By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Almost half a century after the Federal Government (FG) adopted Abuja as Nigeria’s capital, original inhabitants of the area still lament that inadequate compensation and little recognition have been their reward for their patriotic contributions in donating their assets to the nation.
They claim that an estimated one million of them lost their traditional homes, lands, and important historical and cultural landmarks, including 55 villages for Abuja City proper, to the Nigerian state.
In 1976, the then Federal Military Government (FMG) decided on national capital shift from Lagos to Abuja,citing,among others, congestion in the former and the need to have a central geographical location accessible to all Nigerians, as reasons for the landmark action.
However, the original inhabitants of Abuja are still bemoaning their fate several decades after.
Briefing the second meeting of National Working Committee (NWC) of the umbrella Middle Belt Forum (MBF), which met on Wednesday, February 12, Chairman, Original Inhabitants Development Association (OIDA) of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Pastor Danladi Jeji, lamented that they have been hard done by.
Abuja is located in what is politically referred to generally in Nigeria as the Middle Belt.
Jeji’s outcry was contained in a statement issued by MBF Publicity Secretary, Mr. Luka Binniyat, and made available to newsmen in Kaduna, North-West Nigeria.
The meeting was chaired by MBF National President, Dr. Bitrus Pogu.
During the meeting, Pastor Jeji reportedly revealed that 858 communities predominantly of the Gbagyi, Koro, Gede, Gwandara, Bassa, and Ganagana indigenous ethnic nationalities, had coexisted with their neighbors long before the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria by the British colonial overlords.
Pastor Jeji lamented: “An estimated one million original inhabitants have lost their traditional homes, lands, and important historical and cultural landmarks to the Nigerian state without adequate compensation or recognition.”
He revealed that “the Federal Capital City (FCC) was built after 55 villages were displaced. Yet, to this day, not a single plot of land has been allocated to any original inhabitant of the FCC.”
MBF’s key observations after reviewing OIDA’s grievances were,among others, that: “The original inhabitants of the FCT remain committed to a united Nigeria, but demand a nation that is just and fair to all citizens, regardless of their place of birth.
“OIDA seeks an urgent resolution to its concerns, as the younger generation of FCT indigenes is becoming increasingly restless, having been rendered stateless in their own land, with no hope for their future amid poverty and deprivation.”
The group called on Nigerians and the international community to empathize with OIDA members’ plight and pressure both the Presidency and the National Assembly to review their status in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The MBF urged all stakeholders in the Nigerian project to take the plight of FCT’s original inhabitants seriously and end the exploitation of FCT lands.
The body stated: “It is unjust that while other Nigerians and even foreigners have acquired large swaths of FCT land for private farms, housing estates, and businesses, the original inhabitants live in slums and abandoned villages in abject poverty.
“All displaced original inhabitants should be properly resettled, and a comprehensive evaluation of their lands should be conducted to ensure fair compensation, while statehood be accorded FCT, just as Lagos was both a state and Nigeria’s former capital.
“The FCT should also be considered for statehood among the proposed new states.”
It also demanded the establishment of FCT House of Assembly, if granted statehood, stressing that its own House of Assembly will legislate based on the territory’s unique needs.
Furthermore, the MBF noted: “The FCT Area Councils are currently excluded from Nigeria’s 774 recognized Local Government Areas, thereby denying them access to monthly federal allocations. This must be corrected.”
Recommending remedial actions, the MBF sought implementation of its options through Executive and Legislative actions.
“These demands can be addressed through Executive Orders by the President and/or constitutional amendments,” it noted.
Calling on President Bola Tinubu to do the needful, MBF believed that the President who,it emphasized, “fought tirelessly for democratic governance during military rule”, is in the best position to address the long-standing injustice.
Earlier, Dr. Pogu had reaffirmed MBF’s solidarity with FCT’s indigenous people in their ongoing demand for constitutional and universal human rights, which,he noted, had been denied them over time.
The MBF leader commended the non-violent and civilized approach adopted by OIDA in advocating for their cause.
The MBF stated: “It is important to note that the MBF serves as the umbrella socio-cultural body representing the ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt, spanning 14 Northern states of Nigeria, including the FCT.
“The NWC acknowledged that the FCT represents one of the biggest concessions made by the Middle Belt to the Nigerian state, as its original inhabitants ceded 8,000 square kilometers of their ancestral land—without opposition—to serve as the nation’s capital and a symbol of national unity.
“This decision was made under military rule and formalized through Decree 6 of 1976, during the tenure of General Murtala Mohammed. It was later incorporated into the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“However, the meeting expressed deep concern over the misinterpretation and misapplication of this historic act of patriotism. Instead of being recognized as contributors to national unity, the original inhabitants of the FCT have been systematically marginalized, with government policies and actions making it appear as though they have forfeited their citizenship rights.
“The MBF views this as a dangerous development that must be urgently addressed through constitutional amendments to ensure a stable, peaceful, secure, and progressive FCT—both now and in the future.”
