Inside the explosive illegal mining business in Nigeria – Ayanleke, President, Miners Association

•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.

What has happened has resulted in the spotlighting of the mining sector. Are there some legal challenges that haven’t really augur well for the sector?

They are not legal challenges. They are regulatory challenges. Mining is domiciled in the Exclusive Legislative List, which means that only Federal Government has control and management over solid minerals including oil and gas. The major challenge we are having is that state governments are interfering with the regulation of the solid minerals sector. We are quite aware and appreciate their concerns. There are some germane questions, which arise from mining operations that bother the state governments. For example, the illegal mining we are talking about, the moment there are illegal activities, the more the state governments will lose revenue from derivation. Mining is like the proverbial omelette. Without breaking an egg you can’t make an omelette. Mining devastates the land. And the claim of state governments is that even though federal government owns the mineral resources, the land where they are found belong to them.

They are saying they are the first port of call when it comes to environmental degradation. In some states, because of insecurity, mining activities have been banned by state governments. Where the legal issue will come up is that all these issues being raised by the state governments, there are provisions to take care of them in the laws. The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act has provisions for environmental impact remediation. There are provisions for revenue and transfer of socio- economic benefits to land-owning communities. There are even regulatory policies for the security of the mine sites.

A few year ago, there was this mine surveillance team in all the states of the federation. Instead of creating their own structures, states should look for ways of strengthening the capacity of surveillance teams. They serve the same purpose as the task force they are raising. The issue of environmental remediation, apart from provisions made for environmental impact assessment, which must be carried out by every mining company, we also have the MEREMCO, which is Minerals Resources and Environmental Management Committee in every state. The chairman and other members of the committee are state government appointees. MEREMCO is a provision of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act.

The law envisaged that there will be partnership between the federal and state governments. There are provisions for all the concerns state governments are raising. The only thing is that we have to improve the capacity of these agencies so that they can serve the same purpose state governments expect them to serve.

From your analogy, it is obvious state governments have roles to play in the sector. In view of that, would your body advocate constitution amendment to ensure mining is taken to the Concurrent Legislative List?

If that is what will suit us now, nothing stops anybody who feels there is a need for an amendment to propose it. That is our position. We believe the authors of our constitution acted in the best interest of the nation. Instead of regulatory conditions that scare away foreign investors, we should make the provisions friendly to attract foreign investors. The minister has been going around to attract investors to the sector. But if the investors see that while federal government is making laws, states are making executive orders to ban and unban mining activities, would they come? If proposing amendments is the way forward for this sector to grow and for investors to come in, so be it. Our governors are eminently qualified to propose amendments.They are members of the National Economic Council, NEC.

They are members of Council of State. Of course, they have the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. They can use any of these fora to propose for amendments of the laws and the constitution. When we talk about solid minerals we are not talking about solid minerals alone, we are talking about oil and gas as well. Are we going to devolve powers to the states that have oil and gas as well? Note that for many years, the whole of Nigeria is benefiting from solid minerals in the states. These are the issues. Let whoever feels strongly there is need for amendments propose it.

To what extent does land tenure system constitute a challenge or an advantage to the issues affecting the sector?

By the virtue of Section 44 of our constitution that made solid minerals to be on the Exclusive List, mining of minerals whether lucid or solid, takes precedence over any other economic land usage. It doesn’t matter whatever tenure it may be. It doesn’t matter who owns the land. As long as minerals have been discovered under the land, it takes precedence over any other usage. When you talk of land tenure system, it could mean that the provisions have taken away whatever anybody may want to claim over the land. But there are provisions for compensation by way of community development agreement and 13 percent derivation. Those are the provisions made for anybody who owns or is occupying such a land.

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 abode for reptiles. For example, in Nigeria, where do we locate mining with what is going on between states and federal government. Conflict is economical. Conflicts are borne out of group or self interests. If we are able 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 would 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.

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