As communities get greedy, the government fails to enforce regulations to ensure those they licensed and illegal miners do not destroy the environment, water, and people's cultural assets while smiling to the bank.
Osun State, Nigeria – Ragged and his skin stained brown, Abu Awwalu emerged with a shovel and axe and climbed over clods of earth that have mounted after weeks of pitting. It was twilight and Mr Awwalu had been digging since morning and creating hollow mine shafts in search of gold in this jungle near Idoko Ijesha, Obokun Local Government Area.
Ijesha area of Osun State in the South-west then became a new destination. Though long known to have vast gold deposits and some mining minimally happening, residents said “it was only recently” that mining activities became intense and widespread, happening both in urban areas – for example, Arimoro and Isale General areas of Ilesha – and rural communities across Obokun, Atakunmosa East, Atakunmosa West, and Oriade local governments.
“Usually, a miner will buy the land having gold from the community and bring the Hausa to work on it but sometimes some of them also enter the jungle to mine for themselves and sell to the miners or gold traders after weighing the gold,” said Alaba Aluko, an Ilesha resident with the local knowledge of the mining activities in the area.
“This is of no benefit to the state in any way,” said Mr Binuyo. “It ends up polluting the land, it ends up degrading the land. It affects farming. Mining is a very transient activity. After some time it winds up and makes the land impossible to farm on.” He showed no knowledge of “proper treatment” of wastewater and tailings before they are disposed of to prevent air and water contamination as required by the country’s mining regulations
Apart from during the annual festival, people daily visit the grove, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to seek spiritual solutions to their problems, including infertility and ill luck. Already, devotees are contending with the challenge of convincing visitors that the powers of Osun are intact despite turning “erofo” – mud water. “When people come and see the colour, they want to turn back before we now tell them that the spiritual and medicinal value of Osun remains undamaged despite the pollution,” said Osunyemi Efunsola, the Iya Busoyin.
“We used Geographical Information System to link the contamination with the mining activities in Ijesha axis. Many tributaries of Osun in the area with scores of communities depending on them have also been contaminated,” he added. “Government should ensure that money from mining does not cause further deterioration of Osun. They should do something to control these miners.”Osun is extremely important to the government and we are working to reverse this trend,” said Mr Binuyo, the governor’s senior aide.
Mr Adejuwon said the federal government is “failing in its responsibility by allowing people they licensed and those they do not license to cause environmental damage, destroy watercourses, and endanger host communities and the cultural property like Osun Osogbo against the provisions of the 2007 Mineral and Mining Act.
“What they do is to collect money from okada riders without ever arresting the illegal miners, who they see every time. They collect bribes and allow the movement of illegal miners,” said Mr Aluko, the Ilesha resident.Watching an excavator in action from a bridge across the Opo River at Iponda, the farmer and pastor, Mr Fadurotimi, said mining is posing difficulties to farmers and communities.
“I had cocoa and banana farms. One day, I got there and I met miners. I asked them what they were doing, they said the landowners had sold the land to them. I said okay pay me for my farms. How much did they pay? It was with pleas and pressure that I was able to get N20,000.” Depending on the size of the land, they collect millions and some collect a hundred thousand. And if you are a mere farmer, you could be given just N20,000 so far the owners of the land have sold it.”
Mr Binuyo, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the governor, said local communities need environmental education to appreciate the devastating impacts of unregulated mining which they commonly welcome.
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