Political will, not just N2.5bn satellite gadget needed to combat illegal mining – CSOs

Some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Tuesday said that tackling the menace of illegal mining required strong political will to hold perpetrators accountable.

They noted that it was not enough to procure satellite gadgets to combat the menace, stressing the need for the government to be intentional in addressing the problem.

The stakeholders said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

BRANDECONOMY recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its third meeting of the year, approved the procurement a of N2.5 billion satellite gadget to combat illegal mining in the country.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, had explained that the technology was an integrated solution framework designed to address unlicenced, unregulated, and underreported mining activities.

Alake had also disclosed that the satellite gadget would be installed at a strategic location in the country, enabling the government to have a visual overview and real-time monitoring of ongoing mining operations.

He added that deploying the technology would help curb activities responsible for revenue leakages, illegal operations, and the unauthorised extraction and exploitation of the country’s mineral resources.

The Executive Director, Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), a CSO, Philip Jakpor, urged the Federal Government to ensure careful selection of those responsible for handling information extracted from the satellite during surveillance.

According to him, in as much as we need technology and the initiative is good on the surface, I will still view it with caution.

”We should be very precise on what we need satellite technologies for and who manages such information we get from the satellite.

”We may need satellite technologies to pin point where natural resources are found and their depth in the earth and what’s going on there.

”But it is still people in government who manage information that will be obtained from the satellite that may be involved in protecting illegal mining operations.

”That’s why we hear that big people are behind the illegal mining activities but never get mentioned or even arrested.

Jakpor added that while the technology was beneficial, political will was key to effectively combating illegal mining, and preventing a situation where some illegal operations are protected and others exposed.

Similarly, Dr Abdullahi Jabi, Chairman, North Central Zone, Campaign for Democracy, Human Rights Advocacy, and Civil Society of Nigeria, emphasised the need for stronger advocacy against illegal mining nationwide through increased media engagement.

Jabi noted that the move was crucial to raise public awareness about the consequences of illegal mining and to ensure strict penalties for offenders and combat illegal mining.

”By the time this is implemented (strict punishment for illegal miners), some of them will be afraid of going in to it. Application of technology is a good idea, but it is not going to achieve the desired result.

”This is because, they can sight the installation and location and destroy it, but if it is human influence, it will go very far with equipment particularly by the security agencies.

”So let’s see how far they can go with the technology application and whether it can achieve the desired results.

”I have my reservations that the best way is to get human influence and support the security agencies to do their work,” he said.

According to him, traditional rulers and community leaders should be held accountable for any illegal mining occurring in their domains.

He called for reforms to sanitise the sector, stressing that wealth creation through the informal sector of the economy could contribute to addressing the menace.