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FCT At Thirty: The Fulfilling Of A Dream By Daniel Idonor
The idea of building a new Federal Capital City had been a vital issue raised by different governments due to the persistent problems of Lagos in terms of intractable traffic, housing shortage and over congestion. In August 1975, the one month old military Government of Late Gen. Murtala, set up a panel headed by a renowned jurist, Justice Aguda and directed it to examine the desirability of retaining Lagos as the Federal Capital of Nigeria. The panel was directed to recommend a suitable alternative location should it determine that the Capital be moved from Lagos.
The panel went round through the whole length and breadth of Nigeria receiving memoranda, interviewing people and visiting potential sites for a new capital. Those interviewed include university professors, civil servants, politicians, traditional leaders and other prominent Nigerians. The panel visited Abuja Town, the Capital of Abuja Emirate and Abuja Local Government Area of Niger State in October 1975. Abuja was not the only place considered by the Aguda Panel; in the long list of memoranda submitted by the public, individuals and organizations, several areas such as Okene, Kafanchan, Makurdi, Ile, Auchi, Agege and of course Abuja were suggested.
Before Abuja was finally chosen, the panel scrutinized all the suggested areas, using certain predetermined criteria as yardstick.. From the numerous memoranda gathered by the panel, 33 sites were earmarked. And examining the various sites for suitability, a weighing system consisting of 13 criteria were introduced, namely centrality, health, climate, land availability and use, water supply, multi-access possibilities, security, existence of resources, drainage, soil, physical planning convenience and ethnic accord.
The panel returned to Lagos after touring Nigeria, and after review of the collated memoranda, they submitted their recommendations within the six months time frame issued to them. The first recommendation was to move the capital out of Lagos and secondly that the building of the new capital should be in Abuja.
The Aguda Panel recommended that the proposed capital territory be about 8000 km sq in the centre of the country; and Abuja the capital city was conceived out of the FCT to be within an area of about 250 km sq. The federal Government readily accepted both recommendations and immediately began the implementation despite reservation from certain quarters. It took the military courage in Late General Murtala Mohammed, the then Head of State who stormed an early morning meeting with his colleagues-in-council, the highest decision making body in the land, at Dodan Barracks in Obalande, Lagos on February 3 1976, to inform the meeting that the decision to establish a new capital city for Nigeria outside Lagos remained irrevocable.
The crucial meeting, as it were, was to consider the report of the committee, headed by Justice Akinola Aguda, set up by the General Murtala led military Government, to simply search for a replacement for Lagos as Nigeria's Capital City; and at the end the report was considered, ratified and adopted; and thus given Abuja, the once unknown but agriculturally viable massive vegetation, the status of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Consequently, Three days later, precisely on February 6 1976, Decree No 6, given all the necessary legal backings to the establishment of the new FCT, was promulgated into law by the Murtala-Obasanjo government, thus kick-starting all activities leading to the physical relocation of the seat of government from Lagos to Abuja.
From 1976 to 1978, the area was simply known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); and by 1978, the government found it necessary to select a suitable name for the Nigeria's future capital city. A new panel was set up with a mandate to research and recommend a suitable name. Various names were proposed by the broad section of the general public, such as names of existing towns, as well as names of Nigeria leaders. But at the end from the three short listed names including Gurara, the most important river traversing the length of the territory, government selected Abuja; and immediately the town and the old emirate that contributed most of the land mass of the FCT. To avoid confusion the name Abuja town and emirate were simultaneously changed to Suleja.
Although the new FCT was created in 1976, physical development of the territory only began in 1980. This is despite the earlier establishment of the famous Parastatals, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in 1976, charged with the responsibility of the design and development of the new capital; after setting a 15 years target for the phased, movement of the seat of government. After extensive surveys of the territory, a master plan for the FCT was designed; and an area in the north- eastern quadrant was selected for the Federal Capital City (FCC) on the Gwagwa plains at the foot of Aso Rock.
