Royal complicity: How monarchs, crooked officials fuel illegal mining, insecurity in S/West

The sleaze prevalent in the country’s extractive industry is percolating deeper into the grassroots as some monarchs in the South-west are alleged to be working hand-in-glove with illegal foreign miners to rip their communities, states, and the country of resources. This unholy alliance not only festers the grimy enterprise but is also exacerbating the security situation in the geo-political zone that now needs environmental remediation,
SEYE OLUMIDE reports.

In December 2023, the Minister of Mines and Mineral Development, Mr Dele Alake, while appearing before the House of Representatives, to defend the ministry’s 2024 budget alleged that some “powerful Nigerians” were behind illegal mining in the country.

Alake, who further alleged that these powerful Nigerians were also sponsoring banditry to cover their activities said: “One pernicious discovery that we have made is that a lot of this banditry, terrorism, and insecurity that we associate with this sector is sponsored by illegal miners. These are not your artisanal miners; they are not the people who pick gold on the ground. These are heavy and powerful individuals in our country, and they are Nigerians. They are not foreigners.”

Alake’s disclosure has, however, brought to the fore, the alleged collaboration of some Yoruba monarchs with foreign nationals in the illegal mining of solid minerals in the South-west contrary to Section 44 (3) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Law of 1999.

Although Section 44 (3) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Law of 1999, vests the ownership and control of mineral resources within the country on the Federal Government, the alleged royal complicity, with the backing of some government and security officials, has led to foreigners illegally mining the nation’s natural resources and repatriating proceeds to their countries to the detriment of the nation’s economy.

While the minister was levelling the allegation, ENACT Africa in a report agreed that illegal mining by Chinese actors complicates the country’s criminal landscape.

ENACT Africa, which works to mitigate the impact of transnational organised crime (TOC) in Africa on development, governance, security, and the rule of law.

The ENACT project is implemented by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), in partnership with INTERPOL and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC).

According to ENACT: “Nigeria’s mining sector is diverse in mineral resources that make a significant contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product. The country is endowed with an estimated $700 billion in commercially viable minerals with the capacity to diversify its revenue sources and boost foreign exchange earnings. Its minerals include barite, bitumen, iron ore, lead, zinc, coal, limestone and gold.

“However, the mining sector is faced with multiple challenges and its current poor performance can be attributed to various factors including opaque extraction, insecurity, and organised crime.”

In a country dealing with diverse forms of criminality, foreign criminals in the extractive sector present a serious challenge. The report emphasised, adding that “Nigeria’s natural resources have been exploited by foreign criminals for decades, and the extractive sector is the most recent target. Since early 2020, several Chinese nationals have been arrested in Nigeria for their involvement in illegal mining.”

In February this year, the Federal Government disclosed that the country loses about $9 billion yearly to illegal mining. It is also on record that the country, which has abundant gold, coal, columbite, tin, limestone, iron ore, uranium, marble, bitumen, and kaolin deposits, has largely neglected their exploitation while struggling to nurture its economic life with only crude oil.

Recently, the South-west geo-political zone, which was said to be the most peaceful witnessed a rising wave of insecurity induced by activities tied to illegal mining and the influx of bandits and foreign nationals who flock into the zone to exploit these resources illegally in cahoots with these disgruntled monarchs.

Some of these royal fathers have been indicted for arbitrary selling of plots of lands where natural resources are deposited. This has, in most cases, led to crises between illegal miners and farmers in states like Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo, while their counterparts in Lagos and Ogun states are notorious for the illegal mining of sands.

During these clashes with the farmers, the miners deploy explosives, in addition to destroying the aesthetics of the environment and generally creating danger to human health.

Apart from the fuelling skirmishes between illegal miners (mainly Chinese) and farmers, these foreigners bait the monarchs, or community leaders with hard currency for plots of land with mineral deposits, and go ahead to bring in undocumented migrants from North and Central Africa into Yorubaland. These migrants are often used as cheap labour in the mining fields.

From Ife-Wara, in Ijesha, Osun State, to Onipanu in Oyo State among others, a lot of harm is being done to both the people, and the environment by illegal miners.

A native of Ijeshaland in Osun State, who craved anonymity, told The Guardian how a monarch in the state, not long ago sold his palace to foreigners and relocated elsewhere because a gold deposit was discovered within the palace.

