By Babatunde Ayedoju

With the realities of climate change that keep staring at everyone of us, it will not be an exaggeration to say that we all have a duty to preserve our environment from further damage. However, it is sad to see that some individuals continue to engage in activities that can put the environment in jeopardy. Such is the case of some illegal miners who engage in indiscriminate excavation of sand beyond acceptable level from different spots in Ondo State.

Sand itself is a gift of nature that is found everywhere around us. It constitutes a very significant portion of the earth surface and is useful to man in many ways. Aside covering the earth surface, it provides a platform for man to walk on and do almost every other thing that is necessary for his survival on earth.

Just like every other gift of nature, man has found several ways to exploit sand for his benefit. An example is in building and some other forms of construction. To get the required amount of sand in cases like this, people usually have to excavate or mine sand. Sand excavation is the expulsion of sand, usually from an open pit. However, it can also be mined from sand dunes, beaches and even dredged from rivers and ocean beds.

However, sand mining activities have been found to be a major cause of erosion and deforestation, especially in Nigeria’s riverine southern region, thereby posing a very big threat to the ecosystem.

Early in November, a monitoring team from the Ondo State Environmental Protection Agency (OSEPA) busted some illegal excavation sites on the outskirts of Akure, the Ondo State capital. Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Environmental Matters, Mr Oyeniyi Oseni, who led the monitoring team, held a meeting with the leadership of associations involved in sand mining, including the Association of Sand Quarry Operators and Suppliers (ASQOSOS), Union of Tipper, Quarry Employees of Nigeria (UTQEN) and the Seriki Hausawa of Shasha Market, Shehu Ibrahim Dangari.

Oseni who read the riot act to mining operatives in Ondo State said that the Ondo State Government would no longer tolerate any deviation from extant regulations and operational guidelines, as applicable to sand mining activities in the Sunshine State, because anything short of that could lead to a long term devaluation of the environment and undermine the safety of the public.

He enjoined the miners to always obtain necessary permits from OSEPA, refrain from digging below the permissible level and always cover their trucks while conveying their products within the town.

Oyeniyi equally sounded a note of warning that the Governor Akeredolu-led administration would no longer tolerate illegal and indiscriminate excavation or digging of land by members of the affected unions without first securing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) from Ondo State Environmental Protection Agency (OSEPA).

His words: “Before now, some months ago, we called a meeting of these associations as regards their activities in the state. We notice the level of environmental degradation caused by their activities without any form of remediation in those sites. So, we notice that after the meeting, nothing was done based on what we agreed upon.

“After series of reports from the people of Ondo State, we moved to various sites to see for ourselves, to inspect the level of damage and havoc caused to our environment as a result of their activities – digging the land indiscriminately even at a closer proximity the developed areas.

“So, we called them to be able to control their activities, and tell them what to do so as not to incur the wrath of the law. We have told them that the Environmental Law is there. And anybody that violates it will be sanctioned”, Oyeniyi stressed.

In addition, the OSEPA Acting Permanent Secretary, Princess Korede Giwa, assured that henceforth, a Taskforce would aggressively monitor the activities of sand miners with a view to enforcing operational ethics and protocols in order to protect the environment, lives and properties of the citizens.

Meanwhile, leaders of the affected unions appreciated government efforts at curtailing environmental degradation in the state, with a promise to work with government to protect the environment.

Commenting on the ugly trend, Professor Adediran Ikuomola from the Department of Criminology and Security Studies, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, opined that if people who are in the business of mining sand have received the necessary permit from the government, they should know the limit of their operation and stop once they get to that limit.

Talking about the dangers of illegal sand excavation, Ikuomola said that it creates problems for future occupants of the area, such that people will have to spend a lot of money refilling the surface before they can build houses there.

“In addition, it devalues the land, as the owners may have to sell it at a cheap price in future. That is aside the fact that it becomes a death trap for animals and human beings. The land is useless and cannot even be used for farming,” he said.

The seasoned criminologist, while noting that some of the perpetrators act with impunity, emphasised that government has to be more firm with regulating and monitoring the activities of sand miners, in order to save our ecosystem.

Similarly, Dr Oladotun Oluwajana, a senior lecturer from the Department of Earth Science, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, emphasised that sand miners ought to get the necessary approval from the government before operating in any part of the state, insisting that their activities become illegal once they operate without getting such approval. He clarified that such approval from the government is necessary because the government would have done Environmental Impact Assessment, which will reveal areas where excavation can be done and the limit that must not be exceeded.

He warned that unapproved and excessive sand excavation, most of the time, leads to flood which in turn results in collapse of buildings and loss of lives.

Dr Olubusayo Olatunji, another geologist also from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, explained that sand excavation becomes dangerous once the miners begin to dig deep into the earth surface, creating what in a layman’s language can be called holes in the ground. In his words, “The land is therefore exposed to erosion, especially gully erosion. Within a short period, the gully erosion can lead to loss of lives and property, mostly houses.”

Olatunji who clarified that sand is one of the abundant natural resources that Nigeria is blessed with added that with proper regulation from the government, society will not only be saved from the hazards of illegal sand excavation but more jobs will be created in that sector.

Another geologist, Sharon Shallangwa, posited that excavation can be both good and bad. He explained that most of the resources that we need come from excavation because we may not get adequate quantities on the surface.

He, however, said that where sand excavation is done indiscriminately, the earth crust becomes loose, creating holes in the ground. In that kind of situation, water gathers and the place becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. In addition, he explained that it also leads to erosion or flood.