An Assessment of the Socio-economic Impact of Maiganga Resettlement Scheme, Akko LGA, Gombe State, Nigeria
Abstract
The paper has examined the socio -economic impact of Maiganga resettlement scheme in Akko LGA of Gombe State. Data was collected through field observation, use of structured questionnaire, interviews and secondary materials. The findings of the study shows that Maiganga resettlement scheme is a coal mine induced resettlement scheme. Three communities of Maiganga, Kargawal and Lakandangari consisting 976 person s were resettled. Despite the provision of 75 houses, 4 boreholes, 1 primary school of three blocks of classroom, 1 skill acquisition centre, 3 primary health care/maternity, 3 transformer with electricity, a mosques and church, there was much agitation after the resettlement scheme. Monetary compensations were paid to the farmers for loss of farm lands. The compensation ranges between ₦10,000 (USD 36) to ₦150,000 (USD 536) depending on the size of farm land lost. The local communities claimed that the amount paid to them as compensation was grossly inadequate and that the management of the company reneged on most of the issues agreed upon in their informal gentleman arrangement. This agitation resulted in the stoppage of work in the coal mine for two weeks in 2014. The study recommends the need to sustain dialogue with the local communities, employ teachers and health workers in the primary school and health care facility to make it functional.
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Introduction
Resettlement is the process of helping people to live in a new area or establishing a new livelihood in a pre-existing social relation of production and consumption. Resettlement takes place when major development projects, which are important elements of development, force people who have lived in a region for a long time to leave their homes, and their place in society, economic and agricultural activities, relationships and opportunities and any other immovable properties, to live in other places (Dogan et al, 1991).
Resettlement scheme is aimed at providing assistance to the displaced people so as to improve their overall living standards. Activities under this scheme include the acquisition of land for civil works, reconstruction of some of the basic civic amenities to the remaining population and host population and payment of compensation for economic losses and other rehabilitation benefits. The over-riding objective of resettlement scheme is to ensure that persons unavoidably losing land or property as a result of this mining activity attain equal or better livelihoods and living standards than “without” project status. The primary objectives of the resettlement programme are to mitigate the adverse impacts of the project and to assist the affected persons in resettlement and restoration of their income and livelihoods.
Cernea (2000) observed that displacement is not only the physical eviction from a dwelling, but also the expropriation of productive lands and other assets needed for other alternative uses. In Africa for instance, most communities are constantly disturbed by displacement and resettlement due to the need for mineral exploration (Ackuayi et al, 2014). Sonnenberg and Münster (2001) observed that in Africa, about 42,258 persons have been displaced by mining. Resettlement in most cases is inevitable especially in mine land affected communities.
Such form of displacement and resettlement consequently are accompanied by severe impoverishments such as landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, health risk, loss of access to common resources, marginalization among others (Asian Development Bank, 1998).
Some scholars argued that the tragedy of displacement due to development projects is compounded because the affected bears the cost but have no share in the benefits (Shiva, 1993). Colchester points out that the experience of indigenous peoples with the development projects has led to cultural alienation, dispossession of land and resources, lack of consultation, insufficient or a complete lack of compensation, human rights abuses, and a lowering of living standards. The specific and strong cultural connection that many indigenous groups have with the land and the environment in which they live makes their physical dislocation potentially more harmful than is often the case for other groups (Colchester, 2000). Many have got very minimal compensation which is never enough to sustain a family with many children having education in private institutions. These effects are not only economic, but social, cultural, psychological and environmental as well.
The Maiganga resettlement scheme is a mining-induced displacement and resettlement exercise which was necessitated by the discovery of coal mineral in the community. The land on which the local people inhabited and carry out their day to day activity, mostly farming was acquired by the management of Ashaka Cement Company. Mining activity in Maiganga area commenced in October, 2007. The coal which is of the lignite grade has an estimated proven reserve of 4.5 million tons which is expected to satisfy the company’s requirement for more than 25years.
In the process of the Maiganga resettlement scheme, land assessment was completed by the Gombe State Ministry of Lands and Survey and compensation was made to the land owners according to Government rate. Ashaka Cement Plc, as part of its social responsibility was to undertake the complete resettlement of the Maiganga village and 3 other hamlets and provide infrastructures such as construction of 14 kilometer feeder road up to Sambo Daji the district headquarter, 3 bridges and about 20 culverts. Other amenities include the building of a primary school, mosque, a church, dispensary and boreholes for those affected (Rawls, 1971) communities. The company planned to open employment opportunity to local communities at least 80% of the unskilled labour. This study examines the socio-economic impact of the resettlement programmes on the livelihoods of the local communities in Maiganga village of Akko Local Government Area (LGA) of Gombe State, Nigeria.
Conclusion
Resettlement is always associated with challenges either from the affected or the body responsible for the resettlement. This study has examined the socio -economic impact of Maiganga resettlement scheme in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State Nigeria. Despite the provision of some basic amenities in the new resettlement site, the local people insist that the resettlement exercise has deprived them of their farmlands, resulting in low agricultural productivity and income in the area. Although the local communities were paid compensation for their farm lands that were taken over, the people believed that the compensation was grossly inadequate and has impoverished them. The local communities have protested a number of times out of dissatisfaction with the resettlement exercise and claimed that the company reneged on most of the issues contained in their unwritten gentleman agreement with the company.
