Category: Saturday Magazine

• Locals adore hills, claim they’re huge wealth sources
• It’s all myths, no scientific backing -Geologists

NE of the most visible physical features of the Southwest part of the country is the ubiquitous presence of rocky hills in many communities. These hills have been there from time immemorial.

For some of the communities, these hills have contributed to their economic fortunes by way of revenue from tourism or the aggregates they get from them in commercial quantities. 

A section of the community, particularly the youth, is of the view that beyond the aggregates, there are other mineral deposits beneath these hills that could be exploited.

Some foreign investors have taken advantage of the hills by setting up quarry firms in which they engage the youths of the host communities. However, most of the affected youths work under inhuman conditions which oftentimes cause friction between them and the investors.

Sunday Adebayo, one of the youths in Idere, Ibarapa Central, Oyo State, believes that the hills that surround the community if exploited could produce mineral resources.

“With my little knowledge, I know that beneath those rocky hills, there are mineral resources which if exploited could turn around the fortune of this community,” he said.

Aligning himself with Adebayo’s views, Prince Adeoye, a native of Ayete community in Ibarapa North, also expressed optimism that there are fortunes under the hills waiting to be exploited.

Adeoye told our correspondent that the community was not averse to breaking the rocky hills, but because of the closeness of the hills to the residential areas, embarking on such an expedition could amount to a huge risk.

He also said inhabitants of the town would not toy with the idea of blasting the rocky hill because there is a large volume of water under it.

“There is a hill in our community that has water underneath. If you dare break it, the current of the water could sweep the entire Ibarapa away,” Adeoye posited.

On the part of the inhabitants of Otan Ayegbaju, a community in Boluwaduro Local Government Area, Osun State, beyond the presence of mineral deposits under these hills is their historical importance to the town. He said matter of factly that the siting of the town in a valley surrounded by rocks informed by the people’s need for security.

Still, like the people of Idere and Ayete, a section of the town’s dwellers believe that the rocky hills have been left untapped because of fear that the town would be washed away by water.

However, the traditional ruler of the town, in an earlier report, faulted this, saying it was a fable.

He said: “We believe that water cannot overrun Otan if they break the rocky hills. We believe that there is no danger.

“Even if it (danger) exists, those doing the findings will know where to break that would not pose any danger.

“Mind you, we will not allow them, for any reason, to touch where our ancestors are.

“And if they refuse to listen, we know what to do.”

An elder in the town, Bakare Adebiyi, said there had been an attempt to break the rocky hills by a foreigner who believed that there was gold in them. “But he had to stop when he was warned that the gods would be angry and wash the town away.” Adebiyi pleaded with the government to send geologists to the town to carry out research towards unearthing the potential goldmine that may be locked under the rocks. “We are calling on the government to do something because we believe there are several mineral resources under the rocks.

“If the government establishes companies here, the investment will be worthwhile,” he said.

Lending credence to the belief that the hills could be trapping large volumes of water, an indigene of the town, Anthony Fasami, said “nobody has been able to confirm whether there are natural resources under those hills or not. But we heard that there is a huge reserve of water inside the rock.”

However, while the natives continue to debate on whether there are mineral resources in the hills or not, a geologist at the Osun State University, Osogbo, Dr. Tesleem Kolawole, said less attention is paid to mining what is beneath the hills in the country because they are usually granites and gneisses, which are mostly not mineralised.

According to him, they are mainly useful for aggregates for construction purposes, except for special cases where you may find mineral deposits in the rocks.

“In such cases, the mineral deposits may have been weathered and found as alluvial deposits in surrounding streams and river beds. Hence, the need to explore from the surrounding rocks,” Kolawole said.

He stated further that many investors may not be exploring hills for mineral resources because of the cost of exploration and exploitation i.e. a situation where the cost of getting to where the mineral deposits are located within the rocks may be far higher than the expected profit after mining.

“Government policies could also discourage investors because there used to be a lot of bottlenecks in acquiring mining licences from the government, which usually discourage investors to pursue the license,” he argued.

He also said the local factor could be a hindrance which,  according to him, may be minor but also important.

“The age-long tradition that the hills are sacred and the locals or land owners may not allow people to trespass is a deterrent to investors,” he said.

