it one of the communities that contribute to the revenue earnings of Nasarawa State from solid minerals.
“Some of the girls have also been lured to abscond from their families to live with the miners in their camps,” Jakpor said.
Chima Williams
He also confirmed the abundance of lead, copper, zinc and lithium in the communities, while their only source of water – Rafin Jaki River – is polluted with waste water chemicals, killing aquatic animals inside it.
Jakpor further disclosed that RDI, and other CSOs had sent a petition on the subject matter to the Nasarawa State House of Assembly.
Also read: Maiduguri dam collapse represents failure in governance – RDI
“Our demands are for the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to do the following:
1. Carry out a fact-finding visit to Abuni community with particular attention on the communities around the mining sites and the Rafin Jaki River. Uke district should also be visited.
2. Carry out a comprehensive environmental audit of Abuni community, Uke district and environs including their source of water and farm environment
3. Revoke the mining license of Multivite Mining Company if the investigation shows breach of Nigeria’s environmental laws
4. Compel Multiverse Mining Company to take full responsibility for the clean-up and other remediation efforts on the environment in Abuni Community.
5. Compel Multiverse Mining Company to pay compensation to impacted people
6. Halt artisan mining practices that affect the people and environment in Abuni community and Uke district
7. Carry out proper oversight on mining operations in Abuni, Uke district and other mining communities in Nasarawa State.
8. Investigate and scrutinize agreements reached between the mining firms and some unscrupulous traditional rulers who have through their actions put their communities in jeopardy.
“More detailed recommendations are in our petition which had been sent to the Chair, House Committee on the Environment and the Speaker.”
Also, the Executive Director of Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), Chima Williams, Esq, corraborated the views of Jakpor.
Williams said, “For us at the EDEN, we have said it time and again that the mistakes of oil are already happening in the solid minerals sector.
“It is for this reason that we advocated that Nigeria’s Mining Act should create crimes and punishments section that can be enforced either by the host communities or the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals.
“Clearly, what is happening in Awe LGA and Uke fit perfectly into sanctionable acts because the environment, livelihoods and lives of the people are being systematically destroyed right under the nose of the state government.”
He lamented that violations of the environment were going on unchecked and the local people totally helpless because they want to be law-abiding.
Besides, Williams called for the establishment of Mining Monitors comprising of mining host community representatives, Ministry of Mining representatives, Civil Defence representatives, among others to monitor the mining sites and routes, arrest any illegal miner and hand over to the Police for further investigation and prosecution.
“Mining inspectors that are a component of this initiative shall without notice visit any mining site to know whether or not the operators are operating within accepted standards including use of personal protective gears,” he said.
Williams however commended the Senate for heeding the call with the proposed Nigeria Mines Rangers Service (NMRS), which passed second reading, recently.
“We want this process expedited to ensure that incidents like what is happening in Nasarawa is nipped in the bud and not allowed to happen anywhere else in the country,” he said.
Contributing, Comrade Sani Baba, the executive director, CFSF, said that it was disheartening that in the quest for extraction of solid minerals, government at state and federal levels continue to look the other way while extractive firms ruin lands, create insecurity and rob Nigerians of their natural resources.
“The lives of every Nigerian matters and we refuse to accept the disdain that the mining firms, especially those from China, have for our people and environment.
“We are particularly worried about the pollution of water and reported deaths of the locals in Awe LGA. The situation must not be allowed to deteriorate further and we cannot sacrifice the lives of our people and particularly that of our kids for the greed of mining firms.
“We call on the Nasarawa State Government to act on our demands and that of the locals in Abuni and Uke for a speedy investigation of the situation, sanction for the erring firm and remediation of the environment.
The time to stop this environmental assault is now!” he said.
……………
For more interesting stories click: nigerianewsflight.com.ng