The pioneer Administrator of the FCT, Mr Mobolaji Ajose Adeogun immediately embarked on a massive recruitment of town planners, architects, engineers and other professionals for the FCDA. In 1976, the infant FCDA started out in Lagos, and within a year, it opened an office in Kaduna, nearer to city. And by 1978, when surveys of the territory had reached an advance stage getting ready for physical development, FCDA transferred its headquarter to Suleja town. The Administrator and all the senior staff of FCDA who lived and worked in mobile caravans in an open field base on the outskirts of the town moved also.
For three years, the officials of the FCDA operated from the caravan cabins in Suleja making daily excursions into the FCT where clearing of land and construction of roads had begun. The first housing estates and office buildings were built in Gwagwalada town enabling the Administrator and other officials to finally move into the territory. The second major development was in the District of Garki of the proposed FCC; and Administrator moved into new Federal Secretariat complex at Garki; thus putting to an end a journey that transverse through Lagos to Kaduna, Suleja, Gwagwalada, before arriving Garki District of the new city.
Undoubtedly, the creation of the FCT brought about rapid economic growth with a sudden influx of Nigerians from all parts; first were the construction companies competing for clearing and roads construction, soon after the workmen followed, and then came the hoteliers, food sellers, entertainers among others; thus Abuja came alive.
From its inception to full implementation stage the new capital has been the pet project of incumbent Nigerian presidents who often visit Abuja for personal assessment of on going construction works as well as retreat where they relaxed from the hustle and bustle of the chaotic Lagos; occasionally receiving diplomats to Nigeria. This tradition continued until 1991. Apart from the FCDA government also established the FCT Administration with an office in Gwagwalada, but this was to be later replaced by the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (MFCT), against the provisions of the FCT Act of 1976.
On the 12 of December, 1991 President Ibrahim Babangida signed the Decree formally declaring Abuja as the new FCT of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He boarded a presidential Plane and made the historic one hour journey to Abuja. He was received at the city gates by ministers, the diplomatic corps, civil servants and other prominent Nigerians; after a colourful ceremony at the city gates, he was conveyed in convoy to the new seat of government at the valley by the foot of Aso Rock. This is to bring to an end a planed 15 years movement of the seat of power from Lagos to Abuja from 1976 to 1991; thus Nigeria joined the league of countries that had built new capitals such as the US that transferred from New York to Washington DC, Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, Australia from Melbourne to Canberra and few others.
"I had worked in Lagos for 11 years as a Federal Civil Servant before relocating with few other workers to the new capital in 1989, and today I have been working in Abuja for another 17 years. I can tell you that as a Lagosian, government's decision to establish a brand new capital for the country is one of the best things to have happened to Nigeria because the moment we arrived Abuja and saw the empty large land with a beautiful topographic terrain it became obvious that it was not a bad decision at all "said Mr. Badmus Adeyinka, a staff of the FCDA.
The physical relocation of the seat of government from Lagos to Abuja was to open an era of revolution in the construction industry in Nigeria, as the city suddenly became the biggest and most vibrant construction site in Africa. It was this period that gigantic projects such as the Airport road, networking of major roads in phase one of the FCC, construction of the outer-northern expressway (Kubwa Road), construction of the first phase of the outer-southern expressway, construction of Tanks and distribution lines; and many other infrastructure were put in place in the early 90s. In fact, during this time there were facilities than the users (people), a period once referred to as when Abuja was begging for people. Buttressing this point the Executive Chairman of the prestigious Agura Hotel, the first private hotel in Abuja, Chief (Sir) S E Kanu said when he came to Abuja and wanted a land to build a hotel, without hesitation he was issued land, because this time we are very few in Abuja and many people did not believe that the Abuja dream and vision will be realized at all"
Shortly after this period then came what many would rather described as the" dooms day" when the Federal Government suddenly decided to relax and the once momentarily high pace of physical development of Abuja was eventually slowed down; without deliberate plans to commensurately reduce the high influx of Nigerians who have just discovered a goldmine in Abuja.
