VANGUARD
✔ Says heads will roll when probe of Ibadan blast is concluded
✔ Reveals why foreigners are involved in illegal mining
✔ ’No data on mine locations in the country
By Charles Kumolu, Deputy Editor
National President, Miners Association of Nigeria, Dele Ayanleke, in this exclusive interview, speaks on Tuesday’s explosion in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, giving deep insight into issues surrounding the acquisition of mining explosives in the country. Ayanleke, who says the incident has no link with the regulatory framework, provides options on how to make the mining sector efficient.
Given the things you know about mining activities in Nigeria, would you say the Ibadan incident came to you as a surprise?
It was a surprise to me. If those explosives were meant for mining, that was not the right place to store them. And if the people who stored them are into mining, the governor’s description of them as illegal miners is right. Any legitimate mine operator knows the rules, regulations and procedures guiding the acquisition of explosives for mining purposes. From that premise, what happened was strange to me.
As the president of the number one mining association in Nigeria, would you say you haven’t had reports about people storing mining explosives in inappropriate places?
I have heard of people keeping explosives in wrong places, but not in residential areas. Even in mine sites you cannot store explosives in inappropriate places. You can’t store them in areas where mining is not taking in place. If you store in your camp house in mine sites, it is not appropriate, but it is understandable. But in the case of Ibadan explosion, what mining activity is taking place there? And that place is not known to host the storehouse of any explosives dealer.
Following what has happened, poor regulatory framework for the mining sector has been identified as one of the remote causes. Do you agree?
This one is not a product of regulatory challenge. There are some aspects of the operations that are being affected by regulatory challenges, but not with the issue of explosives. This is purely out of wickedness and impunity. Apart from the fact that explosives are used in mining, we have Explosives Act. Before you can acquire certificate for mining operations, there are quantities and categories of mining titles that can used, not just mining license alone. We have categories of titles that can use explosives.
Even at that, there are also quantities that each of these mining titles are permitted to acquire at any time. We have explosives dealers registered and licensed by government. And whenever anybody, whether a quarry operator or mining operator wants to acquire explosives, the person will go to the ministry for a permit on the quantity such a person wants. The permit also gives direction on where to acquire the explosives. After stating the quantity you want, before the materials can leave there, they must be accompanied by a bomb disposer, who is an officer from the bomb disposal unit of Nigeria Police Force.
Such a material must be accompanied from the point of purchase to a magazine, which is always sited at a mining site or quarry site. These are not just ordinary buildings. They are specially built structures for the storage of explosives for mining activities. Where does regulatory challenge come in here? There are regulations, but if anybody doesn’t follow the regulations, it is an act of illegality.
From what you have explained, regulatory framework didn’t play any role here…
Yes. When security agencies get to the root of the matter, so many heads would roll. Those materials are not manufactured in that area and there is no known shop of any explosives dealer in that area where the incident occurred. How it got to that place must be unravelled. Where it originated from must also be known. Whether the dealer who sold it had a permit or not must be known also.
Since what has happened is not a question of whether there are laws regulating the process, is there anything that can be done to prevent a recurrence?
We are Nigerians and we know how much people circumvent the laws. It is not that these laws haven’t been put in place. Maybe there should be enlightenment and sensitisation of all categories of people involved in the explosives value chain. If the agencies involved apprehend the perpetrators, it would serve as a deterrent.
[…]Illegal mining is driving local conflict in many states in Nigeria and even in some parts of Africa. Why is there always a connection between illegal mining activities and local conflicts?
There is an adage that cracks in the wall provide an abode for reptiles. For example, in Nigeria, where do we locate mining with what is going on between states and the federal government? Conflict is economical. Conflicts are borne out of group or self-interests. If we are able to streamline regulations in Nigeria, with federal and state governments knowing their roles, there won’t be issues. When all stakeholders act in unity, the issue of illegality will be reduced. Is there any sector without illegalities? It can be reduced if there is streamlining of regulatory bodies and policies.
Can you put a figure to what the country appears to have lost to illegal mining?
It is not possible. We don’t have the data to know what is happening. There is no adequate data now. They are just in the process of gathering data through one of the agencies in the ministry. There is no data to know how many mine locations and clusters we have. There is nowhere for us to know what is going out. Look at our borders. It is only the air borders that seem to be under control. There are farm settlements across Nigeria’s borders. You can move from Adamawa to Cameron through the land borders without anyone checking what you are carrying. You can move from my village in Oyo State to the Republic of Benin through farmlands without anybody questioning you. How do you put a figure to that?
Could that be the reason foreigners are always accused of being chiefly responsible for illegal mining in Nigeria. In Zamfara and Osun for example, the Chinese are said to be deeply involved…
The issue of the Chinese is a different thing. They don’t come through land borders. There are levels of illegality. One can be a mining title holder and be perpetrating illegality. In Oyo, it is possible for the owner of the explosives to have mining title, but didn’t store the explosives properly. That is an illegality.
There are people without mining title who have access to explosives. There are also a lot of artisanal miners, who go about constituting nuisance. It is among this category that you find illegal immigrants. That is why there is banditry at the mining sites in the North.
They come into the country illegally and do not have anything at stake apart from the illegal mining they came for. And if anybody attempts to stop them or question what they are doing, they become violent. There are so many angles to illegality in mining, and there are so many angles to illegal migration.
