Floods, a common disaster in Nigeria during the rainy seasons, are not only caused by the blockage of waterways but can also be caused by excessive water release from dams and lately the unlawful activities of some sand miners. This report shows how these miners contribute to environmental degradation and flooding in Lagos and Ogun states, writes OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN

Illegal sand and laterite mining come with a complex set of challenges and consequences that affect both the environment and local communities. This kind of extraction, which usually takes place without proper authorisation or adherence to environmental regulations, ultimately leads to environmental degradation.

The high demand for laterite and smooth sand owing to their high importance in the construction of roads and building of houses has fuelled the business over the years.

But the continuous extraction of these types of sand and laterite, especially by illegal operators, has continually disrupted natural ecosystems and habitats. It leads to the erosion of top layers of soil, riverbanks and coastal areas, alters natural drainage patterns, and increases the vulnerability of surrounding areas to flooding. This degradation not only affects the aesthetic value of the landscape but also threatens biodiversity by destroying habitats for aquatic and terrestrial species.

The activities of these miners in Ogun State have caused erosion which constituted a major threat to buildings and human existence and left them susceptible to disaster. This prompted the state government, through the then Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun, now Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, to ban dredging and sand mining activities in the state in 2021.

Oresanya announced the ban on a Friday when he led the environmental assessment inspection team to Abule-Oko community, Magboro, Obafemi Owode LGA among others, where he noticed the anti-human activities of sand miners in the state.

The governor?s aide noted that the state government had no choice but to announce the stop-work order as the development had equally impacted ?on the likelihood and well-being of inhabitants of various communities where they operate across the state.? He added that the practices constitute environmental nuisance and degradation in various parts of the state.

?No government worth its salt will allow these few individuals because of their economic gains, to put the health and well-being of the general populace in danger through their activities which most times are illegal,? he said.

The consequences of the activities of the sand miners are not limited to places visited by the governor?s aide but spread across the state.

Meanwhile, most of the sand mining businesses spread across different locations in the state are run particularly without government knowledge or regulations.

While this correspondent went around many of the sand mining sites no government presence was discovered in the activities of the miners, a development posing an imminent immediate and future danger to the human race.

This reporter not only discovered illegalities by miners with their collaborators known as ?Omo oniles? but also discovered the precarious experiences of Nigerians working in Chinese-controlled quarries in Ogun state.

An inside source in the state government hinted this reporter that traditional rulers are in most cases the backers of illegal mining in the state.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn?t authorised to speak on the matter, noted that the state government had put some monarchs on red list after they were discovered to have engaged in the signing of MoUs with some miners.

For sand miners, there are two basic categories of operations; the first is laterite and smooth sand miners run by individuals through the use of dredgers mounted inside the rivers in Ogun to pump out sand and immediately sell to waiting for tipper and trailer owners.

This group also includes quarry operators who blast underground rocks and sell them to truck owners.

The other group consist of miners specialising in red sand, a form of sand used in filling house foundations before concrete flooring is done among other various construction purposes.

Laterite and smooth miners

Both Nigerians and Chinese nationals manned the business of mining laterites and smooth sand separately, especially in the Oba and Alagada communities in Ojere area of Abeokuta.

During the two-day visit of this reporter traversing the different sand mining sites in the communities, it was observed that the site owned by the Chinese was more flourishing and more patronised than all other sites in the locality considering the state of art machines they deployed for the business.

The Chinese nationals were seen mining sand from the river as trucks of different sizes drove in, and queued behind each other to purchase the natural resources from the foreigners.

But, it was noticed that almost all other sites operated by Nigerians were shut owing to a crisis or the other, but often involved the families who were said to own the land upon which they mine. But the police-guided foreigners sell per scoop of a pay-loader for N14,000 while two of these scoops fill up small trucks (tippers), some trucks could carry six scoops at once depending on the sizes of the truck.

Meanwhile, the locals sell between N 23,000 and N35,000, depending on the size of the truck brought to their site.

Their activities, both the Chinese and locals, do not have any other visible immediate impact on the host communities except for the destruction of the roads. These were obvious during our correspondent?s visits to the sites.

The bad roads were not only untarred but were also not smooth as drivers drove gently to avoid getting their cars damaged. Commercial cabs also don?t ply the route due to the bad state of the roads.

The community roads were marred by obvious gallops, bumps, and slippery, with some parts partially divided by erosion.

Also in the Magboro area of Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state, residents, who spoke with The PUNCH, accused sand miners of the worsening flood situation in the area.

