Odagbo coal: Open letter to Ministers Nebu, Sada

To the indigenes of Odagbo in Ojoku district of Anpka Local Government Area of Kogi State, the recent investment in the coal sub-sector in the solid minerals industry is a welcome development for the Odagbo a host community of huge coal deposit. Coal was discovered in 1957 and mining started there 10 years later in […]

To the indigenes of Odagbo in Ojoku district of Anpka Local Government Area of Kogi State, the recent investment in the coal sub-sector in the solid minerals industry is a welcome development for the Odagbo a host community of huge coal deposit. Coal was discovered in 1957 and mining started there 10 years later in 1967, to fuel locomotive engines conveying federal troops who fought to keep the nation intact. The Nigerian government relied solely on Odagbo’s coal to move troops during the ill-fated civil war that ended in 1970 with neither a victor nor a vanquished.
The story did not end there; when the Federal Government floated the defunct Nigeria Coal Corporation (NCC), Odagbo coal through the NCC contributed immensely to the growth of the coal sector, nay the nation’s economy in general. At a point, when the Onyeama and Nkalagu coal mines were exhausted, the Odagbo coal mine was the only available deposit that sustained the NCC before it was scrapped.
Private investors – one of them Nordic Trading Company Ltd, owned by a former head of state from the south-west, a former permanent secretary from the south-south and a first class emir in the far north, came into Odagbo and scooped the coal there to their fill, and left Odagbo grossly damaged in terms of farmlands and physical environment.
We have it on good authority that the current government, in implementing its sold minerals investment policies has since given out the Odabgo coal portion to investors from eastern Nigeria. Why these investors had not gotten into the Odagbo coal mine now is thankfully, due to the intervention of some activist-Igala sons and daughters. These our kith and kin insist that the Environmental Assessment Impact (EAI) done in respect of the Odagbo coal is not only lopsided, but also lacks a human face to the gross disadvantage of the host community. What we heard from impeccable sources is that from the new investment agreement with private hands, it is very likely that the entire village could be relocated.
Ordinarily, Odagbo community should be happy that with investment in its coal, it means development for the area and empowerment for the indigenes. But recent development does not suggest that. Recently, there was road construction from Ojoku through Ajobe to Okaba. Instead of continuing with road construction to Odagbo which is less than four kilometers from Okaba, the road project being executed by the Kogi State government that is supposed to protect our interests as a host community with economic viability more than the other areas, terminated the road project at Okaba. This road used to be passable some two decades ago, but now it is the worst road in this part of the world. This singular act has only reinforced the fears of Odagbo people that the neglect we have suffered and the damage to our environment over the decades, are far from over despite our invaluable contribution to the nation’s economy.
Several times, both Ministers Nebo and Sada, had spoken and made references to investments in the coal industry sometimes referring to a so-called Okaba coal as part of the entire coal deposit in Kogi State. Here, the ministers are being misled on the so-called Okaba coal, because   the defunct NCC has erroneously named a branch of the corporation as Okaba mine instead of Odagbo mine. Ask an average true Ojoku man, he will readily tell you that Okaba is not Odagbo, though both are of the same ancestry in Ojoku-Ibagele. The mix-up has been as a result of conspiracy to prevent Odagbo from getting what ordinarily is rightfully due to it.
That mix-up is responsible for the subjugation, neglect and other underdevelopment that have been continuously visited on Odagbo and its people. We do not have any government presence in terms of health facilities and good schools. Our electricity supply, which has been on-and-off, has completely gone off for more than a year now. This is in addition to the damage to and encroachment on our land. As it is the practice in other parts of Nigeria where host communities indigenes are considered for employment and compensation as it is the case with Niger Delta, Odagbo and its indigenes have nothing tangible to show for the coal under the belly of its land.  Instead, it is other people who are enjoying the golden egg laid by the goose. Also, a traditional ruler in Ankpa has reportedly fixed his son in one of the prospecting private companies, under the guise that he represents Odagbo and its people. That is not acceptable because we are not a part to the arrangement.
Currently, our people are being short-changed by the so-called miners mostly of Igbo extraction, who come to Odagbo to mine coal. They deceive our people into subletting their land for exploration at the pittance of N10 million for 10 years. Government has to move in fast to stop this unwholesome practice. What is this thing about the Igbos indiscreetly over-taking viable economic concerns in Igalaland? Sure, this is with the active connivance of our sell-out traditional leaders, but this is an issue for another day.
Back to the vexed issue at hand, the villagers of Odagbo are worried that government is undertaking investment in coal including that of Odagbo, which also stretches into the belly of Obgoyaga in Benue State, without involving indigenes of host communities. From 1967 to 2014 is 47 years. A 47-year-old man is old enough to know what is good for him. What we are saying is that as host communities of coal in Odagbo, we have come of age to be able to determine our own destiny. If in 1967, our parents had been cheated because they never had the Ken Saro-Wiwas and Ledum Mittes to bring their suffering to the fore; it is no longer so now.  Today, Odagbo can boast of men and women who can drive the area’s development. We do not need big-men as Okaba does have, to be able us to undertake development projects. We have skillful manpower to do just that.
We want to assure Ministers Nebo and Sada that we not onnly welcome the investments in the nation’s coal sector; we are fully ready to be part of the investment process right from start to finish, because we too are major stakeholders as far as coal is concerned. There is the Odagbo Community Development Association (OCDA) with active branches in Odagbo, Lokoja, Kaduna, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos. It is through this OCDA that we have rebuilt our public school the Kogi State government has neglected since it built that school some 22 years ago. The government would do a lot in recognising the rights of the indigenes of the host communities in involving them through the OCDA in whatever it needs to do as far as the Odagbo coal is concerned.
Omonu-Ojoku writes from Abuja [email protected]