FCT indigenes spit fire

By NGOZI OKAFOR, AbujaMonday, August 18, 2008
•Dr. Aliyu Modibbo UmarPhoto: Sun News Publishing
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Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory have warned that Federal Government may be courting calamity if it refuses to accord them adequate compensation. The indigenes are irked that their land and what they described as the inheritance of their ancestors are taken away from them deceitfully without due recognition of their rights.John Galadima of Galadimawa community in Abuja Municipal Area council told Daily Sun that "the government of the day is brooding calamity that will be unleashed upon it in the nearest future by pushing the FCT indigenes aside.”He said the indigenes may soon press home their points forcefully, as it is obvious that the only language the government understands is violence, while saying that government should not take their simplicity for stupidity.He said the Niger Delta crisis is going to be a child’s play when the Gwaris rise up to the oppression meted to them. "Our hearts are boiling that we are sacrificing our ancestral homes. It is a huge sacrifice but it is unfortunate that we don’t have a listening government."By the time we re-enforce, Abuja will definitely be too hot for them", he said while faulting the comments from different quarters that there are no indigenes in FCT and that it is unconstitutional to lay claim on land ownership in Nigeria as the land belongs to the Federal Government. He said every resident in Abuja has a state and a local government where they return to and they have land they could call their own where they build houses and he queried why they should be denied of such rights. He also argued that royalties are paid to some states either because oil is exploited or solid mineral is mined from their area but it is only in FCT that indigenous heritage is not recognised.Galadima equally alerted of the impeding doom that will soon behalf the government in an effort to resettle some of them. He said they may likely turn down the offer. "How can you build a house for us without an input from us. They set up a committee but we are not part of it. We showed them the building pattern we wanted but they rejected it and went ahead with their own design. We had expected a round table discussion but they did not invite us".He continued: " Look at the resettlement site in Kubwa and tell me what the third generation of the children of these indigenes will lay hold of. There was no provision for farmland for them. They now rent land to farm. The schools around are too expensive for them. Some of them cannot afford even a primary education because the standard of living is too high for them. So, this same children might eventually grow up to be a pain in the neck of the government. They may rise up one day to burn down all the magnificent buildings in Maitama in an attempt to reclaim their land".He further complained that the government having promised to allocate 10 per cent of land in each community is not living up to its promises. Look at Galadimawa, the were supposed to give 10 percent of the land to the indigenes but before we knew it, the whole area was allocated to private developers and we don’t have anything. The private developers are building multimillion naira houses and renting or selling to people in millions and hundreds of thousand naira."They paid some of our chiefs peanuts in terms of compensation. Economic trees were valued at N800 or N1000 each and a large expanse of land for N80,000 the same plot of land they now sell in millions of naira".Another residence, Nathaniel Gaza of Pyakassa community said FCT indigenes have lost their identity and future generation may have a problem to grapple with. "They have taken away our place of origin. To say that we are being marginalised is an understatement, but I think we need to be compensated adequately even more than the Niger Deltans. Will it be too much for the Federal Government to at least give free education to all FCT indigenes up to the tertiary level to empower them?"But these indigenes awaiting compensation from the Federal Government may have to wait for a very long time says Festus Esekhile, Director, Resettlement and compensation FCT.Esekhile told Daily Sun that FCT indigenes are not in any way different from any other citizen in other states of the federation and that citing the Federal Capital Territory within their domain should be a thing of joy to them.He said the demand for compensation by the indigenes is out place as provision is made strictly for those communities that would be displaced by the city expansion."Only villages within the city boundaries are entitled to resettlement and compensation. All other villages should remain where they are. As a matter of fact, only 2000square meter out of the 8000 square meter coverage area of the territory so, they have the other parts of the territory to reside and live their normal life".He explained that the Federal Capital Territory administration is making efforts to resettle the affected indigenes."Lands have been acquired in the various resettlement sites across FCT. Galuwyi/Shere resettlement scheme covers an area of 9000 hectares of land with 2,200 housing units ranging from two to five bedroom low."Wasa with 700 hectares of land and 931 housing unit and Apo resettlement site covers an area of 450 hectares with 971 houses while Anagada site covers about 10,000 hectares."Work has reached advanced stage in the Apo resettlement site and indigenes of Garki village, Apo village and Akpanjenya will be moved there. 45 per cent of work in Wasa site is completed while Galuwyi /Shere is 55 per cent completed".He also noted that plots of land would be given to all male indigenes above 18 years.He said due consideration is being given to squatters and settlers in some illegal structures of the FCT. "Residents of Angwan Mada have been relocated to Gidan Mangoro; Jabi settlers have been relocated to Kuchiko in Bwari; Gwagwa and Jiwa to Pegi andsquatters along the airport road to Yangoji in Kwali".The director also noted that adequate compensation would be given to the indigenes to be relocated. "We moved them to places where they have agreed to go, a place where they have cultural affinity with. We build houses for them depending on what they have on ground, provide them with farmlands and pay for the economic trees where available".He said the village heads would get a four bedroom flat each and a palace for the chiefs. "Government is using the opportunity to improve their standard of living".All these efforts by the FCT administration is considered a child’s play by the FCT indigenes who vowed to fight with the last drop of their blood till justice is done.