By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
Notwithstanding stern warnings against illegal and official mining by the Governor Umaru Bago led administration of Niger state, artisanal miners have continued to carry out their activities across the state because the people engaged in mining have nothing else to live on.
They want the state government to first of all end threats by Boko-Haram, ISWAP and armed bandits who have taken over their farm lands and also provide jobs for the people who largely depended on what they make from mining if he wants mining activities to end.
Though two mining pits collapsed in Shiroro and Paikoro local government areas, claiming almost forty lives as they were still trapped therein, the people said they have nothing to survive on except mining and so wants the Governor to provide them with alternative source of livelihood if he wants them to leave the mining pits.
The state government in order to forcefully end all mining activities arrested some of the artisanal miners including elderly women and breastfeeding mothers who were later released.
Speaking to journalists, one of the artisanal miners who gave her name simply as, Rahina, accused the state and federal government of being insensitive to their plights as people who have been forcefully sent out from their homes for years by Boko-Haram, ISWAP and armed bandits who invaded their communities and most of them list their homes and loved ones, and trying to survive against all odds.
"Most of us miners once have legitimate sources of livelihood before we were chased out of our ancestral lands by Boko-Haram, we lost our husbands and other loved ones as they were killed or abducted".
Rahina, a mother of three told journalists how their communities in Shiroro Local Government Area were attacked and her husband killed in the process, how they managed to move from one place to another begging for food and shelter to survive and overcome the misfortune that befell us".
"When we arrived Minna, we went begging for foods and we had no place to sleep until the day I saw these people (miners) and I approached a lady who told me she is also a victim of Boko-Haram attacks from Gusoro village in the same Shiroro local government area with me and she encouraged me to join them".
Few months after joining them, Rahina said she started mining and can now feed her children from the little money she got because begging according to her exposed her to lots of inhuman treatments.
"We started living in this uncompleted building with others, and with my children sometimes we make N1,000 and other times we make as much as N8, 000 depending on luck getting what is marketable".
For Jibrin Musa, another artisanal miners, "Governor Bago and government generally does not care whether we miners are alive, dead or surviving. We are farmers but for years now Boko-Haram, ISWAP and armed bandits chased us out of our farm lands, what did he do?
"We are not lazy people and because we do not want to steal or indulge in attacking people for survival, we decided to do this mining work and it is all God-given resources and he is telling us to stop. Let him give us jobs, or secure our farm lands if he wants us to leave mining".
The miners unanimously agreed that, "If government is sincere about banning mining, let them go to Allawa, Galkogo and other communities and stop those Boko-Haram and armed bandits miners who are making millions of Naira everyday uninterrupted".
"Have you asked yourself and has the government cared to find out why despite attacks on various communities, those working on mining sites in the affected communities are not attacked? Government should go and stop those mining companies who are paying royalties to the terrorists and not come after us who are into mining just for our daily survival".
Findings however revealed that artisinal miners on a daily basis besiege some locations within Minna the state capital, including the proposed site for; El Amin University, M.I Wushishi housing estate, Angwan Kompani along eastern bypass, Shango and through the state owned Abdulkadir Kure University of Education.
Other locations where mining business thrive are; Brighter schools road, T-mama area/off Mandela road and behind Federal Government College (FGC) staff school where the miners have continued their struggle to survive not mi doing threats of arrest and prosecution by the state government.
Meanwhile, a community leader, (the Dagacin of Kaffin-Tela), Mallam Suleimain Umar Shaba while acknowledging the negative impacts of mining on children said he is worried that, 'a higher number of these children are out-of-school and the teenagers among them are already potential threats to the various communities they hail from'. NNL.