During this period, overpopulation began to set in, and within short time overpopulation related activities began to manifest on a rapid but large scale such as poor sanitary condition, underdevelopment of infrastructure, lack of maintenance culture, poor social service and general slow economic development.
Infrastructure and social amenities became inadequate because of government s failure to build more districts, while primary roads in the phase one were not completed; water supply not growing in commensurate with growth in population; non implementation of sewage and river drainage plans; just as no public transportation was put in place. With this consistence but rapid growth in population the problem of accommodation gradually began to be visible, thereby exerting steady pressure on the authority to allocate residential plot. As a result, land were indiscriminately allocated without due regard to transparency, while in most cases lands were allocated in districts that were not yet developed especially in phase two without infrastructure. This is also to give sharp rise to incidents of double allocation, and then falsification of landed papers sets in thus the beginning of land speculation and racketeering. This coupled with the inability of government to build or develop satellite towns as envisaged in the master plan was to give rise to the ugly proliferation of illegal squatter settlement across the length of the FCT.
Infrastructure became overstretched due to rapid population growth and lack of maintenance culture; poorly maintained roads, blocked water lines, poor solid and liquid waste management, failure to build land fill sites and transfer stations, unsustainable destitute management policy, erratic and poorly-maintained street and traffic light system, confusing street naming and housing numbering, rampant theft of explosives from construction sites and high crime wave were fast becoming the order of the day. It was therefore certain that we were going back to the dark days of Lagos; as every where one turns his eyes to, was merely a reminiscence of the popular Oshodi. And like Lagos, street hawkers and vendors were speedily taking over the nooks and crannies of Abuja metropolis, while the few government buildings in Garki and Wuse Districts were fast wearing off due to age long neglect.
Towards the end of the 90s, the population of the FCT has hit an estimated figure of over 8 million as against the 3 million envisaged in the master plan that the city would reach at the end of the development of phase four of the capital. Consequently, there was high incidence of armed robbery and violent crime, just as hospital facilities became dilapidated and overstretched, as well as under funded and over-populated public school system, and thus bringing social life to a state of comma. During this period, economic development was also at very low ebb with inadequate organized private sector (OPS) presence, poor response to needs of farmers, no known additional incentives to attract both local and foreign investors and investment even when they abound in Lagos, due to absence of a virile investment promotion strategy, in fact Abuja was almost void of industrial and manufacturing activities.
Speaking to Champion, a famous Town Planer and one of those who have living in the city of Abuja since 1982, Mr Greg Okereke said "Abuja was not like this before those who choose this place took a lot of things into consideration before coming down here. But the military came and kill the entire dream and vision due to their selfish interest. Do you know there was a time in this city that everybody wishes to work with the FCDA because both the FCDA and the MFCT were more than the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in terms of benefits; name it: good and decent accommodation, big time opportunities, they were the ones driving the best of cars in the country then. Apart from outright diversion of funds meant for the development of the city, illegal acquisition of every available land spaces for either residential or corner shop proposes was the order of the day among the public servants in the employment of these agencies. That time there were very few of us that resist the temptation of picking up government jobs because we believe that everybody can not work with the government. Let me also point out here that some of the 11 Ministers that have managed the affairs of the FCT did not help matters too, because once they become minister their family members and girl friends suddenly become rich. In fact there was this particular minister that staged elaborate party every now and then either in official residence or in his home state, squandering public resources.
There is no gainsaying the fact that during this period massive distortion and huge damage was done on the body of the Abuja master plan, resulting from illegal allocation, forgery and falsification, land racketeering and speculation, unapproved building plans, and illegal construction was perpetrated by officials of the FCDA, MFCT and their few connivers. The business of corruption was not only legalized but was made very attractive that the few honest ones could not but to join the "business as usual" squad. As a result of pressure by traditional rulers, family friends and well-wishers, as well as other job seekers, the existing workforce was over bloated; ghost workforce became enlarged.
