A tale of two settlements
The dirt track leading to his old shack is rutted with water gullies, dusty and littered with old polythene bags. Bala, like many of the residents here, works in posh air-conditioned offices in the city and return to his poverty-stricken slum at the close of business. Life in this Gbagi settlement is quite reminiscent of […]
The dirt track leading to his old shack is rutted with water gullies, dusty and littered with old polythene bags. Bala, like many of the residents here, works in posh air-conditioned offices in the city and return to his poverty-stricken slum at the close of business.
Life in this Gbagi settlement is quite reminiscent of ancient civilization which is devoid of any basic social amenities. But while describing his place of abode, Bala opines that “The truth is that it is very frustrating to go to the city and work in a very beautiful office with very nice surroundings, trimmed lawns, paved roads, the works, only to return to this hovel at the close of the day.” But he quickly tells you that “although I live in this local place, I feel more secure and comfortable here because, the security is very good. People here don’t steal things and we don’t have to worry about armed robbers like most people who live in mararaba and other places.”
Another resident who gave his name as Kelvin Okafor told Sunday Trust that “very few people are aware that this place actually exists in the FCT but for the few of us who live here. We are trying to cope with what life has to offer us.
For instance, a one room apartment shack here goes for between N25,000 to N35,000 a year. And you don’t have to pay for two years, as being demanded by other landlords in other parts of the city. All you have to pay is six months advance rent and you are good to go.”
While explaining the circumstances that forced him to Kpaduma, Okafor said that, “The city cannot function without poor people like us, and if the minister is saying Abuja is not for idlers, maybe he should tell us who is an idler. Abuja is such an expensive city that a person without a job cannot last here. I work in a government office in the city. But my salary is not enough to pay for the expensive houses in the city. That is why I had to move down to this place with my family.”
While commenting on the availability of basic amenities in the house, Okafor told this medium that “most of the houses are just built for temporary occupation by the owners. So most of the houses don’t have amenities like toilets bathrooms and what have you. Whenever you want to use the toilet, all you need do is to locate a nearby bush and help yourself while residents in each of the houses have constructed a makeshift bathrooms for their convenience,” he said. Despite the new public health crisis presented by the recent human death from bird flu, there was a pile of dead, rotting chickens on the garbage heap by a public road.
A closer look also reveals human faeces in polythene bags – known as “flying toilets”.
“When you have no proper toilet, and since nature cannot be cheated, we are left with the option of using the nearby bushes or putting the stuff in polythene bags, almost everybody here is doing it.”
But for Ahmed Yakubu, a motor parts dealer at the Apo mechanic village, the proximity of the settlement to the city center is particularly advantageous. According to him, “all I spend as fare from Apo to this place every day is less than N200, because it is very close to town. Unlike people who live in Nyanya and Mararaba who have to wait for long hours in traffic.” Electricity for the residents come from private arrangement in the form of generators especially as there are no PHCN cables supplying electricity to the area. Their drinking water comes from either wells, hand-pumped water boreholes or even a small stream where a group of young men were bathing. “The only tap water in this village was donated by some missionaries about five years ago and since it stopped working last year, people in this village had to depend on local water vendors, also known as Mai Ruwas who bring water from the big houses in nearby Asokoro,” said Oladele Ayuba, one of the residents of the settlement.
While chatting with this medium, Abubakar Rabiu, who describes himself as the traditional ruler of the settlement, explained that “this place was originally a Gbagi settlement for the indigenous people of Abuja. When the government decided to develop Asokoro as an high brow area, our people had to move to this place because we don’t have any place to go.” Asked whether he is not concerned about the proposed demolition of the settlement, Rabiu responded thus, “we have been hearing rumours that the government wants to demolish this area but I don’t think it will be anytime soon because, they have not made plans for us to be relocated. Besides, it is not only the Gbagis who live in this area. Other tribes from other parts of Nigeria also live here and we live in peace with one another.”
One very curious fact about Kpaduma and Kobe settlements, however, is its proximity to Asokoro, which stands in sharp contrast to the wide, well-planned tarmac roads and luxurious apartments which house the nation’s rich and the powerful. Some of the houses are often virtually empty. A drive to the sleepy settlements of Kpaduma and Kobi, on the edge of Asokoro reveals to the first time visitor fancy houses which often times doubles as the liaison offices of most states in the federation like Ekiti, Bauchi, Niger and other
But while speaking to this medium, Abdullah Idris Zuru who is also the special assistant on media to the FCT minister explained that “the FCT administration has embarked on the demolition of illegal structures and squatter settlement. We are doing these things in stages. Last week, we were at Mabushi to clear and demolish all the illegal structures there so we are really working on these things. All the illegal structures in the FCT must give way to structural and planned development.” He was however, silent on plans by the administration to settle those who claimed to be indigenes of the area.