Mining experts push for right-based energy transition, urge crack on illegal mining

By Joy Baba-Yesufu

Stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the 5th West African Mining Host Communities, Indaba, have called for urgent reforms to ensure Africa’s shift toward green mining does not reproduce patterns of exploitation, displacement, and insecurity in host communities.

The three-day dialogue, which opened in Abuja on Wednesday drew delegates from across West Africa, including traditional rulers, community representatives, civil society groups, policy advocates, and mining regulators.

The theme for 2025 Indaba is “Contextualizing Green Mining within Free, Prior and Informed Consent”

In her welcome address, Executive Director of Global Rights, Ms. Abiodun Baiyewu, said the global push for renewable energy and critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and bauxite must be grounded in justice, equity, and accountability.

“The promise of a greener world must not come at the expense of the dignity, rights, and survival of host communities,” she declared. “Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) must guarantee that communities are not passive victims of extraction but active participants in deciding how their resources are used, and how the benefits are shared.”

Baiyewu recalled her decade-long work with host communities, citing tragedies such as the lead poisoning crisis in Zamfara, the pollution of rivers in Kogi, Gombe, and Ebonyi, and violent disputes over mining in Liberia and Guinea. She said the Indaba was conceived to provide a platform for communities to “craft their own agenda, exchange strategies, and collectively demand accountability.”

“Our lands, waters, and heritage are being traded under the guise of a just energy transition. Yet the people whose lives are disrupted are rarely at the table,” she said.

In his remark Co-chair, Federation of Nigeria Mining Host Communities, Alhaji Habibu Abubakar Wushishi, warned about the growing dangers of artisanal mining, which he described as a “serious menace” that fuels environmental degradation, pollution, and insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria.

He noted that the Federal Government has set a December 31 deadline for mining companies to sign Community Development Agreements (CDAs) with their host communities or risk losing their licences. “Out of about 74 new mining titles issued, only 24 have signed agreements,” he said.

“Across many communities, students have dropped out of school, families are broken, and cases of unwanted pregnancies are on the rise—all linked to the negative impact of unregulated mining,” Wushishi added.

Also speaking, female Co-chair of the Federation, Dr. Temitope Olaifa stressed that Nigeria is losing significant revenue to illegal mining while only a few individuals benefit.

“We must confront this reality head-on. This forum is a chance for us to listen, ask tough questions, and propose workable solutions,” she said, adding that the Indaba must prioritise FPIC to ensure communities have a voice in decisions affecting their lands.

Olaifa urged participants to see the gathering as more than dialogue. “This must be a catalyst for action, where communities stand at the center, their consent honoured, their rights protected, and their futures safeguarded,” she said.

The Indaba, now in its fifth year, will run for three days with sessions focused on balancing environmental sustainability with human rights protection in the context of Africa’s green energy transition.