The Federal Government has been urged to initiate measures to address the plight of the original inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who are referred to as Abuja indigenes.
While making this call, a group, the Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC) argued that it was wise for the government to promptly address the complaints of economic, political and social deprivations being raised by Abuja natives.
SERDEC’s Executive Director, Tijani Abdulkareem said addressing the economic injustice, marginalisation and deprivation being suffered by the original inhabitants of the FCT would forestall a possible replication, in Abuja, of the violent agitations being experienced in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
Abdulkareem spoke in Abuja yesterday while unveiling a project on “promoting the rights of the original inhabitants (OIs) in the FCT,” being executed by his organisation, in collaboration with Resource Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRICED).
“We all are aware that the position of statelessness the original inhabitants of the FCT find themselves has long been building the feelings of alienation, frustration and bitterness.
“The project, which is supported by MacArthur Foundation, through the Resource Centre for Human Rights Education (CHRICED) is a two-year project under the Equitable Recovery Grant to work for ethnic injustice as it concerns the marginalised original inhabitants of the FCT.
“The objective of our project is to promote the economic rights of the Ols young women and men by mobilising and supporting them to participate in the formulation and implementation of employment and empowerment programmes.
“We believe that by the end of this project in 2023, the original inhabitants (Ols), young unemployed women and men within the six area councils of the FCT benefit from a fair and equitable process of empowerment and employment programmes that is being implemented by the government agencies,” Abdulkareem said.
The traditional head of the Kuje District of the FCT, Alhaji Yakubu Kure praised SERDEC for the initiative and promised to help in mobilising other FCT natives to support the project.