The secretary of the Board of Trustees, Miners Association of Nigeria, has expressed doubt that the 37 miners who died in Niger State were arrested at a legal mining site, saying he is sure the site was not that of a legal mining operator who could be a member of the association.
Ajibade said this in an interview on Arise News on Monday, where he discussed the circumstances surrounding the deaths and rejected any suggestion that the deceased were members of the association.
Ajibade also stressed that the 37 miners were suspects and, therefore, should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, describing their deaths as a very unfortunate situation involving Nigerian youths in their prime.
“It’s been a very unfortunate situation losing 37 Nigerian youths in their prime. And just like you rightly said, they are suspects, so they are assumed to be innocent until they are proven guilty.
“In terms of identification of our members, our members are legal miners, and we always advise as members of the Miners Association of Nigeria that we should not be mixing up the activities of illegal miners with that of legal miners. So definitely, wherever the arrest was actually made, I’m sure it’s not the site of a legal mining operator who expectedly could be our member,” he told Arise News.
Speaking on the mining sector’s contribution to government revenue, Ajibade said mining operations require significant investment, time and expertise to properly explore sites and determine the grade and quantity of available minerals.
“You spend a lot of money and time, and a lot of expertise is required to actually do proper exploration work on a mining site to be able to delineate and determine the grade and the quantity of the minerals that are there.”
Addressing the broader impact of mining reforms, he said the sector should not be viewed solely as a source of revenue, stressing the importance of job creation, skills development and long-term economic benefits.
“It was not about revenue; it is about balancing the revenue that would be coming from mining with the socio-economic benefits that will also be coming from that particular sector. You create a lot of jobs, you impact skills, and of course, you are looking at it long-term. Because mining is not a quick-fix kind of economic activity.
“You are looking at a long gestation period and, of course, a lot of investment initially. But once you establish a reserve, you can be sure that in the next 25 years—which is the normal life of a mine, and it can even be more than that—the government will continue to realize revenue.
Ajibade also warned that an excessive focus on immediate revenue could be counterproductive and undermine the mining industry, adding that even if the deceased were illegal miners, established enforcement and regulatory procedures should have been followed.
“So the short-term approach of saying we should just generate revenue massively could even end up being counterproductive and could even kill the industry.
“And like I said earlier on, this unfortunate incident is just one of such situations whereby they are presumed, like I said, innocent, and even if they are illegal miners, there are processes and procedures for enforcement and for regulation of the industry. So definitely, there is this treatment that the suspects should have been given, and it shouldn’t have resulted in this kind of tragedy if things had been properly handled.”
Speaking on the participation of state governments in the mining sector, Ajibade said the laws allow private-sector participation, while noting that state governments with the capacity can also establish companies to participate in the sector.
“The laws are very clear, and they allow private sector participation. All we have to do is fix our own situation, make sure we regularize them, and enhance their capacity.”
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