Mining: Group launches girl-child initiative in Nigeria

As part of activities marking this year’s International Women’s Day, a group of experts in natural resources business, under the umbrella of Women in Mining in Nigeria (WIMIN) has launched an initiative that is aimed at building the future of mining experts in the country.

Tagged “Girls 4 Mining,” and abbreviated as G4M, the group said the initiative is part of efforts at breaking all biases against women in line with the theme of this year’s annual IWD celebration.

The event, which was held in Abuja, was aimed at sensitising and mainstreaming the secondary school girls into the male-dominated sector in a “win them young approach, and thereby creating a sustainable mining sector.”

Nigeria’s minister of state for mines and steel development, Uchechukwu Ogah, in his keynote address, charged the participating students to redefine the future by engaging in sustainable courses.

He said: “I want to encourage the young girls that are here, the future of the world is mining and not oil and gas because in the next 30 years, fossil fuel will be gone and minerals will be the driver of every economy. We cannot drive a car without a battery and battery does not come from fossil fuel but minerals.

“You should begin to have interest in the future courses, the future of the world and getting interested in the things of the future of the world. You can change the thesis and theory around mining.”

Mr Ogah emphasised the need for the girls to redefine the future by engaging and building themselves in “courses of the future,” saying the current leadership in the country is set to exit the stage.

He said; “In the next few years, some of us might not be there. You should endeavor to read courses that are related to mining and would help in the development of the mining sector”.

In her remarks, the founder and president, WIMIN, Janet Adeyemi, said women are painstakingly paying for the injustice against them globally, adding; “the rise of women is not the downfall of men”.

Mrs Adeyemi noted that each year’s anniversary affords the world the opportunity to reflect on the existing gender gaps yet to be filled for the past century.

She said: “This year’s IWD is unique and historic as we shall all witness the birth of the Girls 4 Mining (G4M) society today. The G4M is a club within women in mining which will embrace young girls in secondary and tertiary institutions and bring them into close interaction with women in mining for mentorship towards a career in mining for our young girls.

“The G4M club will stimulate our girls’ interest in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and create a pipeline of knowledge and opportunities for the girls when they decide to join the mining sector.”

The veteran miner said she hopes that the initiative would witness the influx of more females into the mining sector and “significantly upscale the 6.8 per cent of female miners among the myriads of men in the mining sector”.

The director, artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) department, Patrick Ojeka, said the sector is globally known to be patriarchy, explaining that; “I just came back from the metals mine in Germany classed as the richest mine in the world where rock salt and potash have been mined since 1901.

‘It’s 800 metres below the ground and never permits any female to go down. The females are only involved in processing, value addition and the final packaging.”

He said the launching of G4M is, however, going to drive the understanding of the girl-child towards technical proficiencies.

“It’s important that creating girls for mining in the secondary school will now begin to create a mental focus,” he concluded.

Also speaking, Abiodun Baiyewu, executive director, Global Rights- a non-governmental organisation, said despite being half of the country’s population, women in Nigeria are marginalised and unfairly treated, leading to economic stagnation, hence the poor global rating.