A two-day training for journalists on Mineral Governance and Host Community Rights in Nigeria commenced on Monday in Abuja. The need for increased sensitization of the mining host communities on the provisions of the Mining Act and the Community Development Agreement was emphasized.
Discussants and participants at the training believe the ignorance of the host communities is a major reason behind their undue exploitation by miners, insisting that when they are adequately enlightened, they will be empowered to demand their rights.
The training, which attracted journalists and stakeholders in the mining industry across the Federation’s states, was organized by Global Rights Nigeria, an international human rights and governance capacity-building non-governmental organization with support from the Ford Foundation.
In a welcome remark, the Executive Director of Global Rights Nigeria, Abiodun Baiyewu, said the organization’s vision is to entrench a culture of human rights in a sustainable manner across communities in the country.
Describing the media alongside the family and the school as critical partners in entrenching cultural value, Baiyewu noted that the media cannot drive the conversation around responsible and sustainable mining if they are not conversant with it, hence the need for the training.
“What we are doing is to put the lives of these vulnerable communities in your hands to save.
“Today, the Chinese are exploring and ferrying away our minerals, while damaging the land, disrespecting and assaulting people of the host communities.
“I therefore want to urge the participants to take the programme seriously, so as to drive the desired change we want to see,” Baiyewu said.
During a Panel Dialogue on reflections on mining Host Communities in Nigeria: Community Rights and Rights to Development, the first co-chair, Federation Nigerian Mining Host Community, FNMHC, Niger State, Habibu Abubakar Wushishi, regretted that in Niger State, bandits, who are illegal miners, have engendered erosion of cultural values through their nefarious activities, escalating incidences of prostitution, drug intake, communal conflicts and other social vices in host communities.
He expressed worry that the government has made no genuine efforts to address the problem, aside from playing the blame game, noting that most of them are not only aware of what is happening but also involved in it.
For the second co-chair of the FNMHC, Ogun State, Dr Temitope Olaifa, it is regrettable that major beneficiaries of mining activities are outsiders, while the developmental angle of mining eludes the host communities.
According to her, findings have shown that most communities are unaware of the Mining Act and Community Development Agreement provisions, which determine the percentage with which benefits from mining activities will be shared.
“The miners who are aware of the Act and the CDA do not want to implement it. The people who should demand their rights do not have knowledge of their rights.
“The CDA should ensure that both the communities and the miners should agree as to what should come to the communities. The government is not doing anything to enlighten the communities, either as a result of ignorance or complicity in illegal activities.
“Communities should be empowered to know their rights, through education and sensitization,” she said.
A representative of the FNMHC Ebonyi State, Dr Francis Orji, observed that the problem of illegal mining and its ravages persist because illegal activities are underreported.
He commended the training initiative, adding that it will help the media practitioners understand the challenges of the host communities and adequately publicize such issues.
In a presentation on understanding mining, the programs manager of Global Rights, Edosa Oviawe, took the journalists through the processes of mining, listing the numerous benefits of mining when done responsibly and sustainably.
