How Fulani Herdsman Turned Adamawa Farmers Into Miners

To farmers living in Kwakwa, a community surrounded by Kulinyi rocks in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State, all hope was lost when floods swept their farmlands at the beginning of August, destroying potential harvests of maize, groundnut, rice and beans.

After losing their farmlands, they were in despair until a Fulani herdsman from Zamfara came along with his herd of cattle to graze in their land. He saw tiny bits of minerals, washed on to the farmlands by the floods, that had meant nothing to the farmers.

But the stranger looked closely at the tiny items in the sand, and told the despondent farmers they were sitting on wealth! The land was filled with mineral resources which include zirconium, iron, monazite and copper among others.

They are rare mineral resources of huge economic value as some of them, like Zirconium, are used in the manufacture of jewelleries.

Cletus Kenan, who used to be a maize, groundnut, rice and beans farmer in the community, said they thought the minerals were “just dirts from the river” until the herdsman opened their eyes to the wealth in their land.

”The herdsman has returned to his land, because he said he was also mining it back in Zamfara,” Kenan told THE WHISTLER in an interview.

Speaking on how the farmers are now enjoying a new lease of life, Kenan, said: “This mining has brought a lot of help to us. Some of us who didn’t used to get enough food to eat now have food in abundance at home to eat. In a day, one person can get 5 measures of minerals. And each measure is sold at N10,000. So, this is what helped us.

“Since there are more buyers coming in to buy, some people even mine 20 measures in a day. So, calculate N10,000 ×20 that is what that person gets in a day- N200,000. So, even if it is 2 measures you get in a day, you already have N20,000 and it’s enough to feed your family in a day.”

He said the mining process is tedious but the farmers wake up early in the morning to start mining, adding the process involves fetching sand from the river and pouring it on tarpaulin, while they keep watering it until the mineral remains on the tarpaulin and is left to dry.

Javan Monday, who buys the minerals and resells to buyers coming from other places, said: “This minerals have been of help to us during this hard time. When you go to the market to buy corn, they will tell you a bag is about 43,000 to N45,000 in Michika Local Government Area. Two weeks or so ago it was sold at N70,000.

“Infact I even have someone who was about to sue me in court for money that I owed him, but now I’ve solved the problem and almost surviving this hardship because of this mining.

“Right now, I’m on my way to buy 3 measures. I’m a buyer, not a miner. Minerals found there include zirconium. It’s just like calcium, it’s not that pure metal but we still find copper and brass in the process.”

Shehu Musa, another buyer from Makera, a neighbouring community, who transports the minerals to Jos, said: “We do not want to disclose how much we sell because the prices vary. Some at higher rate while others at moderate rate. We look at the category of mineral and weigh its percentage. Maybe someone can tell you the price but I won’t. Those buying in Jos are Chinese, they buy in dollars. And they go and sell it back in dollars.

“It is Monazite that is highly sought after. It is in Jos that all the minerals will be sorted out in machines separating each mineral from the other. The place where it is sorted has no name, anyone can do the business. It bears no company name.

“As I’m talking to you right now, I have minerals in front of me ready to be taken to Jos. In jos it is the person that gave you money that you will take to, he alone knows who to take to. The way we buy from people here, that’s how they also have buyers there. Until they reach their destination where they will be processed. I’m still contemplating on the journey to Jos today because the naira has crashed against the dollar.”

Miners Face Danger

Dr Chabiya Bala, a Medical Consultant with the Ministry of Defence, Nigeria, pointed out the side effects of the minerals to human health. He said the minerals could be hazardous because they are heavy metals.

“Routes of contact can be via inhalation in aerosol in the form of mist since the mining is conducted in riverine area. Particles from the rocks could be trapped in the humid air above the water and the people can inhale that, causing effects in their lungs.

“This can lead to long term lung disease called chronic obstructive lung disease. These minerals can also cause some skin irritation that can lead to certain reactions causing what we call granuloma or skin eruption to occur.”

Geologist Highlights Economic Value Of Minerals

An economic geologist at the University of Maiduguri, Hamman Ishaku Kamale, explained to THE WHISTLER how the minerals were formed.

He said Zircon, which is obtained from the River, is one of the minerals found in the three groups of rocks– igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks– as an accessory mineral.

“Because they are rare, that’s why they possess economic values. They are used in the manufacture of jewelleries. They also use gemstones and you know gemstones are used for jewellery making,” Kamale said.

He said Kwakwa is surrounded by kulinyi rocks and the rocks are susceptible to weathering (breaking down of rocks by the combined action of heat).

He said when the rock comes in contact with water for a long time, there can be some resolution of minerals which can be taken away in solution.

Weathering also occur by mechanical means caused by the roots of plants or animals, as some plants cause roots to break, while some animals burrow and go underground.

He added that when the rocks have been subjected to weathering, the mineral will be released and water can then carry them down and it flows into streams.

“So, the stream is meandering; it will deposit such minerals there along with other sediments, that’s why sometimes you find them in the stream.

“But it’s not everywhere in the stream that you’ll see them. It’s where the stream is bending alongside where there is a bend, that is where the energy flow of the stream is reducing. So, when it comes with great energy at the bend, the flow will reduce, that will constitute a place of deposit. So because zircon is heavy, it will be the first to be deposited,” the geologist said.