He stated further that in some instances, the presence of rocks and mountains has impeded the construction work on major roads. For example, those who constructed Otan-Eripa Road, Osun State, rather than breaking the rocky hill obstructing the road construction, found a way around it.

The general belief has been that any attempt to remove the hill would cause the community to be swept away. But contrary to the views held by natives, that water will sweep the whole community, Kolawole said although most of the rocks can actually produce water because of their secondary porosity (fractures), they cannot sweep the whole community.

“Therefore, with proper planning and construction, even the waters will serve as a plus; hence we talk of mine water drainage and how to recycle them,” he said.

Dr. Jerry Olajide-Kayode, also from the Department of Geological Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, said the cheapest resource to obtain from the hills/rocks is construction aggregates.

“This is what the quarries mine. While there may be some minerals in the rocks, exploiting them is usually expensive and they may also not be in economic quantities,” he said. According to him, minerals such as gold, lead, zinc, columbite, tantalite, tin or even gemstones could be found beneath these rocks and hills.

This, however, he said “is a function of the nature of the rocks that make up the hills, and where they are located.”

The Nation gathered that except for those doing quarry business, little attention is paid to investing in exploiting these hills and rocks because of finance which is a major element.

Mineral exploration is very expensive and very capital intensive. Unlike the relatively quick returns from quarrying, one could go years before making any ROI on mineral exploration. Also, the quantum of studies and tests that needed to be done before quarrying is far, far less than those required for mineral exploration.

Dr. Jerry Olajide-Kayode dismissed the claim that the water from the hills and rocks are capable of swallowing a town/city. He described this as just a myth.

However, he said, water can accumulate in the hills and rocks by seeping into the cracks in it. This could be stored to a reasonable domestic (or sometimes industrial) quantity.

He posited that the road contractors who avoid mountains and rocks while constructing roads  are “most likely doing so for economic reasons, that is, what it will cost to remove the rock will be disproportionately more than just constructing the road around it.”

In some communities, despite the need for space, the rocks and hills still remain. But he explained that they remain not only because of the cost of removing them but also as a result of the cultural or traditional beliefs about the rocks.

He advised the government to use the rocks and hills “not only as construction aggregates and for aesthetics (e.g. kitchen counters, table tops, tiles, etc), but exploring their potential to host minerals.

He added that there are also some nice rock exposures that are “textbook” examples and very good teaching aids. These rocks, he said, should be protected and preserved.

Dr. Charles Adebayo Oyelami of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, said oftentimes, the government is more concerned about monetary gains than building a sustainable environment governed by the laws. This, he said, has made many investors lose interest in exploring what is beneath the rocks and the hills.

While disclosing that the government policies and bottlenecks in the acquisition of mining licenses have encouraged more illegal mining, he said “minerals exist in the rocks and not beneath. Availability is dependent on many factors that are geological and based on the kind of environment.

“It is true that beneath rocks we have aquifers (units that store water). With proper planning, however, even the water will serve as a plus.”

Oyelami also said while the spaces for constructing houses may be limited, many may not touch these hills because of the resources required to blast rocks for building purposes, hence it may be more economical to move to places that are more construction friendly.

He said the rocks are great assets to the government if properly harnessed, adding that investment in mining and exploration should be encouraged and incentives given to potential investors.

He also said the superstitions and unnecessary regard for old traditions deter potential investors from quarrying those rocks for aggregates.

He dismissed the belief that huge water volume is trapped in the rocky hills, saying: “No such quantity of water is found within or at the base of those rocks, as they are crystalline rocks with poor porosity and permeability.

“If blasted, the locals will want to physically fight back or use diabolical means because of the preservation of age-long traditions.

Most of the rocks are gneiss and granites and are good for construction aggregates if they are coarse-grained or may be suitable for polishing if they are fine-grained.”

He added that there is no noticeable mineralization in most of those gneisses and granites, adding that if they are not close to residential areas, they can be quarried.

• Bereaved father of 14-day-old baby

IDI Bakyu, a widower and father of a two-weeks-old baby, wore a pensive mien as he sat at the entrance of his house in Obume, a community in Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, surrounded by sympathisers.

