Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2014— —19
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XPLOITATION and exploration of solid minerals are governed by The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 ("the Act") which was passed into law on March 16, 2007 to repeal the Minerals and Mining Act, No. 34 of 1999. The Act vests control of all properties and minerals in Nigeria in the states and prohibits unauthorised exploration or exploitation of minerals. All lands in which minerals have been found in commercial quantities shall from the commencement of the Act be acquired by the Federal Government in accordance with the Land Use Act. Property in mineral resources shall pass from the government to the person by whom the mineral resources are lawfully won upon their recovery in accordance with provisions of the Act. The Minister, amongst other things, is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the orderly and sustainable development of Nigeria's mineral resources, creating an enabling environment for private investors, both foreign and domestic, by providing adequate infrastructure for mining activities and also identifying areas where government intervention is desirable in achieving policy goals in mineral resources development. The Act also provides for the establishment of the Mining Cadastre Office, MCO,
which shall be responsible for the administration of mineral titles and the maintenance of the cadastral registers, and empowers the Minister, by regulation, to determine areas eligible for the grant of an exploration or mining lease based on a competitive bidding process. The MCO shall collect a fee for processing of applications for mineral titles and an annual service fee established at a fixed rate per square cadastral unit for administrative and management services. In other words, the FG owns, controls, monitors the exploitation and exploration of our natural solid mineral resources. The questions that follow therefore include: Why does the FG apply different and separate rules and policies for solid mineral as against liquid mineral resources of Nigeria? Why should an individual be allowed to own and prospect on solid minerals, controlled by an officer of the Ministry, while same is not applicable for oil, except through a Commission we call the NNPC? Why is there no commission for solid minerals? Solid Mineral Deposits are scattered all over Nigeria, with more deposits in certain areas than others. Over 40 million tonnes of talc deposits have been identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna states. There are huge deposits of coal ranging from bituminous to lignite in the Anambra Basin of South East Nigeria. We have lead-zinc ores within the Asaba Area of Niger
The current half hazard approach to exploitation of solid mineral resources speaks poorly of our ability to harness the gains for the benefit of the whole country
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Delta, while we have tin, niobium, lead, around Oyo and Igbeti, with as much over a billion tonnes of gypsum spread around Niger, Ondo and Ekiti states.
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igeria's potentially most beneficial solid minerals are spread around the nation but most of them are in the North. We have limestone in Cross River, Ogun, Benue, Gombe, Ebonyi, Sokoto, Edo and Kogi states; magnesite in Adamawa and Kebbi states; coal in Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Delta, Plateau, Anambra, Abia, Benue, Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Kwara states; wolframite in Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi and Niger states; silver is found only in Kano, with kyanite in Kaduna and Niger states; manganese only in the Northern states of Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara with diatomite found only in Yobe State, while ilmennitrutile is only in Bauchi, Plateau and Kaduna states; fluorite only in Taraba State with gold in Niger, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara and Zamfara and a little in Osun.
Jonathan in the eye of the storm BY CHUKWUDI ENEKWECHI
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T was Shakespeare in one of his philosophical treatises who asserted that "ambition is made of sterner stuff ”. In this brief quote lies the philosophical underpinning of any aspiration or ambition for power that is worthwhile. Coming back home , we are today witnessing history as the centripetal forces struggle, even though in a heinous and ruthless manner, to wrest power from the centrifugal forces, as represented by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. To many students of power struggle, the desperate and dangerous war being waged by Boko Haram against the Nigerian state gives credence to the Machiavellian prescription that ‘war is the trade of princes and it is only in war that fortune smiles or frowns’. This assertion is aptly illustrated in the Machiavellian book The Prince . To better understand the ‘strange’ method being applied by the Boko Haram sect in their quest for power, it is recommended that one should first read The Prince, a book in which ascension to power is justified by all means. Yet, as devilish as Boko Haram’s methods appear, it is not surprising to many history-conscious Nigerians. After all, since after 1966, change of batons and ascendency to power in Nigeria has been violently organised with the exception of Shagari’s administration which itself was later overthrown by force of arms. In other words, to enable us contextualise the mission of Boko Haram, we must realise that Nigeria has been on a roller coaster ride politically. Now, having successfully navigated into another democratic interregnum in 1999,
the feudal forces expected power retention through the ballot box, but the sudden death of Umaru Musa Yar ’Adua changed the permutations and ultimately upset the applecart. Sensing, therefore, that ascendency to the coveted throne was gradually slipping from its base and that military coup was unforeseeable at least in the nearest future, Nigeria’s unseen power brokers unleashed a monster, Boko Haram on the nation. Not given to attaining power in a Godly and indeed orderly manner, these adherents of China’s Mao Tse Tung’s maxim that “power flows from the barrel of the gun”, are using insurgency as weapon of terror to unseat a lawfully elected government under the leadership of a Godfearing gentleman and academician, Goodluck Jonathan. In the face of these daunting challenges, the question is: Should Jonathan capitulate? In answering the question (even as rhetorical as it seems) we must understand that Boko Haram’s ideological bent is so deep rooted and fundamental that it goes beyond Jonathan and his administration. First, if we cast our mind back to the reign of Osama Bin Laden. He had issued a statement proclaiming Nigeria as a country to be “liberated’’ by his terrorist network, Al Queda. Secondly, soon after his proclamation, Boko Haram was born, and their mission has been made very clear to all. And that is their abhorrence of democracy and all it stands for; Western education is forbidden, and thirdly: that non-Muslims are ‘infidels’ that must in their estimation remain under the rulership of Muslims as slaves. These cardinal objectives of Boko Haram are not ambiguous and they have not minced words in reasserting them
