Curtailing the Activities of Illegal Miners in Lagos
The waterways stretching from Badagry to Epe, (with a Peninsular in between, a lagoon at the back and the Atlantic in front), Ikorodu to Marina, Badagry to Marina, among others, are nature’s gifts to Lagos. These are coastlines which many people wish for, being natural habitats yet to be subjected to devastation, global warming, climate change and other environmental hazards.
It is, therefore, shattering that in spite of several warnings by the Lagos State government to illegal sand miners to desist from their ignoble acts or face prosecution and possible jail terms, the illegal activities have continued unabated, thereby posing threats to water transportation, gas distribution channels and other buried infrastructure in the state. It is, indeed, depressing that some of these illegal miners dug almost four to five metres to the Atlantic. Illegal mining and dredging constitute serious environmental threats to the society. In the first instance, the activities could aggravate flood disasters in concerned areas and expose the entire state to severe consequences. The damage done to the waterways, gas and oil pipelines by illegal miners could also bring terrible disasters to those living along the coastlines, if not now but certainly in the future.
On the economic side, illegal miners and dredgers are thieves who disallow government from maximising the natural resources of the state for the good of all. Not only are they not licensed to engage in what they are doing, they are equally denying those that are lawfully permitted by law the leeway to operate. Illegal sand mining and dredging equally lead to direct cause of erosion which has destroyed lives and property of law abiding citizens and still threaten lives and property of more citizens.
It also impacts negatively on wildlife, as sea animals that depend on sandy beaches for their nesting, are sent into near extinction. It destroys fishery, causing economic problems for people who rely on fishing for their livelihoods. Perhaps, more importantly, illegal sand mining pose a great threat to tourism enterprise in the state, as beaches and other sites people would have visited for relaxation and other social activities have been devastated.
These acts of illegality, run contrary to the law enacted in 2004 by the fifth Lagos State House of Assembly, entitled: “A Law To Provide For The Regulation And Grant of Permit To Any Person Conducting Sand Dealing And Dredging Operation In Lagos State And For Connected Purposes.” The law stipulates that every person, corporation, partnership or body involved in sand dealing and/or sand dredging operation should obtain an operational permit from the state.
Illegal mining is a very dangerous business that nobody should be involved in and the Lagos state Government is not in any way unmindful of the danger it poses to the socio-economic landscape of the state. This is partly why the Ambode administration recently empowered relevant security agencies with diverse professional equipment ranging from surveillance helicopters to speed boats. It is an open secret that the administration has invested billions of naira in the security sector since it came on board about eight months ago. The objective is to ensure that relevant security agencies in the state are sufficiently empowered to protect lives and property as well as being effectively positioned to apprehend criminals of all sorts.
Administratively, the state government, as always, has been streamlining the activities of sand miners and dredgers in the state in line with international best practices. This is being done through new strategies meant to check and coordinate sand mining and dredging activities and avoid serious and irreparable catastrophe to the landscape. Perhaps, more importantly, since the crime is a local one, it is important that community leaders, representatives of the people and traditional rulers within the communities where this dangerous crime occur, collaborate with government to end this illegal activity.
Similarly, law enforcement agencies should summon courage and cooperate with communities’ leaders and other stakeholders to stem the tide of illegal mining and sand dredging in the state. Law enforcement officers should not connive with these criminals to undermine the security, economy and environmental landscape of the state. To do this would certainly be to allow the billions of naira the state government has invested, thus far, in empowering security agencies in the state go into the drains. Tayo Ogunbiyi, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos
Ihave taken liberty to write on this issue through you because Mr. Ekwowusi does not have an avenue to receive our feedback as your patrons who cannot do without reading THISDAY Newspaper. Mr. Ekwowusi was not happy with Mr. President on his castigation of the Judiciary as one of his problems in the fight against corruption. We ordinary Nigerians are of one mind with Mr. President. Our judiciary as confirmed in the last paragraph of Mr. Ekwowusi’s submission is nothing to write home about - starting from how every Tom, Dick and Harry are made judges once you have the connection to the way the so-called SANs are appointed and carry on in court. You will agree with me that majority of Nigerians are not happy with the judiciary. Judges no longer command respect as of old during the time of the Adetokunbos, Mbanefos, etc. Then the justices were heard but not seen. Now they belong to societies and are easily influenced and are influence peddlers.
The course of justice is indeed mostly perverted in recent times. How can a judge give a perpetual injunction to Peter Odili so that he will not answer to questions put to him for the way he ruled Rivers State because the wife is a member of the judiciary? Yet you are castigating Mr. President. The most recent case that is in the news is the case brought by a Lady from the Republic of Benin against her partner and the petition she wrote to Nigeria Judicial Council of how a Senior Advocate of Nigeria perverted Justice by getting a justice of Federal High Court to cheat her of getting a fair judgment. We are all waiting for the outcome of the investigation by NJC - whether it will be a slap on the wrist as usual for the judge and the SAN. Many justices that should be in jail are walking about free because the NJC has never done the right thing by prosecuting them. Ghana is now ahead of Nigeria by the charging of corrupt Judges to court because of corruption by the Investigative Journalist who exposed them all. When will we have such great journalists in Nigeria? We hear of undercover reporters all over the world except Nigeria. Nigerian Journalists owe us this if they want to gain our respect and not allow us to view them as part of the problem.
Things cannot continue like this. We are behind the president whether rain or shine. What he is saying is the truth and it does not disturb our sensibilities at all. It is only the elite like me and you that feel disturbed. The ordinary people who are suffering support the president. l am one of them.
Abuja