As Enugu marks 70 years since coal mining began in the region, stakeholders have raised serious concerns about the long-term environmental and health impacts of the mining activities.
The exploration of coal began proper in present day Enugu State in 1909, with production at the mines in Onyeama, Ogbete, Iva Valley and Okpara climbing from 25, 511 tons in 1916 to an estimated 583,422 tons before a decline set in during the Nigerian Civil War which started in 1967 and ended 1970. At the end of the war most parts of the South east had been ravaged and many expatriate mining experts, mostly from Britain and Poland left Nigeria.
The exit of experts coupled with the discovery of commercial quantities of crude oil made the Nigerian government complacent as it abandoned coal mining and the massive infrastructure at the mines managed then by the Nigerian Coal Corporation (NCC). The NCC tried to manage operations unsuccessfully for another 30 years but it did not succeed. It finally folded up in 2002.
The executive director, Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI), Philip Jakpor, at a Town hall and media discussion on coal mining in Enugu, affirmed that the former miners were not laid off and neither was their employment terminated, adding that the only legacy of mining the few still alive have is the Colliery Quarters near Iva Valley where those whose properties were not sold by the government still live- these processes notwithstanding, illegal mining continues in Enugu.
"Our worry is that nearly 70 years of coal mining activity did not leave any positive legacy for Enugu; not on its finances or its environment and definitely not for the few surviving former coal miners, many of whom live in squalor, deprivation and regret. It is on this premise that rather than promote investment in dirty energy, the Enugu state government with ample evidence of the consequences of coal on the environment should be in the vanguard for calls for a just energy transition that respects the people and the environment," Jakpor averred.
Recall that the federal government signed a $3.7 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm-HTG-Pacific Energy Consortium, to generate power from coal in Enugu. That development unsettled the local communities, most of whom were in the dark as regards the project and its likely impact on their environment, the executive director averred, while explaining further that, "In 2013 the coalfields were sold by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to new owners with a working agreement with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to generate an estimated 1,000 megawatts from coal. Sadly, that initiative is yet to see the light of day."
Though the Enugu state government announced a ban on illegal mining in Enugu and began the sealing of illegal coal mining sites, Jakpor said this is done without environmental impact certifications and mitigation to checkmate activities of artisanal miners. "While this action was good, we had anticipated that the state government would work with the federal government to carry out an environmental audit to ascertain the true health of the bed rocks to continue to sustain life in Enugu. There are fears that Enugu may be sitting on a time bomb due to the underground mining that happened during the mining periods.
"We believe that the right thing to have been done is to begin the decommissioning of sites that had become moribund and dangerous for the locals. But instead it would seem the state government embarked on a recertification exercise of miners. The announcement last month by the Enugu State Government of December as the deadline for mineral title holders to commence coal mining operations in the state lends credence to our argument," he added.
Jakpor therefore called on the state government to impress on the federal government to commence full and detailed audit of the post coal mining in Enugu; decommission moribund mines to avoid further environment degradation and loss of human life; profile former miners and adequate compensation paid to them; inform and regularly update citizens of Enugu on what's going on in regards to coal mining; make public the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the selected firms; explore potentials in renewable energy sources and support mining communities to form a network to share ideas, monitor their environment and report unsustainable practices by firms engaging in coal extraction in their communities.
In the same vein, the project officer, Neighborhood Environmental Watch (NEW) Foundation, Afulike Okezie, said communities are confronted with a critical issue that affects not just the economic landscape, but also their health and well-being, as well as the sustainability of their environment. "Coal mining, while historically significant, has left a complex legacy--one that includes both opportunities and challenges. We need to address the full spectrum of coal mining's effects, especially the often-overlooked environmental degradation and health risks it poses," Okezie stated.
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Executive director, Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) Barrister Chima Williams, added, "We must remind those in government that they are tasked with managing what sustains us hence they should concern themselves with the impacts that coal has on the lives and livelihoods of locals including veterans of coal mining."
For the director, Campaigns and Administration, Community Development Advocacy Foundation (CODAF), Ubrei Joe-Mariere, "The Enugu state government should not be talking of mining at this time when the global community is moving in the direction of clean energy. Coal mining disrupts the social and economic lives of local communities. It is a major cause of landslides, erosion and large scale mining favours only the multinationals. In mining communities, the relationship between the mining firms and communities is always fractured."