He also narrated how agents of some monarchs escort and protect illegal foreign miners and in the process terrorise aggrieved locals so that they don’t challenge the illegal miners.

For instance, illegal miners in Ibodi, a community in Ife-Wara, in Osun State have witnessed unlicensed miners forcefully taking over lands in the community for mining purposes thereby leaving the landowners forlorn.

Recently in Ibadan Oyo State, 41 suspects were arraigned for illegal mining of solid minerals. The accused persons were arrested on January 25, at Onipanu village in the Ibadan Judicial Division, where they mined and concealed 24.96 grams of gold ore, valued at N1,248,000, extracted from an illegal mine site at Onipanu village, Ilaju in Ibadan.

In a move that suggested that the nefarious activities of these monarchs were not going unnoticed, the Oyo State government suspended the Onido of Ido, Oba Gbolagade Muritala Babalola, over alleged links to the activities of illegal miners in the Ido Local Council of the state.

The government, in a February 2, 2024, dated letter, signed by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Olusegun Olayiwola, indicated that Governor ‘Seyi Makinde approved the suspension on February 1, 2024.

A traditional ruler who spoke with The Guardian on the issue the Eekerin Olubadan, Oba Hamidu Ajibade, described the development as unfortunate, stressing that Governor Seyi Makinde needs to beam the searchlight on the activities of monarchs, who may be involved in acts inimical to the security and wellbeing of the state.

The concomitant effect of illegal mining in the zone, especially in Osun State, is captured in a 2023 report conducted by the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES), Afe Babalola University, Ekiti State, which is not only described how anthropogenic activities such as illegal mining thrive in Osun State but also the way that it is altering the ecology of affected communities.

The report, which also revealed how farmlands are confiscated by illegal miners and dug about 200 metres below the landscape, allowing for erosion and soil contamination, also exposed the environmental, and security effects of illegal mining on host communities.

It stated that the enactment of sustainable development policies and legal frameworks notwithstanding, illegal gold mining activities thrive in the local communities of Osun State, and therefore recommended that regulatory agencies should conduct surveillance of the mines and strictly enforce punitive measures against those that default the country’s mining laws.

Speaking on the development, Tunde Ajilore, a former Special Adviser to erstwhile Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, on Forestry, Natural and Mineral Reserves, said there is no gainsaying in the allegation that some paramount rulers are involved in illegal mining.

But he indicted the Federal Government as the biggest culprit. He said, “If nobody in government is backing the monarchs, it is impossible for illegal mining to exist in any part of Nigeria.

“Apart from the insecurity it breeds, illegal mining has also caused serious devastating effects on the environment, especially destruction of farmlands and perennial flood, which is often the case in Lagos State.”

The Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said the South-west zone must begin to look inwards if it must address insecurity, adding that the role of traditional rulers and community leaders, including political leaders must be critically examined.

“We are not only particular about the mining of solid minerals, what about sand mining that is ongoing in Lagos, which is causing serious threats to the Third Mainland Bridge, and the Carter Bridge and others? Who are those behind this? Our monarchs are involved in all these. If the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the security agencies are willing to do their jobs, most community leaders and paramount rulers would be indicted.”

He said oftentimes the foreigners, Chinese and Japanese would buy lands from the so-called traditional rulers where they know mineral deposits are, and pay them peanuts, while nobody evaluates what they take out and ship to their countries in the form of minerals.

For the Organising Secretary of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Abagun Kole Omololu, castigating monarchs for a surge in insecurity because of their alleged involvement in illegal mining and land grabbing is inconsequential because there are governments in place.

A former Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Wande Abimbola, recently pointed out that the unwieldy number of monarchs in Yorubaland was one of the causes of the misbehaviour among them.

The don said that with over 10,000 of them and without necessary checks and balances, the present scenario would subsist, pointing out that some communities have between 30 to 40 monarchs, and that the majority of them who parade themselves as kings today are baales and chiefs or heads of communities. “Kingship in the land has been so bastardised that some of them don’t even mind being kings over just their housesholds.

The Paramount ruler of Iwo, in Osun State, the Olowo of Iwo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, dismissed the insinuation of the complicity of Yoruba monarchs in activities fuelling insecurity and illegal mining.

He said that no first-class traditional ruler in Yorubaland would descend so low to engage in such a demeaning act.