BENIN CITY – Despite Nigeria’s unemployment rate standing at 33.3% which is 23.2 million of the about 70 million people who should be working but are out of work according to the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) in March this year, sand from the river flowing through parts of Orhionmwon local government area of Edo state has remove many from the jobless list. ‘Orhionmwon River’ as locals call it, has variety of sand that are mine manually for sale to buyers from different parts of the country.
Investigations by The Nigerian Observer shows that the venture contributed to the low unemployment rate in the state, as it created opportunities for able-bodied young men who as early as 3.am set out to the river to begin their day’s business.
They use wooden boats fitted with machines to help them sail fast to their choice spots in the river, from where they scoop the kind of sand they want with an iron bucket into their boat.
The sand miners sometimes drive for more than three hours on the river to these spots where they set an iron peg to hold their boats against the water current, after which they fix ladder to the boat, to help them go in and out with their bucket until the boat is fill up.
However, some miners scoop their sand from areas with shallow depth where ladder is not needed, even as it is stressful and need someone with experience to use. With the iron buckets, they scoop sharp sand, gravel, and the type called 3 to 5 from the river bed, unlike black (plaster) sand that is gotten from river bank where the miners had to neatly clear before excavating with shovel into a pegged boat.
They rarely go for clay sand due to low demand.
Upon arrival with the sand filled boat, the miners engage some persons that are already on standby, to offload the sand with shovel, a process call ‘jacking’ onto a dry land where the miners pay rent, for a particular period to hold their various types of sand for prospective buyers who mostly come from Agbor, Asaba, Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria.
“To get the boat and engine, one has to struggle hard; it’s not cheap to get, and if you have to go for HP (higher purchase), you have to pay times two of the actual amount for a new one.
“Boat may sink; you may lost your boat, the engine, and if you do not know how to swim, you may lose your life”, Okpe Destiny spoke to our correspondent in a chat on some of the challenges faced by the sand miners
According to Okpe, “the stones, the sharp sand called 3 to 5 and 2mm are all under gravel because they are separated with filter to bring out the bigger, medium and smaller ones mostly use for water purification, making of bottles, buildings beautification, physical structures and construction works.”
Along the river bank at Abudu, sand jackers, loaders, and baggers are seen in their numbers, sometimes with boat makers doing their different tasks. The sand baggers, and their stack bags are common sights because of the white coloured bags, ranging from 15kg to 25kg sealed for onward transportation, mostly to companies in Lagos.
For Benjamin Ebiyemi, popularly known as ‘Ultimate’, the sand mining has changed the economic status of many. The middle-aged Ebiyemi maintained that the venture afforded him opportunity to employ more hands, which according him has reduced crimes and other social vices, adding, youths who could not establish themselves due to lack of electricity in the area now have where to go daily to earn money.
“I am from Koko in Warri-North, but was born and brought up in Abudu where I started sand mining with my bare hands. But now, with the support of the community; I bought this land, where I now dredge sand with about eight persons, some of them family men working with me;
“and i am not even talking of those who come to load sand for tippers that come here to carry sand”, Ebiyemi told our correspondent at his mini dredging site along the river bank at Abudu, administrative headquarters of the local government.
He urged indigenes to come home and invest to create job opportunities and to further develop the area.
A community leader, Pa Amiewo Maleghemi who had lived near the river for more than five decades describe the river as blessing and nature’s gift to the people of Orhionmwon.
Maleghemi advocated for “genuine support” for those scooping river sand for a living, explaining that the business took jobless persons off the street as it is a major source of employment since time immemorial.
“A lot of us have no jobs; this river you see, we manage it. Some carry sand on their head, some carry gravel on their head just to have something to eat.
“But as we’ve been doing it since even before i was born the government have not help us in any way”, Pa Maleghemi said
However, getting the people to speak on the various jobs opportunities created by the river was not an easy task because they believe the government would see the report and impose taxes on them.
Some of them, sand miners had asked this reporter to leave the area to avoid being attacked, saying they were using their physical strength to carryout legitimate jobs hence they should be allow to continue doing it without hindrance.
“Go o.. .make you hear now. We no want those things (media); if dem (government) say dem wan help person, na wetin e get dem wan collect”, one person was overheard saying as our correspondent interacted with one of their leaders under a tree by the river bank.
Whilst the business boom, creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for the people, and also raking revenue for the government, experts have always warned on the adverse effects of excessive river sand and gravel mining to the ecosystem.