The sand miners, who excavate laterite, do so heedlessly without care for the environment and the houses nearby, causing landlords and tenants alike to grapple with erosion and flooding.

Magboro is said to be also rich in laterite and this has kept attracting miners and diggers to the area for many years. But despite urbanisation and increased numbers of buildings in the area, these miners refused to let the area breathe. Their activities made some houses appear without support because the supporting sands had been ploughed out.

Raheem Babalola, an Abeokuta resident, called on the government to be deliberate against sand miners? activities in Magboro in the environment.

He said, ?The rainy season is here and this has since caused panic for the residents. We all know what we are battling in this area and this flood has caused many to abandon their houses to seek refuge elsewhere but for those of us who do not have any other option for now, the government should please for God?s sake be deliberate against sand miners in this environment.

?Although I learnt some people built their houses on waterways, the contribution of sand miners to our plight cannot be underestimated. They cause the majority of the problems that we face as it concerns flooding.?

Red sand

Red sand, also called clay soil, is a sought-after form of soil for both house builders and road construction engineers and in most cases, this sand is cut down by these miners as they usually form hills in their different locations.

According to a truck driver, Adio Egbemode, who has been in the business of buying and transporting red sand for over a decade, red sand mining sites are mostly owned by ? big people (influential persons) who know people in government and that is why it?s always very difficult for to stop them.?

Findings show that this form of sand is mostly found and mined in Ibara Orile, Buhari Estate, Mile 6 and 7,Oke Ata, Onijogor Jogor, Papalantoro, Isaga Orile, Lucosi, among others, all in Ogun State.

Depending on the distance where the sand is mined from, truck owners buy from sellers for between N8000 and N12,000. Also depending on the distance of the delivery point, the drivers sell to clients between N 35,000 to N 60,000.

Preliminary findings, however, showed that miners? spot locations with this kind of soil buy or lease from the owners for the singular purpose of mining and selling the natural resources. Since this is the only business of these miners at these locations, their activities are carried out without the intuition of preserving the environment thereby exposing locals to different environmental hazards.

A house owner in the Oke-Ata area of Abeokuta, who identified himself simply as Alhaji Rahmon, decried the activities of these miners in his community, adding that their continuous operation may begin to sack residents from the area.

He added that different appeals have been made but the challenges persisted.

?Aside from the unprecedented dust that has always taken over the community whenever they are packing the sand, rain also wash it to our houses whenever it rains here, making it impossible for us to trek in the environment,? Rahmon said.

?To now divert this mud, we dug gutters, like two plots away from our houses just to redirect this irritating mud but it blocks this gutters fast. We complained to the operators of the mining sites. They made a temporary effort by also channelling some gutters but their effort did not eliminate these challenges.

?For instance, the activities of these miners have also caused flood in the area, which had never happened before. We now battle erosion; just take a look at our roads, they weren?t as bad as this when we built our houses in this area.?

Rahmon also noted that the activities of these miners had deterred residents from using their vehicles in the area during rainy seasons.

?Residents living in higher part of the town won?t be able to take their cars home because their tyres wouldn?t be able to grip the ground well, the whole environment is slippery and it wasn?t like that before they started mining the clay soil there.?

Also corroborating Rahmon, Chairman of the Community Development Association, Adekunle Sulaiman, condemned the activities of the miners, adding that land owners, whom he described as ?Omo onile?, brought the miners there.

?We have spoken to them on the issues affecting us; our area was not like that before they started the mining. The flood we now experience is unthinkable, the government should help us.?

According to the United Nations environmental submission in 2022, sand plays a strategic role in delivering ecosystem services, vital infrastructure for economic development, providing livelihoods within communities and maintaining biodiversity.

The UN further stressed that sand is linked to all its 17 Sustainable Development Goals either directly or indirectly but ?despite the strategic importance of sand, its extraction, sourcing, use, and management remain largely ungoverned in many regions of the world, leading to numerous environmental and social consequences that have been largely overlooked.?

Expert speaks

Commenting on the development, an environmentalist from the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof Emmanuel Ofoezie, confirmed that both topsoil and underground sand mining was consequential when done in a place close to human residence.

The environment expert further stated that sand mining from the river could also affect the population of aquatic animals in such rivers, adding that to ascertain the level of damage done in such instances a study must be carried out.

?The danger of underground clay mining is just like the danger of any other mining but it contributes little or nothing to erosion but topsoil mining is the one that can contribute to erosion. But underground mining, depending on where it is done, can lead to landslides. Topsoil mining contributes to erosion depending on the degree and intensity of mining and they can also lead to potholes.

