The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State, Prof Mu’azu Abubakar, has expressed concern that the state may be consumed by the lead poisoning problem in the near future, if urgent steps are not taken.
Abubakar, who presented a paper titled “From Gold to Poison” during a one-day maiden seminar organised by the Centre for Environmental Research and Sustainability of the university on Thursday, said the state was sitting on a time bomb due to mining activities taking place in all parts of the state.
According to him, due to the abundance of gold and other mineral resources in almost every part of the state, thousands of both legal and illegal miners have invaded Zamfara, resulting in a high risk of contracting lead poisoning.
He said due to the gold discovery, many people had abandoned their businesses and ventured into illegal mining, which he described as dangerous to their health.
The don said, “Many people have abandoned their businesses because of the gold mining, which is more lucrative.
“Farming activities are also seriously affected, where you can hardly see cotton being sold in our ginneries, and this has resulted in the closure of all the textile industries in the state.”
He lamented that even school-age children had taken to gold mining, abandoning their studies, adding that if care was not taken, the entire state could one day be declared a danger zone as far as lead poisoning is concerned.
“The mining activity is seriously causing great havoc to our communities because of the lead poison issue.”
“If you could recall, many children have died of lead poison in Zamfara, while several others are physically deformed, Abubakar stated.”
He explained that despite the ban on mining by previous administrations, more than 100,000 artisanal miners and other licensed companies were currently mining in the state, stressing that “all these are compounding issues of lead poisoning.”
Abubakar also linked banditry to gold mining, explaining that some highly placed individuals were using bandits to scare away locals and gain access to the gold.
“You can imagine that despite the persistent killings and kidnappings, there are many gold miners and mining companies in Zamfara State, but you hardly hear any news where the miners are attacked by bandits.”
“This is an indication that the miners are together with the bandits.”
He called on relevant authorities to rescue the state from both the danger of lead poisoning and the scourge of banditry before it is too late.
Responding, the Managing Director of the Zamfara State Mineral Development Company, Nasir Alhassan, stated that the state government would take measures to tackle both the lead poisoning problem and insecurity.
Alhassan also assured that the state government would look into the possibility of creating a centre for the control of lead poisoning at the university.