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BY CLEMENT UDEGBE
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Nigeria and solid mineral gains
While all Nigerians benefit from Nasarawa State in the North has been appropriately tagged as the accruals from oil exploitation Nigeria’s Home of Solid Minerals. and exploration, only a few The state is one of the most individuals and their cronies naturally endowed states in benefit from solid mineral Nigeria in terms of the availability resources. It may well be that of economically and commercially someone just decided that the viable natural resources.These development of mineral resources include clay, columbite, ilmenite, will be deliberately slowed down poor structural mica, barytes, pyrite, clay, galena, through limestone, sodium chlorgide, arrangements. Some think that it ephalerite, clay, silica sand, baryte, was a deliberate arrangement by galena, salt, limestone, clay, silica the North to use up the oil of South sand, granites, tantalite, mica, to develop, and when the oil sphalerite, talc, gemstone resources become depleted, (tourmaline, aquamarine and change their plans and affairs in sapphire), tourmaline, the way they like against the aquamarine, mica, halcopyrite, South. Like in the oil resources, topaz, cassiterite, columbite, Nigeria needs a commission to tantalite, emerald, aquamarine, handle all issues regarding solid heliodor, topaz, amethyst, quartz, minerals for the benefit of all mica, granite, baryte, clay, coaking Nigerians. The current half hazard coal, marble, iron ore, mica, tantalite, cassiterite, columbite, approach to exploitation of solid mineral resources speaks poorly granite, ilmenite, aquamarine. Bauchi is another richly endowed of our ability to harness the gains state in the North with metal ores, for the benefit of the whole country. non-metalic ores and gem stones. The current situation where a few Other untapped mineral resouces people have cornered the mining of Bauchi include licenses and are declaring what kaolin,talc,tin,quartz,iron ore, they like as profits and tax, must gypsum, zircon, be changed. The present scattered calcite,tantalite,chalcoprite,mica, individual efforts to draw copper ore, limestone,tourmaline, investment into the solid minerals beryl, garnet, columbite, sector would be greatly enhanced muscovite, aquarmarine, topaz, by the use of a commission to marble, bismuth, wolfromite and handle solid minerals. The use of a commission will not only assist others. The commercial value of in harmonising mining rules and Nigeria’s solid minerals has been practice in Nigeria, it will provide estimated to run into hundreds a good platform to draw increased of trillions of Dollars, with 70 development in that sector, much percent of these buried in the bowel more than we have today. We need of Northern Nigeria. The failure a Commission for Solid Minerals of Nigeria, since her independence now. in 1960, to put in place a structure that will make the benefits of the *Mr. Udegbe, a legal exploitation of our solid minerals practitioner, wrote from available to all Nigerians is L a g o s . unfortunate.
As a nation we cannot allow Boko Haram to define the bounds of our existence and freedom; they are morally depraved and insane to define our lives
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as reasons for their atrocious crimes. Therefore, since the Jonathan government and indeed any other government, owe it a duty to the citizens to secure and protect them, it is imperative that the President does not chuckle or capitulate to the evil machinations of Boko Haram and its sponsors. To do so will tantamount to submitting our freedom and sovereignty to a bunch of lunatics whose lust for power knows no bound.
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ndeed, the entire creativity and innovation of man over the centuries will be rendered a nullity. Life will then become brutish short and uninteresting. As it stands now, the civilised World possesses all it takes to rein in these hooligans and restore the dignity of man. Boko Haram and all it stands for is evil and has no place in modern world. Their campaign of terror will not succeed and in reality they will remain slaves to their warped ideologies and beliefs unless they purge themselves of their devilish ideologies. The truth is that evil will never triumph over good. The ‘fatwa’ of Osama Bin Laden, Boko Haram and their hidden sponsors on Nigeria will never succeed . As a nation we cannot allow Boko Haram to define the bounds of our existence and freedom. They are morally depraved and insane to define our lives.By all means, President Jonathan ought to realise that he has the support of all men and women of
goodwill in and outside the country, and they are in the majority. If the intention of Boko Haram as it is clearly manifest is to stop Jonathan in 2015, I want to assert that they have failed woefully, but rather have reinforced the desire of most Nigerians for Jonathan to return in 2015. By all estimation, Jonathan has discharged his duties creditably and as the popular saying goes, the reward for hard work is more work. Therefore, Nigerian are full of expectations that Jonathan will not capitulate to the evil machinations of Boko Haram and their clandestine sponsors who see Jonathan as a stumbling block to their vaulting ambition to ascend the presidential throne by hook or crook. It is common knowledge that these selfish and devilish power seekers who consider Nigeria their personal fiefdom had in the aftermath of the of 2011 elections threatened hell and brimstone should Jonathan contest the election. Specifically, they had threatened to make the country ungovernable, were Jonathan to win the election. With the support of Nigerians Jonathan contested and won the election, and today we are all witnesses to the manifestation of their threat against all of us. Yet, as a people we refuse to surrender our collective destiny and freedom to a cavernous clique who have appropriated Nigeria as their own enclave of power, influence and material acquisitions. The terrorist sect is on their last struggle to reclaim a ‘state of impunity ’ long truncated with the emergence of a civil democratic order since 1999. Therefore, Boko Haram can best be described as a struggle in shameful retreat that seeks to cling at any straw for survival. Their demand for swap of their partners in crime in detention for the abducted Chibok girls is equally the ideas emanating from a demented mind. The demand can best be described as abhorrent and sickening. *Mr.Enekwechi, a joutnalist, wrote from Abuja.