‘We can’t stop mining’

Between 2010 to date, more children have either died or suffered some form of misfortune following their continuous exposure to lead by miners in the village that has vowed to continue the illegal act even as more children are at the risk of losing their lives.Bagegga, came to international lame light in 2010 as a […]

Between 2010 to date, more children have either died or suffered some form of misfortune following their continuous exposure to lead by miners in the village that has vowed to continue the illegal act even as more children are at the risk of losing their lives.
Bagegga, came to international lame light in 2010 as a result of the activities of the artisanal miners who in search of gold brought havoc to the children who were vulnerable to lead, one of the substances released from the processing of gold.
Apart from the over 500 children who died from lead poison, the entire village was polluted as the soil and water sources in the area were contaminated.
Dr Kabiru Ibrahim Getso, a medical expert with the Nigeria Field Epidemology and Laboratory Training Programme in Abuja noted that when children are exposed to lead, a substance that contaminates the gold which they mine, their brains become retarded, lowering their IQ, and that their blood is also affected causing anaemia and their kidneys damaged.
Getso who has participated in medical intervention in Bagegga, said that women who are exposed to lead have reproductive challenges such as abortion and it may result in infertility in men.
The mining activities going on in Bagegga have been declared illegal by government but have continued to thrive in the village.
International medical teams from foreign non-governmental organisation, Doctors without Borders, were providing the impacted children with medication.
Alhaji Adamu Seko, Chairman of the Bagegga Mining Association told Daily Trust that they cannot stop the mining.
“We don’t have land to farm; there is no office or factory work for us to do. What we can do in the absence of no work is to mine. Yes, we are aware that our actions have led to so many deaths but stopping it is impossible,” he added.
According to him, the miners have established some code of conduct for all in the area to ensure that conscious efforts were made in reducing deaths from their activities.
“We have moved all processing out of the village, every miner is to have another set of clothing apart from his work clothes that way contamination is restricted to the mining sites which is far away from our houses.
“We are also contributing our quota to the village by building mosque, primary school and assisting villagers who have health challenges with cash to augment their medical bills,” he said.
Daily Trust check revealed that the children who were regarded as the most vulnerable group to lead have continued to play active role at the mining sites especially in the processing.
The children are involved in every chain of the processing and this development, according to Dr Getso, may result in them having skin cancer following their handling of mercury, a chemical used by the children in extracting the gold.