?All these effects are dependent on land use because if they are mined where people are not using there might not be consequences but when done close to human residence, that is when they can be consequences.

?Also, when you destroy anything in the sea, you destroy the animals therein but it is only through research that one can ascertain the level of destruction that must have been done to such a sea and not through a blanket statement.

?Just like I said earlier, to make any conclusive statement on the level of damage, a study must be carried out but in general terms, it might affect the fish population or aquatic animal population in that place.?

The academic with interest in the environment, however, explained that natural resources can be tapped but must be harvested in a sustainable manner.

?Although, natural resources are to be tapped into especially when what will be gotten is greater than what would be affected and not the other way round. But whichever way, necessary actions must be taken to reduce the level of damage caused in accordance with the level of mining and that is the principle of harvesting natural resources. Whatever you take must be harvested in a sustainable manner.?

Quarry workers exist like slaves

This reporter, disguised as a conductor, popularly known as motor boy, with one of the trucks, saw Nigerians working as slaves even in their own country.

Accessing the quarry is quite an uneasy task, as anyone not a worker or a truck driver and their motor boys, are barred from entering the blasting site.

To access A & B Quarry, this reporter had to bribe a truck driver with N5,000 to allow our correspondent to ride with him in his truck into the quarry as his moto boy to see first-hand the reality of life inside a quarry blasting site.

Arriving at the site, the Chinese nationals, who are not so many, were seen basically dishing out instructions as against the locals, who were engaged in hard labour in the quarry site.

An attempt to take pictures and film the environment threw our reporter?s undercover open to a security official, who insisted that our reporter was not looking like a motor boy and could not begin to film, thereby ordering our reporter out of the site.

Before the security threw our reporter out, two workers, who had spoken with our reporter, narrated their uneasy life, working within the quarry site.

A casual worker, Adedare Aina (not real name), said he resorted to working at the quarry after all hope of getting another job was lost.

Aina said aside from working in a dangerous atmosphere where they work without protective equipment, the employers also treated them without respect.

?Working here can only happen after a person feels that he will die of hunger if he doesn?t immediately start doing something. For instance, I agreed to start working here after I started having thoughts of engaging in stealing or robbery. These people don?t care about us nor whatever happens to us.?

Another worker, who identified himself simply as Idris, said many had died in the cause of working at a quarry or in the surrounding communities.

Idris recalled how his friend had died in 2020 at Xiyuan Quarry over the alleged negligence of the quarry operators.

Idris added that the deceased, identified as FM, died because the operators of the quarry did not promptly rush him to a hospital after he got involved in an accident.

?At that time, he worked within the quarry but also had a bike. On that day he had taken his Chinese bosses to a place on his bike. While coming back, a truck in the quarry ran into him due to the dust in the site. He sustained a head injury and was not promptly taken to the hospital, eventually he died on his way to the hospital. Nobody can tell our story enough like someone who spends days with us here.?

Meanwhile, Idris has an open bruise on his left hand, an injury he claimed to have sustained while working. According to him, his employers neither took medical responsibility for the injury nor granted him a special off day.

While trying to give more details of their precarious working experience in the quarry site, Idris was interrupted by a man, who asked why he was standing and discussing instead of working.

Meanwhile, Section 12 of the Labour Act (2004) demands that an employer takes responsibility for personal injuries sustained by its workers while on the job.

Apart from the fact that the conditions of workers at the quarries are in violation of the labour laws, it was also discovered that hazard allowances are not paid to workers in many of the quarry sites in Ogun State.

When asked why they haven?t taken up the issue of safety with their employers, one of the casual workers at the gate who refused to give his name, hinted that in a group, they had once employed the service of a lawyer.

Lawyer quit due to ?injustice?

Contacted via a whatz app chat, A lawyer, Habib Whyte, explained how he angrily resigned from standing for some Chinese quarry operators over their refusal to better treat their staffers.

He said his ?mind could not take being on the side of injustice?.

He said further, ?I was a counsel for the quarry operators. I really consulted for them. It is like somebody asking me questions like how do we do it, and any other thing. I told them the way and manner to follow and what to do,? he said.

?But because they know that people like me will not bend to their illegality, these companies went to obtain some license through the backdoor because they know that in Nigeria, anything can happen.?

After dumping the Chinese operators, the legal practitioner attempted to switch to the side of the oppressed staff in their fight for better working conditions.

?When I saw the letter of appointment of a client I intended to handle, I was even the one that advised him not to take legal action against them.