It is pertinent to state here that at this stage it was glaring that there is a major problem at hand but successive Administrations lack the needed political-will to tackle the developmental crises on hand; as successive Ministers only paid lip service to what everybody agrees was a serious issue. The few ministers that attempted to carry out reforms were halted midway because beneficiaries of the status quo ante who have held the machinery of government hostage never wanted a change. And thus from Major General Mamman Vasta to AVM Hamza Abdullahi, Gen. Gado Nasco, Gen. J T Useni, Gen. Mamman Kontagora, Alhaji Ibrahim Bunu, and Alhaji Mohammed Abba-Gana, little was practically done to savage the bad situation; especially the repairs or reclamation of the bartered Abuja master plan.
When in 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of the many observers believe that a possible end to the dark days and the snail-pace development of the may be in sight after all. This is because analysts shared the sentiment that it was President Obasanjo who actually fuelled the realization of the Abuja dream, since Gen. Murtala who announced the Federal Government' s decision on February 3, 1976, fell to the assassin bullet of coup plotters 10 days later. And Gen. Obasanjo then took off from there, until he handed over Nigeria' s mantle of leadership to the civilian government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
I am one of those who believe strongly that the heart of President Obasanjo most have bleeded seeing the once beautiful capital he envisaged for this country but being bastardized by few individuals due military incursion into politics. So when he was sworn-in I know that a major reform was not only necessary but imminent in the nation\rquote s capital but of cause the President is a politician that is why I feel not so much happened in the first term or tenure of the Administration until the second. I know many will say that the President may have delayed the reforms at FCDA in order to secure more votes for his second term but what would you say made the military to delay the reforms that everybody has long yearned for?
Today, we are happy that there are reforms at all and the results are there for anybody to see and verified this is my joy as a Nigerian" said Alhaji Ibrahim Danbata, one of the first registered contractors with the FCDA in1986, and resident in the FCT.
While it could be said that in the first four years tenure of the incumbent Administration, Nigerians did not witness visible steps in the restoration of the Abuja master plan, the period unarguably was spent preparing the ground for a major revolution such as identifying all illegal structures and marking same for future removal. It was therefore not too much of a surprise when the youngest minister, Mallam Nasir El-rufai was in August, 2003 sworn-in as the 11th Minister for the FCT by President Obasanjo, this with a specific mandate to clean up Abuja.
And today it is on record that never in the 30years history of the FCT that such earth shaking socio-economic and political restructuring and land reforms have been formulated and implemented like in the last two and half years. And today, Abuja is better for it while Nigerians are happy for it said Alhaji Danbata. "When I was appointed the President specified his priority areas which include reduction in corruption among civil servants in the system; accelerated computerization of the land registry; strict enforcement of the Abuja master plan; aggressive enforcement of development control standards; Infrastructure development plan for the satellite towns and rural areas of the FCT; improvement of sanitation and accelerated greening; control growth and eventual elimination of squatter settlements; increase private sector participation in the development of the FCT; improvement of funding and performance of schools and aggressive programmes to fight HIV/AIDS pandemic the Minister declared.
According to him, we started with the pilot civil service reforms in the FCT by first creating mandate secretariats in April 2004; the then 25 years old MFCT was abolished on March 31 2005; while new agencies including the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA); Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA); and the Abuja Metropolitan Management Agency (AMMA) were also established. From existing 25,000 staff that we met we discovered the actual workforce is 19,500; on land reforms we abolished the Land Department and in its place established the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS). We have since completed the computerization of the phase one and two of the FCC; we have started the computerization of the phases three and four, the Area Councils and the Satellite Towns; already, we have also re-issued Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) and old application forms from 1980 to date; all land records are now online.
