In an interview with Punch, Oba Akanbi alleged that some prominent politicians and royal fathers are hiring labourers who are predominantly youths of northern extraction to engage them in illegal mining activities in the state.

He however, urged the Federal Government to stop individuals from mining gold, saying it is a solution to the security challenge created by the large presence of northern youths in the Ife/Ijesa axis of Osun State, Punch reports.

The royal father also advised Osun State government to take over the mining business in the state.

He said, “Those Hausa Fulani are looking for jobs, and they have jobs on mining sites in the state. The Fulani labourers don’t need visas to enter Osun State because Nigeria is one. People go to where they can find jobs.

“Big men, politicians, traditional rulers in the state are behind illegal mining in Osun and the solution to the security challenges the large presence of the labourers from the North has created is that government should take over that business.

“There is no legal framework for their activities there. There is no law; and where laws are not applied, people will just be acting as they like. Government should take over the business and manage it.”

You’ll recall that the Federal Government recently stopped illegal gold mining in Zamfara state following a spate of crises over gold mining in the state.