Since December 12, 1991, when the capital of Nigeria was moved from Lagos to Abuja, there have been several blunders, including defacing the master plan that would have added to the aesthetics of the city and non-relocation of those who are indigenous to the city. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports that one of the ways through which Wike will succeed as Minister of the FCT is by ensuring that the poor are well-cared for to guarantee that they have access to affordable mass housing
he Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has hit the ground running after the inauguration of ministers by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last week.
With his antecedents, one would wish Nyesom Wike to be deployed to the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Works, or Ministry of Power. As pillars of the country’s economy, these ministries and some others require special attention.
But, the President knows what he wants and he has given Wike the task to manage the FCT.
Insecurity is the main cause of the country’s devastated economy.
Food insecurity and instability of the polity are caused by herdsmen, bandits, and terrorists’ activities.
Despite investing trillions of naira since 1999, Nigeria has not been able to generate, transmit, and distribute 5,000 megawatts of electricity, and the country’s lack of infrastructure has also reached a crisis level.
Instead of being deployed to other places as many had anticipated, Wike was drafted to the FCT as the minister.
Wike, however, has a crucial role to play in the FCT because it is another facet of our national life that demands attention.
The resuscitation of the Abuja master plan has become one of the urgent tasks that Wike is expected to carry out.
Since Nasir el-Rufai served as the FCT Minister 20 years ago, Abuja has gradually skidded into putrefaction. It is as though the city has never genuinely had a minister who understood the responsibilities of his position.
As a result, the FCT is currently transforming into a large urban slum and is repeating the errors the country experienced in Lagos. This resulted in the country proposing a new Federal Capital City in 1976. However, it was built throughout the 1980s and on December 12, 1991, the capital of Nigeria moved to Abuja.
The same circumstances that caused the country to relocate its capital from Lagos to Abuja are at play.
Abuja is 2.5 times bigger than Lagos in terms of land mass. The purpose of enlarging Abuja was to establish a site where growth could be planned and staged. The tallest building in Abuja should have 12 floors, according to the city’s master plan. The city will have many gardens, parks, and other green areas.
However, a large number of the spaces that were originally meant for parks and greenery that would add to the aesthetics of the city have been converted into office and residential areas. These stain the charm of the once beautiful city.
Since many of these illegal structures are located near waterways, when it rains, flooding occurs, destroying buildings, taking lives and causing damage to several properties.
Abuja is the only major city in Nigeria where a fresh start is possible.
However, ever since the Murtala Mohammed regime conceptualised it with Decree 6 of 1976, there have been several blunders. The first blunder was the failure to relocate the native Abuja residents from the FCT, to prevent Abuja from belonging to just one group of Nigerians rather than all Nigerians.
The International Planning Associates (IPA) was inaugurated in June 1977 by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to produce the Abuja master plan and its regional grid.
Normally, the locals should have been relocated to the states—Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi and others -whose lands contributed to the FCT, following the payment of fair compensation to them. This should have been done before Abuja’s evolution as the new capital territory. But it wasn’t.
For this reason, Abuja’s indigenous population has remained a crucial component of the FCT. Successive administrations have had trouble integrating them. Several FCT administrations, most notably that of Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Timbut Useni as FCT Minister throughout the Abacha and Abdulsalami eras, established chiefdoms in the FCT and granted their chiefs staff of office to ensure their continued presence in the FCT.
Since those who were indigenous to the FCT were not moved to where they should call their homes, it became difficult for the natives to have somewhere to call their homes.
Any successful FCT Minister would have to deal with the contradictions and carry the indigenous people along. This Wike has graciously promised to do.
The Minister/Governor of the FCT is the President, according to the 1999 Constitution (as amended). As the President’s vicar, Wike thus acts as his representative/governor and takes all decisions.
Since the assumption of office, Wike has conveyed the idea that he has the vision and political will to rival and even surpass the El-Rufai era.
Wike has held several critical positions in the past, including chairman of the Obiakpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, Minister of State for Education, Acting Minister of Education and finally two-term Governor of Rivers State; his last position before being appointed as the FCT Minister. Wike is a highly independent-minded individual with a strong sense of purpose and clarity of vision.
Immediately after taking the oath of office, he held his first press conference, proving that he was aware of the problems the FCT was experiencing and, more significantly, that he was committed to fixing them.
For instance, Wike clarified that structures that were not constructed according to the dictates of the Abuja master plan would give way. He centred his belief on the need for a proper city, the necessity for law and order and the steps that must be taken to restore the master image and aesthetics of Africa’s most significant metropolis.
The high level of insecurity in the FCT, the city that is meant to be the safest in the country and a popular tourist destination, was, once again, brought to light by Wike. Armed robberies and other forms of criminalities are increasing, and bandits and terrorists have recently made considerable inroads into Abuja.
He was on point when he said that the satellite towns need to be upgraded to ease the pressure on the city centre. Wike needs to take decentralisation of the bureaucracy from the city centre into consideration.
Neither the FCTA nor the FCDA may be required to operate from the city centre. If Abuja is to be decongested, radical decisions must be made, making Wike’s nomination as Minister of the FCT a significantly strategic move.
There is also no excuse for the area councils not to act as the operational hubs for institutions such as the Defence Headquarters and various other ministries, including agriculture and defence.
Instead of the city centre, where the majority of Nigerians currently gather, area councils need to emerge as major centres to host workers, contractors and developers as well as some important ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
To restore Abuja’s master plan and image, as Wike also stated, strong surgical measures are needed.
But Wike faces obstacles that must be overcome.
The Abuja master plan was ruined by the wealthy and political elites.
He needs the President’s full backing to deal with them in addition to his obvious will and determination.
The poor have also contributed to Abuja’s degradation since they have no other choice but to build indiscriminately on land that the local chiefs, who have no legal authority, offered them. Genuine alternatives are required. Wike must put his vision into action by making sure the poor are well-cared for to guarantee that they have access to affordable mass housing.
Equally apt is Wike’s desire to reintroduce Abuja mass transit. This will ensure effective and cheap urban transportation that will connect the city centre and all satellite towns to Abuja City Centre.
The building that collapsed last week that claimed two person’s lives and 37 others injured also put to test the will of the minister to enforce the Abuja Master Plan to avert such reoccurrence.
Some of the buildings around Lagos Street may have to be demolished to avert a crisis.
Will the minister take the risk and carry out the demolition with the law in place?
Former Special Assistant to the FCT Minister during Buhari’s administration, Comrade Ikharo Attah told our correspondent that Wike should be courageous enough to effect the Abuja Master plan.
He said: “Abuja should not be left to degenerate. Things should be done the right way.
“Wike that I know will follow the Abuja master plan and nothing will happen. The natives should support him and ensure that Abuja does not degenerate.”
On what the law says about the recent collapse building, Secretary Command and Control of the FCTA, Peter Olumuji said: “The law states that any building that collapses, the owner would lose ownership of the land. That means the land automatically belongs to the Government.
“The collapsed building at Garki Village does not even have a building plan approval as revealed by the Director of Development Control.
“And the entire village is meant to be resettled before now. So, the minister should ensure the right thing is done. This is how the master plan can be restored; enough of illegalities in any form.”
