Life In the Mud and Dust In A Kakistocracy

Apart from the loss of income to the nation in the form of taxes and royalties, artisanal mining operations use child labour and
mercury, a toxic metal, to extract metal ores. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) have been treating children suffering from lead poisoning in Zamfara since 2010. Unsafe mining and ore processing have been fingered as the root causes of the lead poisoning crisis in the State. Many Zamfara children have died, while others are going through the slow process of detoxification and facing severe mental retardation after exposure to toxic lead. Nigerian gold is not only mined with child labour, it falls under the label of conflict minerals trafficked through organised crime.
read more... https://opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2019/04/30/life-in-the-mud-and-dust-in-a-kakistocracy-by-bamidele-ademola-olateju/