The Nigerian government has been paying lip-service to unregulated and reckless mining activities which are constituting damage to the land. In fact, as against the image government is portraying, I don’t want to believe that these activities have been going on without its knowledge and even subtle backing because, it appears more like an organised criminal industry.
Reckless mining activities are taking place on Obafemi Awolowo University land. Some parts of the staff quarters of the university are seriously affected by activities of miners. I am very careful in referring to them as “illegal miners” because, in response to this intervention, they might come out with certification which was given to them by the federal government.
I also don’t want to assume that what is being witnessed in OAU today is the case that some “powerful Nigerians” as stated by Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, are the ones spearheading the reckless mining on OAU soil. At least, the university management will not just sleep, wake up and then sanction the activities of miners on the university’s soil – a federal government land.
One of the primary concerns associated with illegal mining is its devastating impact on the environment. Unregulated mining operations often involve the use of harmful chemicals such as mercury and cyanide, which are used to extract minerals like gold and lead. These chemicals can leach into nearby water sources, contaminating rivers and groundwater, and posing serious health risks to both humans and wildlife (students and staff in this case). The indiscriminate use of heavy machinery and explosives further exacerbates environmental degradation, causing deforestation, soil erosion, and habitat destruction.
Furthermore, illegal mining contributes to other environmental problems, such as air and water pollution, which can have widespread repercussions for human health and livelihoods. In addition, these activities threaten biodiversity and disrupt delicate ecological balances.
The invasion of OAU land by reckless miners calls for urgent and very serious debate on the future of education in the country. It is unimaginable that a university such as OAU with a functioning geology department will be caught in the web of the activities of reckless miners. Such activities defeat and insult the purpose for which the university was created. Ordinarily, the university should be witnessing groundbreaking research on how the country can leverage our minerals to solve the challenges of national revenue shortage instead of participating in archaic and environmentally dangerous mining activities. That is pure economic sabotage!
A grave ill of private and reckless mining of collective resources will definitely endanger society in terms of security. Reckless miners are dangerous capitalists who neither care for society nor explore global environmental standards. In fact, a peep into their activities at OAU staff quarters will leave jaws dropping because no global environmental standard is being observed at this mining site on OAU campus. As it is, Nigerian government is seriously not producing but plundering and selling off natural resources.
The Bola Tinubu-led federal government and, indeed, the traditional rulers must spare our ivory towers of their neo-liberal impunities and immediately halt the cruel activities of reckless miners at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife’s staff quarters. Once the “illegal” mining continues unabated, the level of insecurity and environmental hazards in Osun will be worse than the Zamfara case.
Kazeem Olalekan Israel wrote from OAU, Ile-Ife
