Abuja master plan – Desecration of national park proposal

The popular slogan of almost all FCT ministers at the inception of their tenures has been the pledge to restore the Abuja Master Plan. This is an open admission that the Master Plan has actually being derailed by those saddled with its implementation. However, their levels of compliance to this pledge leave much to be […]

The popular slogan of almost all FCT ministers at the inception of their tenures has been the pledge to restore the Abuja Master Plan. This is an open admission that the Master Plan has actually being derailed by those saddled with its implementation. However, their levels of compliance to this pledge leave much to be desired, because most of them vacate office perpetrating more distortions, worse than they met it. This we can categorically state for the last two FCT administrations.
The three major human activities that form the cornerstone of all urban plans are Work, Recreation and Residence. In its regional development plan the Abuja Master Plan categorically stated that “because of the new Federal Capital’s national and international significance, many recreational as well as other facilities will command national attention and use. In recreational planning, areas are typically designed to form a tiered hierarchy of facilities ranging from small neighbourhood parks to natural park areas occupying thousands of hectares”. Included in Regional Development Plan are: National Monuments/wilderness protection areas; a potential Game Reserve and a National Holiday Village.
The Abuja Master Plan clearly earmarked and specifies the actual land areas to be reserved for these projects. Unfortunately, either out of ignorant of the relevance and the reasons for the inclusion of this proposal in the city plan, care-free attitude or naked greed for material acquisition or all of these, by those entrusted as the custodians of the FCT lands, these reservations are now colossally desecrated. A city devoid of the recreational component is akin to a city without life. We earnestly call for the salvation of these vital elements in the building block of the city before any further damage, more so now that our hope has been restored with a government of change now at the helm of affairs.
In between ONEX which is the original outermost limit of the city development to the North and Bwari is an area referred to as Potential Aso Hills National Monument by the Abuja Master Plan. In addition to being earmarked for potential conference center and holiday village site, it is also reservoir water shed protection area, being the location of the Lower Usuman Dam presently providing the city water needs. If not for anything the dam must be protected on health ground against any possible pollution. The plan proposed strict reservation of the area for protective forestry. Most of the area is now planned for residential use. The Kukwaba National Park at the city entry point, around the city gate has since been completely breached for residential activities.
Another interesting proposal yet to be implemented, while the area now desecrated for various forms of housing developments is the Bobo plains National Park. The Bobo Plains is an entirely enclosed valley of about 80,000 hectares, comprising a discrete watershed area, sparsely populated and is not penetrated deeply by any roads. The opportunity exists to make a neatly environmentally, self-contained game reserve national park. It is of sufficient size and isolation to allow the propagation of the mammals which once existed in profusion in Nigeria, the unique opportunity lies within a relatively short distance of the capital city.
The combination of the new city and National Game Park adjacent to one another will create a locational situation in West Africa, comparing favourably with that of Nairobi and its adjoining National Park in East Africa. With such a wide variety of habitats and topography within the Bobo plains complex of the FCT, there is rich and varied fauna. Experience in Kenya, Tanzania and Ugandan parks indicates that tourists spend the majority of their game viewing time seeking the “big six”; lion, cheetah, elephant, rhino, buffalo and giraffe. A number of these species as well as others sought by the wildlife-viewing tourists have been exterminated locally or restricted to few areas.
We shall more appreciate the significance of this proposal when we understand the importance of tourism. Wildlife tourism is a major producer of revenue to some nations and provinces within nations. When large numbers of international tourists are involved, it is a significant source of foreign exchange. If the park is to have long time local support, it must have local value as cultural or natural heritage, as an education resource, as a recreational resource or as a direct economic resource. A nation the size of Nigeria could well have more wildlife reserves and parks. Several East African nations have between five and 10 percent of their total land area set aside in protected parks, game reserves and conservative units.
As major economic force in the world today tourism is increasingly recognized as driving force both for creating job opportunities, preserving national assets and cultural heritage. Its advantages lie in its employment creating potentials and the challenges it presents for the enhancement of the quality of the environment. According to the World Tourism Organization, tourism is one of the top five exports for over 80 percent of countries worldwide. The UNWTO, in June 2008 revealed that international tourist arrivals reached 903 million and international tourist receipts grew to US $856 billion in 2007, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 5.6 percent in 2006.
There is no doubt that, with our tourism potentials we are either not aware, or unmindful of the fact that we are sitting on gold untapped. Meanwhile, those who should preserve the land for the actualization of the proposal are only busy unpatriotically exploiting and misappropriating the land for selfish and personal aggrandizement.