A victim of the cash crunch that has hit the populace on account of the naira notes redesigning policy of the Federal Government, he had lost his wife few hours after she was delivered of a baby boy due to the complications that arose from the labour she underwent and his inability as the husband to obtain cash from the bank for his wife’s transportation to the hospital for the urgent medical attention she needed.

He had travelled from Obume to Lafia, the state capital, in the hope of withdrawing money and getting a vehicle to convey his wife to the hospital, but he ended up spending the whole day in the bank without being able to get any money. In the process, his wife and nursing mother bled until she passed away, leaving her two-week old baby behind.

Bakyu, who said he felt a sense of guilt over his wife’s death, told our correspondent that he would not have got her pregnant if he knew there would be no naira notes to cater for her health.

He said: “If I had seen death coming, if I had known that the new naira notes would not be available for me to take care of her medical bills, I would not have allowed her to get pregnant.

“If I had known that getting my wife pregnant would amount to a journey of no return, I would certainly not have impregnated her.

“If I had known that the bank would deny me my money, I would not have opened an account with them.”

For close associates of the Bakyu family, the pains inflicted by the untimely death of his wife, Therizer, is better imagined.

Waiting for four years for the fruit of the womb after marriage, Therizer finally got pregnant and looked eagerly forward to the birth of her first baby.

The day finally came and she had to be delivered of the baby at home because it was difficult to get cash around and the belief that she could be delivered of her baby at home like many other women.

Fate however had other ideas the difficulty in getting cash conspired with the belief that Therizer could deliver the baby on her own became Bakyu’s greatest undoing.

The decased mother was said to have suddenly fallen into labour at about 9 pm on Wednesday February 8, gave birth at about 8 am the following while complications arose and she died at about 7 pm the same day because he could not muster the cash to move her to Lafia for medical attention.

Before her death, Therizer was said to have continually complained of excruciating pains in the stomach after she was delivered of her baby, prompting the husband rush to Lafia in order to access the money in his bank account. However, the CBN policy on naira redesigning prevented him from getting the money he desired.

Narrating his ordeal in an interview with our correspondent, Bakyu said he is the only son of his late parents, and was unable to further his education beyond secondary school and has been a farmer all his life.

He had got married to Therizer about four years ago with both of them residing in the village as farmers.  As it turned out, the marriage did not yield any fruit until Therizer took in last year.

Due to incessant attacks by killer herdsmen in the area, Bakyu decided to open a bank account in Lafia to enable him save the proceeds of his farming activities. He said: “I had up to N300,000 in my account, when my wife was pregnant. She was actually attending antenatal in Lafia, coming from the village until mid-January when the scarcity of naira set in and the stress of travelling made her to abandon her  routine medical check-ups.

“It became very difficult for us to access our cash in the bank. Two days to her delivery, I spent all my time in the bank trying to get at least N100,000 to buy the items expected for her delivery and probably medical bills, but I could not get cash. I spend all of the two days queuing in the bank without getting cash.

“When she went into labour, the women around the village decided that since there was no cash to facilitate her transportation to the hospital and settle the bills, she should deliver her baby in the village.

“She fell into labour in the evening while I was going from one PoS to another but the charges were too high for me to get the amount I needed for her delivery.

“She was eventually delivered of a baby boy the next morning, but the bleeding did not stop.

“Then, I was already in Lafia trying to get cash to buy what was needed but I couldn’t get any cash, and the women around her kept calling me to arrange a vehicle.

“But it was not possible because there was no cash to buy fuel at N450 per litre and even the fuel not available. That was how my wife bled until she died.”

Bakyu added: “My wife died under extreme pains. I missed her spiritual guidance and intercessions which were key to building our marriage.

“She made me a compassionate person. Her memory would remain fresh in my mind.

“Few days before she went into labour, we were discussing the future of her unborn baby and how she would want her children to be educated, and she was very happy. I never knew that  her death was near.

“Man proposes, God disposes. I don’t know how I’m going to manage but I pray God to help me.

“My joy has been stolen. I am only managing. My wife’s demise has left me distraught.”

He recalled how he and his wife had sat down and made plans after she brought him news that she was pregnant with their first child.

The couple, according to him, had even started making arrangements to buy things as they patiently awaited the birth of their first baby.

“I was very happy when she told me that she was pregnant. We sat down, held each other’s hands and talked about our plans for the family.

