WIMIN moves to promote mining through school girls in Taraba
By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
The Women in Mining on Monday flagged off a mining training programme for school girls in Taraba to promote and build a solid future in the mining sector.
Engr. Janet Adeyemi, the programme National President who was represented by Mrs. Ifeoma Aghaebita, National Coordinator told participants at the event that the idea was to build mining capacity in school girls.
Our Correspondent reports that the training was geared towards grooming them to be potential miners, in order to solidify the future of the mining sector.
Adeyemi, noted that the idea became necessary due to numerous opportunities, as 70-80 percent of Nigerians daily usage were products of mining like; gold and metals on the mobile phones, the glass and bulbs and many more, adding that the industry can never be replaced or displaced.
“This programme marks the beginning of the Girls to Mining (GM), Initiative in Taraba State. I am emphasising this because we are creating a landmark history for incoming generations in the mining sector that even when our generation is no more, the G4M
will remain, and thousands of you school girls would be accomplished with high profile women in mining.
“The opportunities, the prospects in the mining sector which 70-80 percent of everything we use in our daily Iives are products of mining, from our homes.
“Today, Nigeria is dependent on crude oil as its major source of wealth, however, the World does not want crude oil anymore. Now they want solar energy, hydro-power and other sources of power that are not oil. So at this time, we are witnessing the gradual passing away of the oil and gas sector in the globe and when it finally fades out, Nigeria will be left with only two means of wealth creation which are, Mining and Agriculture.
“The Mining sector will soon become more wealthy and prosperous than the Oil and Gas sector ever was in Nigeria. So when I had this foresight of the mining
sector in Nigeria, what I saw was a blissful and rich future for the mining sector, but the question I ask myself is, when the sector finally takes the front seat, who will be left in it, calling the shots and milking the benefits?
“When l look at statistics of all the
mainstream miners in Nigeria today, only 6.8 percent are Women, the remaining 949 percent are men. So, the women in the mining sector today are a drop out of an ocean, and the few women in the sector are being edged out of the game by gender blind laws.
“The number of women in the sector will keep dropping if we do
nothing to pump female miners into the sector as the women on ground today will all be gone someday.
“The only way to meaningfully populate the mining sector of today with productive women is to begin to guide our girls from their school
age into a prosperous future in the mining sector,” The National President said.
In their responses, Miss Abigail Chidinma Udeani, Jacitha Joseph and Sakinat, Suleiman Banana both expressed joy as they were already considering exploring the field through its numerous opportunities.