The hallmark of the series of reforms that have swept through the FCT in the last few years is the removal of illegal structures in different parts of the FCC, which is adjudged the most massive of its kind in any part of Nigeria. First, it was the removal or demolition of houses built on sewer lines even when such plots were legally allocated but Mallam El-Rufai said allocating officers may have acted in error or dubiously. From such category the bulldozers moved to illegal shops around the city; swooped on over 100 corner shops, moved into the high brow Hamza Farms, a farm turns affluent residential area, in Kubwa, entered Wuse Market, removed about 13,000 illegal shops/attachment, remaining only about 1,600 original shops, went to Bakassi Market and cleared it ready for an international standard mega shopping mall. Mansions, medium and low quality houses owned by the high and mighty, rich and poor, ranging from those built on sewer lines, highways, green areas, unapproved plots or without approved plans, including shops were all pulled down as part of efforts by the authority to recover the distorted Abuja master plan.
Mrs. Benedetti Okonkwo is a victim of the demolition but says she has since put behind her the unfortunate inccident, though very painful and difficult to forget. Can there ever be another kind of demolition that will be as intensive and as painful like this again? I don't think so; that so many families and business people will be without homes? Certainly I don't think so" she remarked. Like Mrs. Okonkwo, many other Nigerians suffered similar fate but Mallam El-rufai insisted that the bitter pill was essentially necessary towards the restoration of hope that will enhance the building of a legacy for Nigeria future generations yet unborn.
According to him, the Obasanjo government is more than ever before committed to building a first class and inclusive Federal Capital City comparable to the best in the world, saying that all those displaced are being provided with alternate plots to enable them resettle in a more decent and government approved community within the FCT. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a reviewed resettlement policy and compensation rate to meet current market value for affected communities; selection of five approved resettlement towns in Apo, Wasa, Shere, Kuje and Yangoji; while the resettlement of 49 villages will be in December this year. We have also completed the enumeration of houses in 47 communities in phase one of the FCC; and we have in addition provided 47,000 plots of land available in six location villages in Pegi, Yangoji, Kuchiko and the re-planned satellite towns; the Karmo/Idu squatter settlement scheme is being implemented with vigour, about 28,880 persons are involved.
The Minister also disclosed that the cleanliness of the FCT is receiving serious attention; as destitute have been cleared off the streets and have been rehabilitated; removal of hawkers and vendors is being implemented; abatement of noise and other pollution; Wuse and Bakassi Market clean up and greening; and the reclamation of the Gudu Cemetery and the National Cemetery. Garbage collection, he said, is also being reformed, as concession for refuse collection has been granted the private sector in 12 Districts in FCC and as a result subsidy now down from N48 to N25 million monthly; contract for transfer station and temporary landfill at Mpape is 90 per cent completed; adding that there is more increased focus on the area councils on sanitation related activities.
Parks and the Greening of Abuja, he explained is not left out either, as 12 parks are being developed including the Millennium park, Abuja Garden, Accra street, JBN among others; Abuja Garden now under private managers for maximum result; while many green areas have retrieved and secured. And major greening renewal projects are on going, at least by the end of 2007 about 1,000,000 trees would have been planted on major streets of Abuja.
With the phases two and three of the FCC fully developed, and the commencement of development in five additional Districts and two sectors, and the industrial area, and the design studies of phases four and five in progress, the Minister said, the stage is now set for major construction works in districts that have had their final engineering design jobs completed. He said street light, drainage, short city roads and all roads in phases one and two that have hitherto not been constantly maintained in the past 10 years, are being rehabilitated; while a total of 129km distance roads network are being constructed in some satellite towns including Kabusa, Kubwa, Karu, Shere, Kuchiyako, Yapo among others.