“My wife was a gift to me. She stood by me through thick and thin. We had started planning for the baby and buying things in readiness for it’s birth.

“We were so happy and really looking forward to the birth of a new baby to join the family soon. We had made the necessary preparations, but God came from nowhere and took away my joy for no reason.

“In 2015 and 2019, I abandoned my farm work to trek a distance to vote for Buhari. I didn’t know that he would introduce a policy that is against his people to the extent that it would take my wife’s life.

“Together with her, we laboured to get our money, opened an account and deposited it there for future use. The time to use the money came and the bank said I could not access it. My wife suffered, bled and died because I could not withdraw our money.

“They took away my wife without any provocation and turned our joy into sadness. God will surely visit whoever implemented this wicked policy with calamity wherever they are.”

Bakyu’s case is like that of many other families who have become victims of death in labour.

During our correspondent’s visit to Ibum village, it he observed that the villagers had yet to overcome the tragedy that recently befell them.

Some of them were seen discussing in hush tones as they appeared to be pondering over their future with the policy since they had deposited all their savings in their bank accounts.

Ibum village is an agrarian community with its residents predominantly relying on subsistence farming as their means of livelihood, but incessant attacks by herdsmen prompted them to start saving their money in the bank where they can’t get it when it is needed.

Recalling his moments with his wife and the dream of seeing their first child: Bakyu said: “I’m afraid to go to bed because I have been having nightmares since my wife left me ” he he said amid tears.

His mother-in-law, Mrs Williams, who was sighted by our correspondent crying helplessly, blame d the federal government for implementing the anti-people policy that denied his son in-law the money to take her daughter to the hospital.

She described her daughter as a well cultured woman who practised what she believed in.

“It is a big blow to my entire family. She was down to earth and humble.

“I pray God almighty to grant her gentle soul eternal rest.

“I will take the little boy home to help my son in-law look after him,” she said.

• Lament absence of food, soap, others
• Record seven deaths, nine newborn babies

Gwada, a community in Shiroro Local Government Area located about 33 kilometres away from Minna, Niger State capital, currently hosts two camps of persons displaced by bandits and terrorists. Justina Asishana paid a visit to the camp to interact with some residents recently displaced by the air strikes in Galadima Gogo community in the state.

I have not washed my undergarments for some days now because I have no money to buy a detergent. We left home in a rush and could not take anything,” said Ramat Umar, an indigene of Zazaga community and refugee in one of the two internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Gwada, a community in Shiroro Local Government Area, Niger State.

Umar, who was nursing a two-year-old boy, spoke of how they had not been feeding well in camp due to non-availability of food and lack of money to purchase same from traders outside the camp.

Umar is one of the more 500 women who are currently taking refuge at the IDP camp located at the Central Primary school in Gwada, facing severe unhygienic conditions as they have no resources to buy soap or detergent to bathe and wash their clothes, especially their undergarments.

Healthshots, a website that focuses on wellness, believes that not changing undergarments daily would lead to an individual developing foul odour as the discharge and moist build up on the underwear throughout the day and provides an excellent breeding ground for bacteria, yeast and fungi that are often contaminated with faecal and urine matter.

Unfortunately, some women who spoke with our correspondent at Gwada complained that they had not washed their clothes since they arrived in camp 10 days ago, adding that they only bathed only with the water they are able to get from the tap within the school where the camp is located.

 “Look at our children; they are very dirty. We just pour water on them and wear clothes for them. We have not washed since we came to camp.

“You may see some clothes on the floor; it is because some people washed without using detergent or soap,” one of the IDPs who identified herself as Maryam lamented.

 We are suffering, IDPS lament

While the women are worried about poor hygiene in the camp, the men are worried about the lack of food and the inability of their families to eat regularly in a day.

The IDPs told The Nation during the visit to the camp that they were suffering from lack of food and other basic necessities, appealing to government, individuals and organisations to come to their aid before they die of hunger.

Yayaha Dogo, one of the oldest inmates of the Gwada IDP camp, said he had spent about four years in the camp since his village, Kauri, located at the border between Kaduna and Niger states, was taken over by terrorists.

He said that they had not received any food intervention from government in the past four months, adding that the majority of them in the camp, including the women, had to work as labourers at construction sites or carriers of goods in the market to enable them get money to fend for themselves and their families.

