The FCT's Demoliton Man
When I asked how I like Nigeria, I often respond "Is ok. There are things I like and don't like about Nigeria." When asked what I don't like, I respond that the things I don't like are the things that many Nigerians don't like about Nigeria. Such as ...
A post from the Abuja Ex-pats Newsgroup:
"The Hope for Survival orphanage - the one employing the grade school teacher - needs a new home. The whole village, Gishire, has been demolished by the FCDA, and only the imploring of the villagers has given the orphanage one month to find a new home before it is torn down. The orphanage houses 20 children up to 14 years old, has dormitories, a kitchen and dining area, and a separate building for a school."
Why would the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) demolish an entire village?
"Since El-Rufai’s appointment as Minister by the President in 2003, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) has been carrying out mass forced evictions in Abuja in an attempt to re-initiate a Master Plan that was approved in 1979. The Plan was designed to guide the creation of the new capital and development of the capital territory until 2000. The Master Plan was developed when the Government decided to move the national capital from Lagos to Abuja. The aim of the Master Plan was to create an orderly capital as a solution to the chaotic, rapidly expanding Lagos. The Master Plan called for the resettlement of people living in traditional villages in the capital territory to neighbouring states. However, the Government never fully carried out the resettlement plan. Instead, those living on the land when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was created - generally termed ‘indigenes’ - were allowed to remain. These settlements have expanded in the past 30 years as indigenes allocated land or rented housing to non-indigenes who moved to Abuja for employment and were unable to access affordable formal housing. This resulted in the formation of extensive informal, unplanned and unauthorised settlements within the area designated for the capital city
The Land Use Act of 1978 vests all lands in the hands of the Government and does not allow for the private ownership of land by individuals or corporations. According to the Act, the Governor of each state has the power to allocate urban land, and local area councils have the power to allocate rural land. Individuals and private developers must apply for certificates of occupancy that will allow them to use the land for a certain period of time for a fee. In the case of the FCT, there is no Governor. Legally, the President of Nigeria is the only one with the authority to allocate land in the FCT, and the Minister of the FCT, who is a presidential appointment, carries this out on the President’s behalf.
The Land Use Act makes it illegal for indigenes to allocate land without prior government approval. However, this has seldom been enforced. Hundreds of thousands of people live in these informal settlements because they do not have access to affordable housing in the formal market within a reasonable distance to their place of employment.
Since El-Rufai’s appointment as Minister of the FCT in 2003, the FCDA has targeted over 49 such settlements in Abuja for demolition, arguing that land was zoned for other purposes under the Master Plan and, in some cases, has already been allocated to private developers. To date, these evictions have affected approximately 800,000 people, as estimated by local organisations. Although the FCDA argues that this number is inflated, they have not released their own figures from their enumerations of the informal settlements.
The FCDA has demolished homes, schools, clinics, churches, mosques, and businesses without adequate consultation with communities, and without providing adequate notice, compensation, or adequate resettlement. The evictions have resulted in the massive displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from entire communities with a spiralling effect on health, education, employment, and family cohesion. Some of the demolitions were accompanied by violence perpetuated by heavily armed security operatives towards residents and owners of businesses. Approximately 21-24 of the 49 targeted settlements in Abuja have been demolished by the FCDA in the past three years. Evictions commenced as early as 2003, but the most contentious demolitions began in late 2005 and have been ongoing." Click here for more information.
A post from the Abuja Ex-pats Newsgroup:
"The Hope for Survival orphanage - the one employing the grade school teacher - needs a new home. The whole village, Gishire, has been demolished by the FCDA, and only the imploring of the villagers has given the orphanage one month to find a new home before it is torn down. The orphanage houses 20 children up to 14 years old, has dormitories, a kitchen and dining area, and a separate building for a school."
Why would the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) demolish an entire village?
"Since El-Rufai’s appointment as Minister by the President in 2003, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) has been carrying out mass forced evictions in Abuja in an attempt to re-initiate a Master Plan that was approved in 1979. The Plan was designed to guide the creation of the new capital and development of the capital territory until 2000. The Master Plan was developed when the Government decided to move the national capital from Lagos to Abuja. The aim of the Master Plan was to create an orderly capital as a solution to the chaotic, rapidly expanding Lagos. The Master Plan called for the resettlement of people living in traditional villages in the capital territory to neighbouring states. However, the Government never fully carried out the resettlement plan. Instead, those living on the land when the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was created - generally termed ‘indigenes’ - were allowed to remain. These settlements have expanded in the past 30 years as indigenes allocated land or rented housing to non-indigenes who moved to Abuja for employment and were unable to access affordable formal housing. This resulted in the formation of extensive informal, unplanned and unauthorised settlements within the area designated for the capital city
The Land Use Act of 1978 vests all lands in the hands of the Government and does not allow for the private ownership of land by individuals or corporations. According to the Act, the Governor of each state has the power to allocate urban land, and local area councils have the power to allocate rural land. Individuals and private developers must apply for certificates of occupancy that will allow them to use the land for a certain period of time for a fee. In the case of the FCT, there is no Governor. Legally, the President of Nigeria is the only one with the authority to allocate land in the FCT, and the Minister of the FCT, who is a presidential appointment, carries this out on the President’s behalf.
The Land Use Act makes it illegal for indigenes to allocate land without prior government approval. However, this has seldom been enforced. Hundreds of thousands of people live in these informal settlements because they do not have access to affordable housing in the formal market within a reasonable distance to their place of employment.
Since El-Rufai’s appointment as Minister of the FCT in 2003, the FCDA has targeted over 49 such settlements in Abuja for demolition, arguing that land was zoned for other purposes under the Master Plan and, in some cases, has already been allocated to private developers. To date, these evictions have affected approximately 800,000 people, as estimated by local organisations. Although the FCDA argues that this number is inflated, they have not released their own figures from their enumerations of the informal settlements.
The FCDA has demolished homes, schools, clinics, churches, mosques, and businesses without adequate consultation with communities, and without providing adequate notice, compensation, or adequate resettlement. The evictions have resulted in the massive displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from entire communities with a spiralling effect on health, education, employment, and family cohesion. Some of the demolitions were accompanied by violence perpetuated by heavily armed security operatives towards residents and owners of businesses. Approximately 21-24 of the 49 targeted settlements in Abuja have been demolished by the FCDA in the past three years. Evictions commenced as early as 2003, but the most contentious demolitions began in late 2005 and have been ongoing." Click here for more information.