It was learnt that other areas where vigorous construction works are going on include, the health sector, as the 225 bed-capacity brand new hospital in Karu, and the rehabilitation of the Garki General hospital are being completed. Several water projects worth over N60 billion including construction of Tanks and treatement plants as well as the Gurara Dam have reached different stages of completion. In the education sector a revolution is also going on including the establishment of a secondary school board, transfer more teachers to rural areas with incentives, girl-child education scheme launched; construction of 152 secondary school classrooms completed, the rehabilitation of 174 primary school classrooms, expansion of 16 model schools in the six Area Councils, supply of 427 set of furniture, 1,454 set of double-deck beds and mattresses, and the supply a bus to each of the secondary schools in the FCT. And in the transport sector, a lot of innovations and reforms have been recorded.
The Abuja Green Cab which was flagged-off last year by the President with just 150 cars in its fleet has a fortnight ago received a boost with additional 400 cars worth N1.3billion. And just few days ago, the first batch of 150 buses for the proposed Abuja Bus Town Service transport scheme, arrived the city en route Lagos, for the take-off of the scheme which will soon be commissioned by Mr. President. Already, multi-level car parks are being built by the private sector. It is also on record that Abuja is now the first city in Africa to be "wired", the Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), thereby making Abuja fully wireless IT city. With this, residents can get hooked onto the internet service without necessarily going to the cyber cafe. It is free for now but users are expected to pay later like the charges payable for GSM services.
Alhaji Muhammad Dan-Madami is a retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police. He is also the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Police Reforms and Chairman of the newly consolidated First Inland Bank. He sums up what Abuja presently look like and what it was few years back. "As a matter of fact, if you ask me what is the level of progress so far made by the FCT Administration that I can see vividly on ground well they are there for everybody to see; but you know that the political will in the last two years if successive government has shown similar will by now the nation' s capital would have come of age, drive through the city of Abuja then tell me what you see whether it is the same dirty and chaotic Abuja of five to seven years ago. Of course a lot of changes have taken place; and anytime I have the opportunity of meeting with the FCT Minister Mallam Nasir El-rufai, I have always tell him that I like him for his guts because without such guts we would not have been where we are today, and Abuja, Nigeria and indeed Nigerians are better for it. Take a drive round the city, the young man has suddenly transformed Abuja overnight; it calls for celebration"
The popular opinion of great minds like the retired police boss, perhaps may have informed the recent decision of the FCTA to roll out the drums and celebrate Abuja @ 30 but the Special Assistant the FCT Minister on Information and Strategy, Hajiya Amina Salihu says there is more to it." We think that it is quite interesting and exciting that we are having to mark 30 years of Abuja and 15years of the movement of the seat of government, during the Administration of Mallam Nasir El-rufai; a time when so much has changed. There have been so much re-doubled efforts to ensure that the dreams of our founding peers, you know, do not go down the drain with the reclamation of the Abuja master plan; in making sure that every structure is in its right place so as to protect life and property, as well as the environment, in the FCT. Therefore, we feel that a celebration of such an event should be woven round the vision, which we have come to recapture. You see, we all want to see an FCT that is first class and inclusive. Inclusive, here means everybody, rich or poor, old, young, women, men, should have access to Abuja; a Federal Capital with service delivery, comparable to the best in the world.
And, so, we think in thirty years, there are certain things that we need to do to celebrate. One is to document the development of Abuja since 1976 to date, and see how we have traveled and gotten to this point, today. What has happened? What has not happened? What should have been done? What has been done? Who has played what role? We think we owe it to posterity, for them to understand that beyond just a dream, it is also a mission to realize this particular dream"
Asked what is the significant of the celebration to Nigerians and indeed the black race? She says: "first we believe that Abuja is quite significant, in the sense that it is physically and metaphorically a centre of unity. Abuja is the one place in Nigeria that everyone can call home. We don’t have anywhere, else. We have had crises of identity, people struggling over resources, you know, under the political understanding that 'I am an indigene and you are a settler' Abuja recognizes that everyone, every community has a history. Everyone is emigrated from somewhere, and if we all can meet and share resources and live well together, then, the nation will grow, this is exactly the feeling of government on Abuja, no wonder anywhere one turns to in the city there is a very board inscription: "Abuja is 30, let’s drum"
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