Lives of children miners

Every morning, before the sun emerges over many mining communities in Nigeria, some children are already up and preparing for another day at a mining site. They are not attending school; instead, they don the attire of miners - shovels, pans, and working tools - and head to designated mining pits. Here, they work alongside adults, helping their families survive by digging through sand, rocks for gold and other minerals.

This work is not merely a job for these children; it is an everyday reality that entails long hours of arduous labor, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and machinery, as well as the loss of opportunities for formal education. Nigeria boasts a substantial artisanal and small-scale mining sector, with gold mining being one of the activities where child labor has been documented.

Factors such as poverty, limited access to education, and the need for additional household income contribute to children entering this sector. The gold recovered from the ground may provide immediate income, but the price paid is often higher when the child forfeits education, safety, and the chance to develop beyond the mine. The tragic incident in Niger State, where 37 teenage miners died while in custody, underscores the harsh reality faced by child miners.

Behind every statistic about mining lies a child miner whose childhood is often defined by poverty and work rather than classrooms. Tackling child labor in Nigeria's mining communities requires addressing the economic conditions that drive families into the sector and ensuring every child has a realistic path back to education and a safer future.

Nasarawa, a leading state in Nigeria with abundant mineral resources, has earned the moniker "Home of Solid Minerals." Its 13 local government areas are virtually saturated with these resources, leading to an influx of people, including underage children from nearby states, seeking to trade minerals for a living. At the Court Road mining site in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, Weekend Trust witnessed hundreds of children engaged in mining activities, some accompanied by their parents or under the watchful eyes of their masters.

One such miner is seven-year-old Uzina Ibrahim, who has never been enrolled in school. She works daily at the site to earn a living, packing and washing sand to extract tin. Despite the tedious conditions, she attributes her lack of enrollment in school to her parents' inability to afford it. She earns a daily wage of N1,500, sharing it with her mother.

One of the challenges she faces is the scarcity of water, which forces them to transport materials to distant water sources for washing. Lawrence Nanlep, a 15-year-old from Qua'an Pan Local Government Area, also works at the mining site, digging, washing, and selling minerals under a boss named Christian. He earns N10,000 daily but has no intention of leaving the trade, having been at it for just a month and a half.

Abdulmajid Habibu, a 14-year-old from Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State, mines iron ore. He earns a daily wage that varies between N1,000 and N10,000 and acknowledges that non-payment of wages by employers is a significant issue. His daily income is often unpredictable, ranging anywhere from N1,000 to N10,000 depending on the luck of the day.

Habibu, who does not have western education but attends a Quranic school, is an almajiri who studied religious texts. He speaks of non-payment of wages by employers as a major challenge, recounting an instance where his boss abandoned them without payment after a week of work. Adamu Yusuf, a 17-year-old miner from Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, has been working on mining sites for the past year and a half.

He earns between N10,000 and N15,000, which he uses to support himself, including food, clothing, and transportation. Despite his parents' disapproval, he continues to mine for himself and to help his mother and younger siblings. He admits that mining is fraught with hazards, including injuries from operating machinery, sand collapse, and sickness from inhaling dust.

While his sponsors often bear the cost of medical treatment when he sustains injuries, if a miner falls sick and cannot report to work, the sponsor replaces him with another miner without offering any support to the sick employee.