Diversification: Don urges FG to enforce mining laws
NAN-HE-14
Laws
By Cecilia Ologunagba
Abuja, Sept. 15, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Ibrahim Garba, the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, has advised the Federal Government to enforce the mining laws, especially the Mineral and Mining Act of 2007.
Garba, who gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said implementation of the laws would help the government to achieve its diversification drive through mining.
Garba, a Professor of Geology, was one of the resource persons at the just concluded three-day maiden edition of National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources Development.
The don said that the challenge of the sector had been lack of implementation and enforcement of mining laws.
“Let the government enforce the laws; if you play wrong in the sector, you should be apprehended. If we can do that, investors will come and invest in the sector.
“ When investors come, they will read our laws, see it as beautiful laws but when they come, they will find something different so they will go back because we don’t mean what we put on paper.”
“We must be serious and enforce the laws. If we follow the laws, everything will work from now till eternity but if we don’t follow it, nothing will work,’’ he said.
Garba, also a former Director-General, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office, said most of the controversies and disagreement in the sector was based on ignorance or lack of attitude to do the right thing.
“All the concerns, all the anticipated trajectory development have been stated in the laws and adequate provision made to tackle each issue from the beginning till the end.
“But unfortunately, all we have been spending time doing is not to really enforcing the laws.
“We keep looking sideways but if you look at the laws, everything is provided for, if only we can follow the laws, we don’t need anything else.
“This law (Mining and Mineral Act) is already 10 years old but I tell you, you have not seen a single person arrested or apprehended for the breach of the law because the enforcer, the regulators have not strictly enforced it.
“The law is one of the clearest of laws that is so detailed in all aspects of mining because a lot of time, resource and knowledge have been put into it.
“The law was copied from successful mining laws around the world; the World Bank had sponsored similar laws in Latin America and almost 20 countries have grown successful mining industry from the same kind of law.
“We took it from there and developed it in Nigeria,’’ he said.
He emphasised that the law treated all aspects of mining, including the environmental aspect.
“Take time and look at the law – Mineral and Mining Act 2007- from there, everything is provided; if you see the chapter of the environment alone, it is detailed.
The professor, however, urged the Federal Government to implement recommendations of the National Council on Mining and Mineral Resources Development. (NAN)
CIA/IA
Edited by Idris Abdulrahman