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From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
The Kogi State government has been told to be more deliberate in its approach to closing the gender gap and ending child labour in the mining sector if the state must earn the goodwill of potential investors
The President and Founder of Women In Mining in Nigeria, Engineer Janet Adeyemi made this observation on Tuesday in Lokoja at the Research validation and Policy Dialogue organised for women Miners in Kogi state.
The president represented by the programme coordinator, Mrs Dennis Deloraine said Kogi State is the second state with the largest mineral deposits in the country closely following Nasarawa state saying the state must be more proactive in its efforts to attract investors to the state so as to create employment opportunities for women and youths
In her words “We want to challenge the state government, especially the State Ministry of Natural Resources to direct its attention on the gender-based issues in the mining sector in Kogi in view of the state’s strategic place in the minerals and mining map of Nigeria.
“Believe it or not, Kogi State hosts some of the largest mining industries in Africa and the state has become a centre of attraction for stakeholders and investors across the globe.
“The state must be deliberate in its approach to close the gender gap and end child labour in its mining sector if it must earn the goodwill of potential investors.
“It is my delight to personally witness the growth and progress of the Kogi State Chapter of Women In Mining in recent times under the leadership of the State Coordinator, Mrs Janet Ahiaba. May I congratulate your state chapter for joining the implementation base of our national programme in the year 2023?
“Just a few months ago, we sent our Research Team ahead of this programme, to conduct in-depth research on the extent of Women and Child Rights Violations in the Mining Sector in Kogi State.
“The role of women in the mining sector in Kogi State can not be downplayed or waived off. As you are aware, their hard labour in the mines yields an immeasurable volume of minerals used to service multi-national industries domiciled in Kogi State.
“But why are these women unable to grow in the sector, what barriers are preventing their promotions and upscale? Are these barriers to competence or barriers of gender? Who accounts for the death of female miners in Kogi State who die on trucks every now and then?
“What safeguards have Kogi state mining sector developed to ensure the safety of our women in mining sites? What policies and implementation plans will be most effective to curb the menace of child labour in the Kogi State mining sector?
“These are heart-to-heart discussions we intend to have in the course of our policy dialogue with stakeholders. The policy dialogue is a sequel to the Research Validation that we are holding today” she added
In her short speech, the state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Fatima Kabir Baba who was represented by Mrs Veronica Ipemoda said the ministry’s major obligation was to fight for the rights of women and children in the state and to ensure their rights were not violated
For this purpose, the commissioner stressed that her ministry has just created a department known as Desk Officers where issues of violation of women’s and children’s rights especially domestic violence can be reported and promptly treated.
On his part, the state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice while commending the efforts of the organization said every National Act relating to women’s and children’s rights have been domesticated in the state and assured that anyone who breaks the Act will be duly prosecuted.