?The condition is just too stringent and so many of those workers don?t look at it before they sign it. They don?t read the terms and conditions of the work very well before signing. Imagine in a letter of agreement, the employer said he can send a worker away at any time without prior notice and you as a worker agree to that.?

Quarry operators

Efforts to get the operators of the quarries to speak were disallowed by security men mounting the gates.

The security officers at the quarry repeatedly told this reporter that he could not gain access to the premises except on the orders of a senior management member of the site.

Gov?t reacts

Speaking with the state commissioner for environment on the development, he said he has been calling on members of the public to report the activities of the illegal miners saying the state has zero tolerance for illegal mining in the state.

The commissioner who agreed to the presence of illegal mining in the state, noted that the government has been dealing with them by ensuring routine checks and good regulations.

He said, ?For illegal mining, we have always been calling on our people, they shouldn?t keep quiet. Once you notice someone is illegally mining in your environment, please tell us quickly and we will swing into action. Report to the government either Local or the state government.

?Aside from the ones we discovered ourselves during our routine checks, members of the public should also raise alarm, we are always responsive and if they didn?t get the right authorisation and document we get the place sealed up.

?More people are going after them and if you notice, you will see that the minister of mines and steal is recruiting marshals all to ensure that illegal mining is put out and end all these illegal mining going on everywhere from our system. We are also collaborating with the federal marshals too.?

Oresanya further said, ?The main thing we are doing is to step up our regulations and controls to ensure that every mining activity is duly registered and are properly geo-referenced. After you collect your license from the federal government, you have to register that license with us in the state to get the proper accreditation.

?We have a Ministry of Commerce Trade and Investment in the state charged with handling the local registration of the license from the federal government. What they now do with us in the Ministry of Environment is to ensure that they pay the remediation or restoration fee before starting your mining.

This bond is to ensure restoration after mining has taken place in the environment. These are parts of the things we are doing to ensure that we end illegal mining in the state.?

In June, the state government through an executive order created the Mineral Resources Agency with the verdict to protect the mineral resources deposited in the state.

Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said that the decision of the government to create the Ministry was in order and in the best interest of the state.

The order also gave a stern warning to traditional rulers to desist from entering or signing any form of MoU with anyone or body regarding mining in the state.

The aide said, ?The newly created agency is set up for mineral identification, geological mapping of the state, and data banking, in line with item 39 of the exclusive legislative list regulating mining activities in Nigeria?.

He also said, ?While only the Federal Government can regulate mining activities across Nigeria, the mineral deposits are in states, and the mining activities occur in those states.

?Thus, a state cannot effectively plan or govern if it does not enumerate the resources in its jurisdiction and map them to know where they are.

?For example, it will be a colossal loss to build a mass housing project on a site that has the largest deposit of limestone or natural gas. The way the State Government can avoid this is to know what minerals are in the State, where they are, and in what quantity.

?This knowledge helps the State attract investors. It also helps the State to effectively manage land so that sites that are by natural endowment suited for mineral exploration are not classified as residential or allotted for commercial purposes that waste the mining potential of the land.

?It also avoids clash of investments as we have had agricultural allottees clashing with mining allottees on the same or adjoining land with the mining activities hampering the agricultural and ecological benefits of the farmers?.

Akinmade further explained that the newly created Mineral Resources Agency will interface with other MDAs to avoid clashes in future land allocation and ensure that prospective mining sites are preserved and uninhibited for investors who, if interested, would eventually approach the Federal Government for mining licenses and operations.

Also, during a Miners and Dredgers stakeholders meeting held in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, speaking on the activities of miners in the state, the government warned illegal miners and dredgers in the state, to desist from their nefarious activities to avoid stiff sanctions.

The Commissioner for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Adebola Sofela, represented by the Ministry?s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Olu. Ola. Aikulola, also threatened legal action against anyone who engages in the activity within the state going forward.

Sofela?s warning extended to miners and dredgers operating with expired documents, as he stated how irresponsible mining and dredging are destructive to the community and state?s infrastructure.

The commissioner said, ?Mining is a win-win thing if done responsibly, but destructive and disruptive when it is irresponsibly carried out, given the monumental financial effects it has on government and the community at large.?

He further added that the state government had tolerated the activities of illegal miners and dredgers but warned they would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

?The note of warning I am giving today indicates that it will not be business as usual going forward. If you get arrested for illegal mining and dredging, you will face the full wrath of the law,? Sofela said.

The commissioner called for an immediate screening of operators? papers to deter miners and dredgers with expired documents. (Sunday PUNCH)

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