In Bauchi State’s mining communities, children as young as 10 have abandoned classrooms for mining sites. They toil alongside adults, extracting sand and breaking rocks under the scorching sun to scrape together enough for their families to survive. For these children, education is a distant dream distorted by the immediate demands of poverty.
Sulaiman, a 12-year-old boy, is one of the young miners. Under the scorching sun, he balances a small bucket of sand on his head, navigating the rough terrain at Jirr mining site, about 25 kilometers from Bauchi, the state capital. His face, stained with filth and sweat, reveals the harsh reality of long hours spent working under hot sands and muddy pits. His hands are blistered from shoveling heavy loads of sand to extract monoxide, his aspirations buried under the weight of his family’s economic struggles.
Sulaiman’s parents, unable to make ends meet, withdrew him from Nadabo Primary School. Like many others in the community, they saw mining as a lifeline in their fight against poverty. Children face risks of accidents, health hazards, and exploitation at the mining sites, but for families in dire straits, the immediate income often outweighs the intangible benefits of education.
In Jirr and Wandi, children as young as 10 work tirelessly in sand pits. Abdulrahman Musa, a 13-year-old boy, shared his daily routine, saying, “I used to go to school, but my father said we need money to eat, so I had to stop. Now I work here almost every day.” The cycle of poverty in these communities deepens as more children trade education for hard labor.
At GDSS Wandi, the local Upper Basic School, classrooms have become nearly empty. Malam Husaini, the administrative officer, lamented that over half of the students did not show up when this reporter visited in November 2024. He said, “Parents prioritize mining because it solves some of their immediate needs, but it’s at the expense of their children’s future.”
Husaini identified sand mining as a leading factor in student absenteeism, noting that dwindling attendance has brought some schools to the brink of closure. He emphasized that poverty, the root cause of the problem, must be tackled through comprehensive measures by the government.
Statistics highlight the gravity of the situation. Bauchi had approximately 1.37 million out-of-school children in 2022, according to an analysis by StatiSence. Governor Bala Mohammed claimed that by 2024, the number had dropped to 521,000, though no tangible evidence supported this assertion. The alarming figures underscore the urgency of addressing the crisis.
Women and girls are also drawn into mining, compounding their already heavy burdens. Fatima Umar, a widow in her 40s, works alongside her teenage daughters in the mines. She explained, “We know it’s dangerous, but what choice do we have? If we don’t work, we don’t eat.” Her teenage daughters have also abandoned school to contribute to the family’s survival.
Halima Usman, a 35-year-old widow in Toro Local Government Area, shared a similar ordeal. Following her husband’s death, she and her children turned to mining as their only means of survival. “My son brings home N5,000 from the mine every week. It’s not much, but it keeps us alive,” she said.
Illegal mining persists despite a government ban in July 2024, aimed at preserving the state’s mineral resources and protecting communities from environmental degradation. Weak enforcement has allowed the illicit trade to flourish, with rural areas becoming hotspots for illegal mining activities. Residents expressed concerns about the influx of miners from Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, and even foreign nationals, turning mining communities into potential hideouts for criminals.
Security challenges linked to illegal mining are a growing concern. Mining sites, often in remote and poorly governed areas, serve as hubs for armed groups, including bandits and insurgents. These groups exploit the lucrative nature of mining to fund their activities, fueling insecurity across the region.
Environmental damage is another consequence of illegal mining. Farmlands have been rendered unusable, water sources contaminated, and landscapes scarred by deep pits and erosion. Alhaji Buba, a farmer, lamented, “Our lands are gone. The soil is no longer good for cultivation, and the rivers are dirty. Even our livestock can’t drink the water.”
Economically, the informal nature of illegal mining deprives the government of substantial revenue. While individuals and criminal networks profit, the state loses out on potential income that could be used to address the underlying issues driving children and families to the mines.
Efforts are underway at the community level to mitigate the impact of mining on education. In Dass Local Government Area, stakeholders are implementing a schedule to balance mining activities with schooling. Upper Basic School students engage in mining in the morning and attend classes in the afternoon, while primary school pupils mine in the afternoon after morning classes. However, such measures offer only a temporary reprieve.
The situation calls for urgent intervention. Without addressing the root causes of poverty, efforts to keep children in school will remain futile.
