NIGERIA: Why Abuja Needs More Resources

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 In another few weeks or thereabout, the National Conference holding in Abuja will wind up after what has been a series of climax and anti-climax. Notwithstanding its shortcomings, it is the hope of many Nigerians that the conference will come up with strong recommendations that will help to move the nation forward. Regrettably however, Abuja may be short changed in terms of concrete recommendations that will give this important African city a befitting articulation of a road map for its growth and development.

The first critical issue here is that of representation. While Abuja may be represented by no more than two delegates statutorily, it is also a fact that more than half of the delegates have their primary residence in Abuja, thereby making them stakeholders in the progress and well-being of the city. Yet, it remains to be seen whether those stakeholders have any sense of belonging to the city they claim to be their own.

In preparing for the dialogue, the FCT administration gave me the privilege to chair a Committee with notable persons like Prof. Jerry Gana as Vice Chairman to articulate the position of the FCT to the then proposed National Dialogue. This Committee was made up by representatives of all the major interests groups in Nigeria who are resident in Abuja.

In conducting the assignment, we came to one fundamental conclusion that FCT is a federation project and not a federal government project as is popularly believed. In plain language, what we are saying is that Abuja was conceived to be a federal capital city that belongs to all Nigerians inclusive of the earlier settlers found in the territory. As such, Abuja’s development should be the responsibility of all Nigerians irrespective of their state of origin.

Apart from the diversity of people with permanent residency, the city is also home to every state government office, the official quarters of governors as well as their private homes. Since the Federal Capital City officially moved from Lagos to Abuja, most political office holders often abandon their primary constituencies and instead adopt Abuja as their place of abode. It is a notorious fact that that once people check into Abuja, they seldom check out.

Because of the phenomenal growth of Abuja over the years and the challenges these pose, our committee was unanimous in three critical areas which I wish to briefly highlight because as far as I know, they have not been adequately articulated at the on-going conference. The first has to do with funding; the second is the challenge of administration while the third is the ignored plights of the original inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory.

On funding, the founding fathers decided to allocate 1% from the Federation Account to its development. It was this take-off seed funding that launched the city on the path of rapid growth that made it the cynosure of global eyes that prompted a foreign journalist to describe the city as ‘Abuja, Nigeria’s gleaming capital city’. This funding was maintained until sometime in the year 2004, when it was ruled that the 1% should be derived from the Federal Government’s share of the account only. That decision could only have been made in error because Abuja is not a Federal Government entity but a federation entity for all Nigerian Citizens.

However, by domiciling the responsibility of the development of Abuja to federal government’s share of the national revenue alone, it makes FCT solely a federal government responsibility. The situation should not be so. We therefore recommended that all federating units of the country should contribute in funding Abuja because it is our collective responsibility as a nation to do so.

The present funding arrangement for the FCT is grossly inadequate and needs to be reviewed because at inception, the Abuja project was scheduled to be completed in 25 years. However, almost 40 years after, we have only achieved 30% development because of inadequate funding. That perhaps explains why development in the 8,000 square kilometers Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is still within only one phase of its plan.

We suggested in that committee that FCT should be restored as a federation project and be funded from the Federation Account. We strongly recommended an upward review of the allocation from one per cent to five per cent. The reason for the increase in percentage is firstly the aggravated cost of development and secondly, the upsurge in migration of Nigerians from all parts of the country to Abuja which has put a stress on existing infrastructure.

The city at the drawing board was designed to accommodate half a million people but by today’s estimates, over 5 million people live in the territory. It was on this note that our Committee prayed that the National Dialogue will resolve this matter by recommending that the source of Abuja’s funding be returned to status quo with enhancement. This is crucial at this time because Abuja is becoming a mega city of repute.

The committee also looked at the issue of administration. Although the Constitution states that Abuja should be treated as if it were a state, regrettably over the years FCT, Abuja has been treated as a parastatal or at best a ministry. Based on this anomaly, our Committee found it necessary to point out that the turnover of ministers of FCTA is too unbearable for the smooth development of the territory. For example, since 1999 till date, there have been seven ministers of the FCTA. These are General Mamman Tsofo Kotangora (1998-1999), Arch Ibrahim Bunu (1999-2001), Engr. Muhammed Abba Gana (2001-2003), Mallam Nasir el’Rufai (2003-2007), my humble self (2007-2008), Sen. Adamu Aliero (2008-2010) and Sen. Bala Mohammed (2010 till date). Meanwhile, in many of the states, there have been only two governors within the same period under review.

The result of that consolidation in the states is glaring as well. When a minister comes on board with his team, a developmental road map is put in place for his tenure but most times, the minister has hardly settled down before he is removed for political expediency. Unfortunately most times those well intentioned projects are abandoned by the incoming minister. This trend retards development. We therefore recommended that even if the minister is appointed by the President as it is done statutorily today, unless found seriously wanting and in breach of oath of office, the minister should have a fixed tenure in order to judiciously carry out developmental projects and policies initiated by his administration.

While we were at it, we reasoned also that the political head of FCT should be known and addressed as ‘Administrator’ and not a minister. This gives weight to the responsibilities he has in administering the affairs of the city. Furthermore, we also suggested that ‘FCT needs a legislative organ to expeditiously make laws for the territory with a view to ensuring better efficiency in administration’.

Perhaps the most contentious issue we had to deal with is that of Settler/Indegene. It was our committee’s unanimous recommendation that the people who are original settlers should be accorded highest priority in areas like education, land ownership, health and agriculture. The original settlers of the FCT must also be accorded affirmative action by the FCTaAdministration. Unlike other Nigerians in the territory, who are bonafide Abuja indigenes by law, but on several occasions moved back and forth to their states of origin, the Abuja earlier settler has no other place to go other than Abuja. Therefore, there is need for pending issues of Resettlement and Compensation to be promptly resolved to avoid feelings of marginalisation and insecurity.

I am passionate about this issue not because I was once the minister of the FCT, but because I have lived in Abuja for over 20 years and that makes me an Abuja indigene by law and there are millions of others like me. The founding fathers sought to develop a unity capital city where all would have a sense of belonging and that is why Abuja has remained a unique city in Africa. There is nowhere in the world where a city of this magnitude sprang up to its present status less than 40 years of its creation and to me Abuja should be home for all. If that is self evident, special attention ought to be given to the city. Regrettably though, having observed the National Conference so far, little or nothing has been said or done about these fundamental issues articulated by our committee.

It is therefore pertinent to raise these issues to the National Conference before it winds up its deliberations and to further urge the respected members to take another look at the submissions of the FCT committee which was set up to articulate the demands and needs of the Federal Capital Territory moving forward.

-Dr. Modibbo was one time Minister of the FCT

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