From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
A non-governmental organisation focused on women’s advancement in the Nigerian mineral, exploration and mining sector, Women In Mining Nigeria (WIMIN) has called on the Federal Government to make deliberate efforts to save the economy from decline by preventing further losses in the gemstones industry through ‘creating policies tailored toward encouraging public-private partnership in its extractive industry while monitoring and controlling the activities of artisanal miners.’
National President of WIMIN, Engr. Janet Adeyemi who made the call at the Presentation of starter packs to 41 graduates of gemstones and jewellery making programme, in Abuja, said although Nigeria has a vibrant gemstone industry, but lamented that the industry is unfortunately dominated by artisanal miners.
Adeyemi, who is the Representative of the Western and Central Africa World Bank CSPF Working Group for 2022 to 2024, quoted a local report as saying that ‘Nigeria lost an estimated $3 billion worth of gemstone to illegal mining perpetuated by artisans who do not benefit much from the sector due to illiteracy and poverty.’
She explained that the increased interest in jewelry business will drastically reduce smuggling and generate more revenue earnings from finished products which can be exported and used within since Nigerian women are highly fashionable.
Engr. Adeyemi said: ‘The Nigerian government should create policies tailored toward encouraging public-private partnership in its extractive industry while monitoring and controlling the activities of artisanal miners.
She said if this is done, the country will generate more foreign earnings from its extractive industry, and miners would be better organised to benefit from the industry, adding that it would create more jobs in the extractive industry and its value chain.
‘It would also clamp down on the illegal activities of middlemen who falsify mining reports and illegally sell off its precious gems to foreign buyers,’ she added.
While saying that every business has different sustainability efforts because they target different stakeholders, Adeyemi noted that in the jewelry industry, sustainability and ethics means operating the jewelry business with minimal impact on the environment and society.
