By Obiabin Onukwugha
Mining, like any other extractive activity comes with its own negative impacts on both the environment, communities and people, especially women and children.
These were the submissions of resource persons and participants at a one-day virtual training for journalists on Women and Extractives, organized by Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
During the training, it was harped that the ecological funds be used to restore degraded lands in communiities where mining activities have taken place for decades. It was also identified that women and children are the most vulnerable and impacted in mining.
The training challenged journalists on the need to adequately report the mining sector, especially it’s impact and the need for government and stakeholders action.
Sharing her experience as a child of a miner in Enugu State, South/East Nigeria, Ebere Ekeopara, stated that miners are poorly paid, while at the same time expoeed to risks such as death.
Ekeopara said: “Growing up as the daughter of a miner, I will authoritatively say that miners were not well paid at all, infact their welfare was not taken serious at all. They navigate through the deep mines daily, sometimes in total darkness. For instance, the Onyeama Mine can take a miner 20 minutes from the mine entrance to the face of excavation sometimes walking or riding the train when operational.”
Ekeopara, who spoke on the topic; “Coal mining in Enugu State: stories from coal mines,” identified the hasards of mining to include, collapse of the mines, dynamite blasts, fumes inhalation, drowning, and other health problems.
She stated that due to the poor conditions of service in the coal mines, most former miners are today living in abject poverty and not able give their children good education or good quality life. “The miners of the coal mines in Enugu lived in three quarters, known as Udisiding, Iva -valley, coal camp and Bunker. Coal mining was stopped in the early 2000 and since then its been one story of neglect to another,” she stated.
On how mining affect women, Ekeopara noted, “Most miners cannot take care of their family due to their poor remuneration. You find children of miners living in abject poverty. Most miners develop very serious sicknesses, and they end up relying of their wives for care. Sicknesses like spinal issues, respiratory problems, and other serious sicknesses.
“You hardly find the wife of a miner who is not juggling one manual labour or another to support their husbands. Today the federal Government has sold most of their homes, where these miners lived all their lives.”
She therefore,.called for proper decommissioning of the coal mines and the use international best practices in mining activities in the country. She also emphasised on proper pensions and gratuity for former miners and their families and as well the utilisation of the Ecological Funds to restore impacted communities and their environment.
“Government needs to settle former miners and in case of death, their dependents should receive their due. Government is presently thinking of re-starting Coal mining in Enugu. Environmentalists are of the Idea that Coal is dirty Energy and should be discontinued nationwide, but illegal coal mines are scattered all over Enugu and other parts of Nigeria.
“Whatever Government decides, former miners in Enugu should be properly remunerated while Government has it as a duty to put the well being of the people first,” she added.
Also speaking on “Missed opportunities reporting women in artisanal mining,” a Media Strategist, Venessa Adie, noted that there are missed opportunities in the narratives about women in artisanal mining because of issues of gender inequality.
According to her, very often, reports about women in artisanal mining do not look at issues beyond environmental degradation, high and low mining seasons,
support/empowerment for women going into the industry and women defying the gender norms and daring into male dominated territories.
“Women are excluded at some critical points in the minng process whether by traditional/societal norms and the men take over leaving the out of critical income at those points. This gives men leverage to still exercise control over financial decisions that affect women
“Earnings are still very often controlled by their male heads of households which deprives women of total economic independence. There is hardly any room for growth in the hierarchy or expansion of their business as a result and their inability to invest in machinery that would ease their work,” she noted.
She also identified the hazards of mining on women to include; chemical exposures and the effect on maternal and reproductive health, exposure to elevated levels of mercury, cyanide, methane, dihydrogen sulfide, and carbon monoxide; dust inhalation and the risk of respiratory diseases and lung cancer; heavy lifting, lugging, digging, falling musculoskeletal disorders, overexertion, trauma and mental health issues (anxiety, depression, sleep loss, etc); malnutrition, poor sanitation, hygiene and the ripple effect, poor housing and inadequate medical health services especially in times of occupational hazards; sexual exploitation; physical violence and death.
In her welcome address, the Project Officer, Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Ifeoluwa Komolafe, stated that the body has organised in recent time organised trainings to draw attention to the plight of mining communities across the country.
According to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), despite the low representation of women in the extractive sector, women face myriads of difficulties due to the fallouts of oil extraction and refining, gas processing, quarrying, drilling, and spills among others.
In a 2009 publication by the World Bank titled “Gender Dimensions of the Extractive Industries,” men and women are impacted differently by the hazards of the extractive industry. For instance, chemicals released through the extractive industry impact women differently than men and the effects are also manifest in women reproductive system. But beyond these, women in the mining communities are affected differently when agricultural lands are used for mining activities or land pollutions resulting from the activities of the extractive industry occur. From environmental and health hazards, to loss of livelihoods caused by loss of productive land, women, like their male counterparts are at risk where extractive activities are concerned.
Sexual assault, life-threatening sicknesses and diseases from the ingestion of extractive chemicals, injuries and deaths from gas flares, loss of livelihoods are some of the numerous negative impacts of the extractive industry that deserve attention, especially as they relate to women.
In April 2024, RDI conducted a research and raised the alarm that young girls are being sexually harassed and exploited in the mining sites in Nasarawa State. Elsewhere there are incidences of women being used for hard and manual labour without adequate compensation.
Komolafe added: “RDI realizes that there are tons of unreported/underreported issues in relation to extractive impacts involving women and we reckon that the media is key not only in keeping the public informed as part of its watchdog role, but also in robust reportage that ultimately translates into policy responses and actions.
“The Women and Extractives Journalism Training is premised on the need for more robust and educative reports on women and the extractive industry in Nigeria. It is our desire that this training equips journalists with the information they need for better reporting of the issues, reporting that would lead to policy responses, and stakeholder engagement that respond to the impact of extractive activities on women, socially, culturally and physically.”