By; SAMSON YAKI, Lafia
The Udege Community in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State has expressed fear of fast becoming a waste land due to ongoing unchecked mining activities of a Chinese firm, Kenyang Mining Company.
The Chairman of Afo Youth Mobility Sociocultural Group, Barrister Dauda Kana made this known after a recent impact assessment visit to the designated mining site in the community.
Mr Kana alleged that the mining company, “had not only exhausted the designated mining area, but also intended to encroach upon the community’s households, farmlands, schools, and burial sites without initiating reclamation efforts.
“The Chinese mining company was allocated a specific site to extract minerals. Now that they have depleted this area, they seek to expand into lands belonging to the Udege community. However, there is an existing agreement stipulating that the company must reclaim each excavated site before moving to new areas.
“If this continues unchecked, we may wake up one day to find Udege transformed into a wasteland, with its people displaced from their ancestral homes and turned into nomads,” he stated further.
He therefore, called for the intervention of government and other relevant authorities to assess the situation and address grievances of the host community whose inhabitants are predominantly farmers.
“Any leader with a conscience can see that the Udege community has a legitimate case against the Chinese company. The proposal to relocate the community to undeveloped bushland without adequate infrastructure is unacceptable.
“The welfare of the community must take precedence over the interests of foreign entities, as mandated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Chapter 4, Section 34 guarantees the right to dignity, protecting individuals from torture and degrading treatment.
“Therefore, the government must respond to the community’s concerns and compel Kenyang Mining Company to honour their agreement,” Mr. Kana, a legal practitioner, added.
“On September 26, 2021, Kenyang Mining Company and the Udege/Odu host communities entered into an agreement to ensure orderly mining within the demarcated Paddock A, measuring 32 meters. Key provisions of this agreement included initiating reclamation of a 50-meter area upon the completion of the 32-meter excavation and finishing this reclamation within two years.
“The agreement was signed by the company’s Managing Director, Li Guoqing, along with representatives Miller Xu Guanghui and Ramon Zhao Meng, and for the host community, by Hon. Haruna Obagu, Dr. Adamu Maidodo, and Hon. Muhammad Yarima Al-Basheer.
“Witnesses to the agreement included, Hon. Tijjani Aliyu Ahmed, former Secretary to the State Government of Nasarawa State, and HRH Alhaji Halilu Bala Usman, the Osu Ajiri of Udege Chiefdom”.
