By FRED ITUA Exactly 40 years ago today, the military government of Nigeria created the Federal Capital Territory through the enactment of the FCT Decree No. 6 of 1976, today called the FCT Act. A lot of provisions were made and foundation findings documented by the Akinola Aguda Panel of 1975 that provided for the number of persons that would be affected in the relocation and revocation of lands. The plans also included how to and how much they would be compensated with for their lands to be taken. While one leg of the implementation that has to do with taking over of lands and development has taken place effectively, the aspect of compensation and proper relocation and resettlement of natives remains in paper. These years later, the natives who knew of the plans and procedures of the takeover in law still fume that the whole episode to take over their land has been fraud. It is only few that argue that beyond non- compensation for their lands, the incident has been some blessing to the development of the area and the people. The long walk to the creation of Abuja as Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) began in 1976, with the military regime of Gen. Murtala Muhammed. The regime had decided that Lagos, which was then Nigeria’s capital, had become too over-crowded as both political and commercial capital of Nigeria. Consequently, Gen. Muhammed on August 9th,1975, set up a committee headed by Dr. Akinola Aguda to advice the government on the suitability of Lagos to continue to play the role of Nigeria’s capital, as well as a new location suitable to replace Lagos as the nation’s capital. Dr. Aguda committee who toured Nigeria for this purpose, recommended Abuja as a suitable replacement as Nigeria’s capital. On July 6th, Gen. Muhammed promulgated the decree No 6 of 1976 making Abuja Nigeria’s new capital. Although the new FCT was created in 1976, physical development of the territory only began in 1980. This is despite the earlier establishment of the famous Parastatals, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in 1976, charged with the responsibility of the design and development of the new capital, after setting a 15 years target for the phased, movement of the seat of government. The pioneer administrator of the FCT, Mr Mobolaji Ajose Adeogun immediately embarked on a massive recruitment of town planners, architects, engineers and other professionals for the FCDA. In 1976, the infant FCDA started out in Lagos and within a year, it opened an office in Kaduna, nearer to city. And by 1978, when surveys of the territory had reached an advance stage getting ready for physical development, FCDA transferred its headquarter to Suleja town. The administrator and all the senior staff of FCDA who lived and worked in mobile caravans in an open field base on the outskirts of the town moved also. On the 12 of December, 1991 President Ibrahim Babangida signed the Decree formally declaring Abuja as the new FCT of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He boarded a presidential Plane and made the historic one hour journey to Abuja. He was received at the city gates by ministers, the diplomatic corps, civil servants and other prominent Nigerians. After a colourful ceremony at the city gates, he was conveyed in a convoy to the new seat of government at the valley by the foot of Aso Rock. This is to bring to an end a planed 15 years movement of the seat of power from Lagos to Abuja from 1976 to 1991. Nigeria joined the league of countries that had built new capitals such as the United States of America that transferred from New York to Washington DC, Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, Australia from Melbourne to Canberra and few others. Despite all these, there was one nagging issue and that was the resettlement of original inhabitants of FCT. The spirit of Decree No 6 of 1975 by Gen. Mohammed was that the original settlers in Abuja were to be compensated and relocated to the adjoining states to the new FCT. However, in 1978, the government of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo saw the assessment of N2.8 billion estimated for the compensation of the original settlers before their relocation out of the New FCT as too big for government to pay. Instead, Obasanjo decided that such amount was better spent on infrastructural development of the FCT. President Shehu Shagari who came to power in 1979, tried to effect the compensation and relocation policy by setting up a site in Plateau state to relocate the indigenous people of Karu in FCT as the first test case. Only a few family from Karu benefited and were relocated to the new site that became known as NEW Karu. While the majority of people in Karu were waiting for their compensation and relocation, the federal government then said there was no more money to continue the compensation and resettlement policy. What became clear was that the federal government had administratively decided on total, but gradual evacuation of the original settlers of the FCT as development approaches each village and settlement. Forty years after the creation of the territory, the original settlers are still gnashing their teeth. Yunusa Ahmadu Yusuf, Secretary- general Of Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Organization believes that successive administrations of the territory, as well the federal government have not been fair to their plight. “We the Abuja Original Inhabitants Youths Organization, are an Organization with the mandate of the original inhabitants (Gbagyi, Gbari, Gade, Ganagana, Amwamwa, Bassa, Egbira, Gwandara and Koro) of Abuja in particular and FCT in general,” he said. “Our sole aim is the of protection of our rights and the interests on our land and its resources, as they relate to property protection, identity, utilization of empowerment opportunities, environmental protection, preservation of our rich cultural heritage, safety of lives and property, education and sensitization on government programmes, mineral resources and other policies of government,” he added. Speaking on the importance of land and what it means them, Yusuf said: “To us, the Original Inhabitants of Abuja, land represents the future. land represents wealth. It represents health, freedom and everything. It is land that makes a people a community. Can anyone imagine what the consequences will be if communities in the Niger Delta are deprived of their lands in the manner it is meted out to the Original Inhabitants of the FCT? People will do everything including supreme sacrifice to defend their ancestral land. God created the land and out of land, God created man. “Few months ago, our people defied bullets from the police when they protested the demolition of their settlements and acquisition of their land perpetrated by land racketeers. The people of Abuja are known for farming and crafts-making. But with the coming of the Federal Capital Territory to Abuja, our people have been deprived of their farm lands. “Due to the activities of the FCTA environmental enforcement agents, our mothers, these days, can no longer hawk their farm produce harvested from the remaining parcels of land waiting to be taken by the takers. “Our mothers and youths who hawk food and snacks are now seen and treated as environmental nuisance who are routinely molested with seizures and destruction of their wares by the environmental enforcers. Yet, there are never any sustainable measures put in place to engage them in gainful employments. “While other states in Nigeria are sending over 500 students overseas for sound education and training, the FCT Scholarship Board is poorly funded. Consequently, our youths who are willing and are qualified for such training are handicapped and stranded. Those in some institutions here in Nigeria are perennially awaiting sponsorship. “The FCT indigenous slots for employments in the Federal Civil Service are being taken by non-Indigenes through illegal activities. We are calling on all well-meaning Nigerians to join the advocacy of Abuja Original Inhabitants to let the government look into all the injustices to which we have, for too long, been subjected to. It is at the interest of peaceful co-existence and stability for our plight to be positively addressed.”