The federal government should not exclude Abuja residents from development programs.

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Civil society organizations and indigenous residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed deep concern about the continued socioeconomic exclusion of Abuja’s indigenous peoples in all schemes of things.

According to a statement issued by Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), one of the organizations that met in Abuja to commemorate the United Nations World Day of Indigenous Peoples, the situation is a ticking time bomb that must be addressed immediately.

According to the statement, hundreds of stakeholders celebrated the August 09 event in the FCT with a regional conference to promote all indigenous people’s culture and heritage. They maintain that the confiscation of their land is the most significant historical injustice they have experienced.

“Since 1976, when the Nigerian capital was relocated from Lagos to Abuja, the original owners of the land claim have been subjected to all forms of socio-cultural repression,” the statement reads. They claimed they were paid peanuts, which did not correspond to the value of their land.

“In a communiqué issued at the conclusion of the national stakeholders’ dialogue on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the FCT, signed by Dr Ibrahim Zikirullahi and leaders of several civil society groups, the stakeholders stated that the bottled-up anger of indigenous peoples in the FCT should be addressed to avoid potential outbursts.” ‘Building Resilience, Fostering Recovery: FCT Original Inhabitants and the Struggle for Social Justice’ was the conference theme.

“According to the stakeholders, indigenous peoples are distinguished by their ancestral land, distinct language, culture, and time-honored values that have been treasured and preserved for centuries.”

“They noted that in Nigeria, indigenous peoples’ rights in the FCT are a major challenge in the pursuit of sustainable development, peace, and stability.” ‘We are aware that the Original Peoples of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are indigenous to their territories, their ancestral land on which they have lived for centuries,’ said the communiqué. They own the land; it is their source of income, dignity, and pride; they have cultivated the land, which is their most valuable material and spiritual asset’.

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“The participants noted that with the military government’s relocation of the Federal Capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1976, the history of the Original People of the FCT was deconstructed.” The movement resulted in dramatic changes in sociology, land ownership, control, and management, all of which have an impact on the past, present, and future of FCT indigenous peoples.

‘The indigenous peoples in the FCT are recognized by their own history and values, which are supported by international instruments such as the International Convention on Indigenous Peoples and the International Labour Organization Convention 168, all of which emphasize the protection of indigenous peoples, including their intellectual and cultural property.

“Indigenous peoples in the FCT have consistently been denied their right to land and the ability to own property in territory that has historically been theirs.” Other forms of discrimination and exclusion manifest as a lack of access to ancestral land, a lack of economic, political, and cultural opportunities and identities, a denial of statehood, and a lack of access to utilities such as health care, quality education, and job opportunities.”

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Hundreds of people attended the conference, which was organized by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education (CHRICED) and the MacArthur Foundation, including traditional rulers from various kingdoms, government officials, civil society organizations (CSOs) such as Environmental Rights Action (ERA), JODER, and members of the FCT Original Inhabitant Association, which includes the capital’s nine indigenous ethnic groups, namely the Gbwari, Koro, Bassa, Eb.

The event was attended by Ibrahim Zikirullahi, Executive Director of CHRICED; Prof A B Ahmed of the Faculty of Law, Bayero University; and Alhaji Ismaila Danladi Mohammed, Executive Director of the Centre for Transparency and Accountability (CTA).