Dogo said: “We have no food and some other basic things we need. Even medical services are not available and the primary healthcare centre that is close here collects money before they attend to any of us that is sick.

“There is no consideration that because we are displaced, we should be treated free of charge. “We are just here, abandoned by the government and we cannot go back to our homes because they have been occupied by terrorists. Even those who managed to go there saw that they have removed all the roofs on our houses and the presence of the terrorists is strong.

“So anyone who goes there will have to make a death wish because he or she will surely be killed.” 

The Desk Officer of the Gwada IDP Camp, Mallam Habibu Musa Kurebe, confirmed that there had been no food brought to the camp and the people have been left to fend for themselves.

He said: “For the past four to five months, this camp has not received any intervention. They need help with food, schooling for their children and medicals.

“Last year, about seven IDPs died in the camp when there was a cholera outbreak. Nine babies were given birth to in this camp last year. The delivery was done in the camp because they had no money to go to the hospital for delivery. One of the women gave birth to twins.

“It is frustrating that the state government is not giving any intervention to this camp anymore, especially as this is a government-recognized camp.

“This development has made the new local government chairmen of Munya and Shiroro local government areas threaten to resign because of government inaction towards the people affected by terrorist attacks.

“They are helpless because they have no resources to take care of these people and they are new in office,” Kurebe said.

New surge in IDP camp

On Tuesday, January 24, Galadima Kogo and its environs in Shiroro Local Government Area were bombed by an aircraft flying through. And during the same period, terrorists ransacked some other communities in the local government area.

The recent terrorist attacks on villages created a surge in IDPs in the Gwada camp as displaced people from Kpma Kpma, Kapila, Guni, Chibani, Zazaga, Churi, Banape, Kuchi and other communities besieged the camp for refuge.

 According to Kurebe, over 1,700 new IDPs were received as a result of the recent attacks while some are taking refuge in the other IDP camp which is at the Model Primary School in Gwada and others are holding out in relatives’ houses across Gwada.

One of the new IDPs in the camp, Ladi Ahmadu, lamented that they had to spend two days in the bush to avoid terrorists, and since their arrival at the camp, they had been unable to get soap or detergent to wash their clothes or clean themselves.

“These are the clothes I have been wearing for days. Even my undies, I cannot wash them. It is as bad as that here,” she lamented.

Karima Ibrahim, who escaped from Zazaga community, said: “We are suffering here. We have not got any decent food to eat since we came here. They said the government has not been bringing food to them. I guess we are lucky that we have water but there is no soap or detergent. How are we going to keep ourselves clean?”

“We cannot go back home to pick up our food because those terrorists are surrounding our village. There are some people who are still in the village and they cannot come out because the roads are blocked by these wicked people.

“Our children are the ones suffering the most. You know you cannot explain to children that there is no food or they cannot change their clothes. It is just too bad.

“We are trying to manage but it is not easy. Our children keep crying for hunger. Even firewood, we cannot buy to cook the little food we gather from people around and sometimes, we eat half-cooked food as the little firewood we can gather gets finished before the food gets cooked.”

Ibrahim also lamented the living and sleeping condition in the camp, disclosing that they are made to vacate the makeshift classrooms turned into rooms daily for pupils who take classes in the morning.

“It is strange that when the children come to school, we have to leave the classroom and stay outside until they are through with classes for that day before we can go back to the classroom and do anything we need to do.

“Even the classrooms are not sufficient for us to sleep in and some stand to sleep at night while others make do with sleeping outside the classrooms,”

 Appeal to Government

The IDPs appealed to the government and well-meaning individuals and NGOs to come to their aid and make their stay in the IDP camp less strenuous.

Ramat Umar said: “Please, they should come and give us food and wrappers. We have no wrappers except the ones we are putting on. We need clothes for our children, mats to sleep on, underwear, blankets and medication.

“There is cold and most of our children have catarrh, malaria and fever. We need medications because we have no money to buy drugs.”

The Secretary to the Niger State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, had said last week that relief materials were being processed to take to the victims, but the majority of the victims have not got any relief material.

When the Reporter called the Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Ibrahim Inga, to ask why relief materials had not been supplied to the Gwada IDP camp, he did not pick his call and did not reply to the messages sent into his phone.