As part of the activities that mark the celebration of this year International Women’s Daya group of natural resource business experts, under the umbrella of Women in Mining in Nigeria (WIMIN) has launched an initiative that aims to build the future of the country’s mining experts.
Labeled “Girls 4 Mining” and abbreviated as G4M, the group said the initiative is part of efforts to break all prejudice against women in line with the theme of this year’s IWD annual celebration.
The event, which was held in Abuja, aimed to sensitize and integrate secondary school girls in the male-dominated sector in an “approach of winning them young and thereby creating a sustainable mining sector”.
Nigerian Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uchechukwu Ogah, in his opening address, urged the participating students to redefine the future by taking part in sustainable courses.
He said: “I want to encourage the young women who are here, the future of the world is mining and not oil and gas because in the next 30 years, fossil fuels will disappear and minerals will be the engine of all economies. We cannot drive a car without a battery and the battery does not come from fossil fuels but from minerals.
“You must begin to take an interest in the future courses, the future of the world, and take an interest in the things of the future of the world. You can change the thesis and the theory about mining.”
Mr. Ogah emphasized the need for girls to redefine the future by engaging and building on “courses of the future”, saying that the current leadership in the country is ready to walk off the stage.
He said; “In years to come, some of us may not be there. You should make an effort to read courses that are related to mining and would help in the development of the mining sector.”
In her remarks, WIMIN founder and president Janet Adeyemi said that women are paying minutely for the injustice against them globally, adding: “the rise of women is not the fall of men.”
Ms. Adeyemi noted that each year’s anniversary provides the world with an opportunity to reflect on existing gender gaps that have yet to be filled over the last century.
She said: “This year’s International Women’s Day is unique and historic as we will all witness the birth of the Girls 4 Mining (G4M) society today. The G4M is a club within women in mining that will welcome girls into secondary and tertiary institutions and bring them into close interaction with women in mining to guide them towards a career in mining for our girls.
“The G4M club will stimulate our girls’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and create a source of knowledge and opportunities for girls when they decide to join the mining sector.”
The mining veteran said she hopes the initiative will see more women influx into the mining sector and “significantly improve the 6.8 per cent female miners among the myriad of men in the mining sector.”
The director of the department of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), Patrick Ojeka, said that the sector is known worldwide for being patriarchal, explaining that; “I have just returned from the metal mine in Germany ranked as the richest mine in the world where rock salt and potash have been mined since 1901.
‘He is 800 meters underground and never allows any woman to go down. The women are only involved in the processing, value addition and final packaging.”
She said the launch of G4M, however, will boost girls’ understanding of technical skills.
“It is important that the creation of girls for mining in secondary school now begins to create a mental focus”, he concluded.
Also speaking, Abiodun Baiyewu, executive director of Global Rights, a non-governmental organization, said that despite being half of the country’s population, women in Nigeria are marginalized and treated unfairly, leading to economic stagnation, hence the low overall rating.