Hundreds of children in Plateau State are abandoning school to engage in hazardous tin mining due to poverty, orphanhood, and lack of parental support.
In Plateau State, Nigeria, hundreds of underage children risk their lives mining tin to earn a living, abandoning school in the process. Twelve-year-old Umar Faruk said, “I come here to make money. I don’t go to school or learn any skill.” Like Faruk, many children aged 10 to 16 work long hours under harsh conditions in mining pits across Bassa, Jos North, Jos South, and Barkin Ladi. Some, like 13-year-old Israel Bulus, mine to “earn money for school fees,” while others are orphans fending for themselves. Parents, facing economic hardship, admit allowing their children to mine for survival.
Tin buyers confirm the children sell small quantities daily for up to ₦26,000 per kilogram. Authorities acknowledge the problem, with SUBEB chairman Sunday Amuna saying the government has begun sensitisation and curriculum reforms. Experts warn that child mining threatens education and exposes youths to future social vices, calling for stronger law enforcement and parental accountability.