Tekena Amakiri interrogates the recent statement of Senator Adams Oshiomhole on the failure of the Federal Government to deploy the JTF in the Northern part of the country to fight illegal mining, same way it has done in the Southern part to fight oil bunkering.
What Oshiomhole Said:
“There is no question in my view and I come from an area where you have…like you rightly said sir, there is hardly any part of Nigeria where you cannot find solid minerals. Even in the south south, but what I observe, whereas the Federal Government is ruthless with people who are doing illegal oil bunkering and they deploy the JOINT TASK FORCE, JTF, to deal with those involved in illegal bunkering, when it comes to illegal mining or solid minerals, the Federal Government changes.
“It is like using different standards and I am very angry about that because if we have to fight, deploy the Army even, to kill anyone who is involved in illegal bunkering of oil and you deploy the JTF, a combination of Army, Navy, Police, Airforce, everybody…why are we allowing illegal mining then in any part of the country, that it is going on? And they are being manned by retired Generals? We know them. Nobody can pretend he doesn’t know them.
“I wrote a letter to former President Buhari, because somebody I sent to go and conduct primaries somewhere, reported back to me. A retired General of northern extraction. He told me that Adams…you are worried about the challenge of conducting primaries in Zamfara, that the challenges he sees there is far more than that.
“If it is not dealt with, Nigeria will not know peace in parts of the country. And this gold deposit belt goes all the way to Kaduna. He told me that those involved in this illegal mining use choppers. They procure arms, exactly the same way our militants were doing in the south south. They give them arms. They use choppers to cart away the gold and they take them out of this country, make billions of US dollars and the Federal Government is not doing what it should do.
ALSO READ: Nigeria: Fuel Price Swings and Dicey Economic Prospects
“…In fact, what is happening and what subsequently happened in that part of the country was exactly what the General told me was going to happen….on occasions, they use these same weapons to carry out banditry, kidnappings and all other terrible things that are going on. Committee chairman on defense, tell the Defense people I said so. That some retired military officers are involved in it. The day we stop telling ourselves the truth, this country will not flourish.
“My position is that we should not, as Senators be lamenting. As Senators, we should fix the problem. We should tell the Executive to deploy exactly the same force that they deployed against illegal oil bunkering to deal with criminals who are mining. When I say criminals, it can be the retired Generals, he can be a retired Permanent Secretary, he can be a retired Labor leader…whoever is involved should be dealt with”
These are indeed weighty words. Every word spoken here by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Senate Committee Chairman on Interior, is strong enough to cause an earthquake in other climes. We had to edit for want of space.
Is Oshiomhole Speaking Fact?
“Oshiomhole must understand that words carry weight, especially when spoken by someone of his standing. In a country where many people base their judgment on screaming media headlines, the Senator’s statement could expose the retired military Generals to ridicule and dissent as they pursue their legitimate business. Loose accusations without due clarification serve no purpose other than to tarnish reputations and create unnecessary tension” said Major-General Johnson Olawumi (Ret), former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.
Olawumi certainly hit the bullseye here. He went further to demand a retraction or clarification from Oshiomhole, arguing that ‘his words have undermined the honor and integrity of countless retired officers who have devoted their lives to the service of the nation’.
Oshiomhole’s sweeping take on retired Generals, may be contentious no doubt, but what appears irrefutable, is the fact that the Federal Government is yet to deploy the gusto and make-up of the JTF deployed in the south south in the north.
Any Evidence?
As recent as May, 2024, House Speaker Tajudeen Abass, had advocated for the deployment of a JTF to fight illegal mining in the north, a practice that researchers have submitted as the remote reason for banditry in the north.
Abass spoke at the resumption of Plenary after the Easter and Eid-el-Fitri recess, last year.
While on that occasion, Abass praised the efforts of the Security Agencies in tackling insecurity, he also called for closer collaboration with the Executive, he said;
“As such, we recommend the establishment of a joint task force dedicated to addressing illegal mining and mineral theft. This task force will coordinate between various government agencies such as the mining police to ensure a unified and robust response to these crimes”.
So, quite clearly, Oshiomhole was not flying a kite. However, his allusion to retired Generals as the major progenitors of illegal mining, while debatable, may not be unconnected to the fact of the awesome powers that the military wield in our body politics.
What NASS must do
Oshiomhole was spot on, when he said that Senators should not lament, but rather fix the problem.
NASS must immediately set up an adhoc committee to liaise with the military and the executive on drawing up modalities to set up a JTF to tackle illegal mining. The NASS may have to work out budgetary requirements outside the estimates already in the submitted budget.
Failure to immediately set the ball rolling, may very well support the view that powerful forces have always worked against the deployment of the JTF to fight illegal mining. But more than that, any failure to set up a JTF against illegal mining, may fuel rising tension that a section of the country revels in kid gloves, while another section suffers the ‘Python dance’.
