By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
Hon. Janet Adeyemi Febisola is President of Women in Mining, Nigeria and also founder of Succour for battered lives, SUBATEL, a charity organisation fending for victimes from avalanche of disasters. She earned degress in geology and engineering. She is registered member of council for the regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, a member of Association of consulting engineers in Nigeria, ACEN, and Fellow of Nigeria Mining and Geosciences Society. She has served in various capacities of the legislature as a member of House of Representatives and the executive. She is very passionate about sustainable mining.
In this article, Hon Janet explained how CSR and CSI are important for a successful mining operations in Nigeria.
President of Women in Mining, Nigeria, Hon Janet Adeyemi has said that ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Social Investment (CSI) are intertwined for successful mining operations.
She disclosed it to newsmen during an exclusive interview at the Mining Week in Abuja.
According to her, CSR and CSI are intertwined for successful mining operations. Corporate investors must be committed to building the capacities of their host communities and encourage them to invest proceeds from them. Only then can such corporation thrive in peaceful domain.
“They must be committed to utilise best international mining procedures which prevents crisis to advance their business. They must be committed to ensuring that mining adds value to the lives of the host community not induce poverty and disease,” she added
She also said that Mining is no longer an alternative; it should take the main stage in our national discourse knowing that the green technology revolution is pushing hydrocarbon to the background. She adds: “Cashew will soon displace the cost of oil. Nigeria Mining Sector can be a major contributor to GDP and job employment if well managed through a transparent system”
She said Women in the mining sector are faced with several challenges, which are;
Acceptability as stakeholders
Low perception
Lack of funds, skills etc.
Processing of titles cumbersome for most to follow
Poor wages for those working as labourers etc…
She also highlighted some key elements that will take Nigerian Mining Sector to the next level, namely;
The framework must be amended to make it investor friendly.
The conflict between surface rights and mineral right must be well defined. So too the Land Use Act 1978 sec 28 on the priority use of land and overriding interest.
The mining cadastre office should be open completely to public scrutiny and run virtually based on ICT.
Access to funds crucial etc.
Women in Mining (WIMIN) are involved in advocacy, sensitisation and promotion of the relevance of women in the industry which has taken us around all the mining destinations in the country.
WIMIN works in collaboration with various global organizations as well as with Nigerian governmental bodies at the Federal, State and Local levels in order to meet the industrial, educative and financial requirements of the organization.
The World Bank, the Ministry of Solid Minerals and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs are great examples of organizations with active working relationships with WIMIN.
WIMIN also collaborates with other WIMIN in mining chapters worldwide and areactive participants in International Women in Mining activities.
WIMIN Mission is to be a dependable and trusted ally of women in the industry by contributing to their growth, competence and optimum development through initiatives that promotes gender mainstreaming. It is the Mission of WIMIN through cooperation with other successful international chapters ensure that Nigeria local chapter evolve into a strong mining destination
They are also involved in the following projects:
Appraisal of the impacts of mining in the rusty mining of Jo’s.
Bseline studies on the status of women in the sector in collaboration with Vividrain, sponsored by OSIWA through the Ministty of Mines and Steel.
Sensitisation of young graduates to the sector through mentoring etc.
Crowd funding to run lead zinc extraction in Tarabas still on-going.
WIMIN works in collaboration with various global organizations as well as with Nigerian governmental bodies at the Federal, State and Local levels in order to meet the industrial, educative and financial requirements of the organization.
The World Bank, the Ministry of Solid Minerals and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs are great examples of organizations with active working relationships with WIMIN.
WIMIN also collaborates with other WIMIN in mining chapters worldwide and areactive participants in International Women in Mining activities.