FCT@50: Progress built on displacement, exclusion – Natives

As the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) marks the 50th anniversary of its creation, natives of Abuja, the Gbagyi, who most times refer to themselves as the original inhabitants of the territory, have said that the milestone, though commendable, is shadowed by what they describe as decades of injustice, human right violations and systemic marginalisation faced […]

As the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) marks the 50th anniversary of its creation, natives of Abuja, the Gbagyi, who most times refer to themselves as the original inhabitants of the territory, have said that the milestone, though commendable, is shadowed by what they describe as decades of injustice, human right violations and systemic marginalisation faced by original inhabitants. Weekend Trust spotlights the success and progress of the nation’s capital city, its challenges and the plight of indigenes.

Abuja was created as Nigeria’s capital on February 3, 1976 by the late General Murtala Mohammed to replace a congested Lagos, with a neutral, central location. Carved from parts of old Kaduna, Kwara, Niger and Plateau states, the city was designed as a purpose-built, planned capital to promote national unity and reduce ethnic tension.

The Gbagyi, original natives of the capital city, believe that while Abuja has recorded remarkable infrastructural and administrative progress for the Nigerian state in the last 50 years since its creation, the progress has been most times built on the displacement, dispossession and political exclusion of the territory’s original inhabitants.

The natives, under various groups, alleged, among others things, marginalization, as well ‘confiscation’ of their lands.

The natives also noted that despite hosting the nation’s administrative capital, they have been marginalised politically.

On Tuesday, FCT Stakeholders’ Assembly marked the anniversary with a sobering counter-narrative, demanding an end to what they termed ‘systematic dispossession, exclusion and marginalisation’ since the capital’s creation in 1976.

The president of FCT Stakeholders’ Assembly, Dr Aliyu Daniel Kwali, during a press conference and stakeholders meeting in Abuja, declared that while the government celebrated urban development, the indigenous communities grieved decades of injustice.

According to Kwali, for the original inhabitants, the past 50 years have been marked not by celebration but by loss.

“While the government may reflect on achievements in architecture and infrastructure, this anniversary carries a very different meaning for us.

“For the original inhabitants, the past 50 years have been marked not by celebration but systematic dispossession, exclusion and marginalisation,” he said.

He presented a charter of demands, calling for urgent constitutional, political and cultural reforms to address what they described as structural discrimination embedded in the administration of the nation’s capital.

Central to their grievances is the issue of land, where the group highlighted forced demolitions in communities such as Gishiri, Karsana and Kuchibedna, carried out without adequate compensation or resettlement.

 “When the bulldozers come at dawn, they don’t see homes or history; they see obstacles to a master plan. Our ancestral lands, our burial grounds, our livelihoods, all have been sacrificed for a capital that treats its first sons and daughters as squatters,” he lamented.

They called for the adoption of international standards in land acquisition and resettlement, fair compensation for displaced communities, and official recognition of their customary land rights.

“Development continues to happen at the expense of the first inhabitants. National unity cannot be sustained where a people are denied dignity in their own homeland. Justice begins with returning dignity to our relationship with the land,” he said.

While framing the demolitions as a visible symbol of a wider policy of exclusion, Kwali said that despite section 299 of the constitution recognising the FCT as a state, its people are denied equal political rights.

He said that unlike citizens of other states, indigenous FCT residents could not vote or contest for governorship or state assembly positions. They also remain severely underrepresented in the National Assembly and are consistently bypassed in federal appointments under the federal character principle.

To remedy this, the coalition is calling for a constitutional reform to remove provisions that create this inequality.

Their proposals include demarcating the FCT into three senatorial districts, creating additional federal constituencies to ensure fair representation, and reclassifying the territory’s area councils as full local government areas consistent with the structure of other states.

Beyond structural changes, the Assembly demanded the restoration of full democratic participation, including the right to vote and stand for elections at all state-level offices. They also pressed for governance structures that guarantee indigenous participation in decisions affecting their communities and livelihoods.

Culturally, they issued a strong appeal for an immediate halt to the desecration of ancestral lands, burial grounds and sacred spaces.

They seek legal protection for these sites, arguing that their destruction violates both cultural dignity and international human rights instruments, including the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“Development must not be built on exclusion. National unity cannot be sustained where a people are denied dignity in their own homeland,” he said.

 

A milestone shadowed by marginalisation

A former commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), Comrade Ezekiel Musa Dalhatu, said that while Nigeria gained a capital, the indigenous people lost their land, political identity and economic security.

“From our perspective, it has been progress for the nation but displacement for the natives. That imbalance remains unresolved,” he said.

Dalhatu criticised the resettlement process as fragmented, underfunded and poorly implemented.

He noted that many indigenous communities promised integration into the new city were instead relocated to the margins, lacking adequate infrastructure, livelihoods or social services.

According to him, resettlement has often meant physical relocation without social or economic restoration.

“True integration requires not just housing but access to land, jobs, education, political participation and dignity,” he argued.

He further dismissed the official narrative of compensation as a “myth,” asserting that payments were inconsistent, incomplete and in many cases, never disbursed.

“Where payments occurred, they rarely reflected the true value of ancestral land, communal livelihoods and cultural loss. The disconnect lies in treating compensation as a one-off transaction rather than a long-term issue of justice and remediation. You cannot extinguish centuries of land rights and identity with sporadic payments,” Dalhatu said.

 

Natives seek Abuja state

Last year, a coalition of native groups in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) made a decisive call for the creation of Abuja as Nigeria’s 37th state, designating Gwagwalada as its capital.

At the inaugural meeting of the FCT Stakeholders’ Assembly in Gwagwalada, leaders framed their struggle as a unified, class-based fight against systemic marginalisation rather than an ethnic conflict.

The Assembly’s president, Aliyu Daniel Kwali, declared the choice of venue as symbolic and strategic. “While Abuja is recognised as the capital city of Nigeria, Gwagwalada remains the historical and cultural headquarters of the State of Abuja.

“We have deliberately chosen to gather here to send a clear message to the good people of Nigeria, the federal government, and indeed, the global community, that the original inhabitants and residents of the FCT, long subjected to marginalisation, are united in purpose and determination.

“We are resolute in our commitment to secure, protect and defend the long-awaited State of Abuja, with Gwagwalada as its rightful capital,” he said.

The FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, recently said that Abuja, the country’s capital, had witnessed serious infrastructural development since its 50 years of creation. speaking while conducting an inspection of ongoing infrastructure projects, declared that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has fundamentally altered the city’s landscape. Reflecting on the FCT’s 50th anniversary (February 3, 2026), Wike emphasised that the recent infrastructure push was more than just a celebration.

“Over the past three years, and this isn’t merely a Golden Jubilee celebration, the president’s tenure has changed the landscape of the FCT,” the minister remarked, adding that all works strictly adhere to the Abuja master plan.

 

 ‘Abuja as Nigeria’s unifying city’

Chief Michael Ajisafe, a retired civil servant, said the geographical location of Abuja made it a truly unifying capital city, noting that the relocation of the country’s seat of power from Lagos was a well-conceived decision.

Chief Ajisafe, who retired from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), noted that he was among the pioneer staff moved from Lagos during the transition.

Ajisafe, who turns 78 this year, said Abuja’s  location made it easier for people of different languages and religions to relocate and cohabit peacefully.

“When we arrived, people from different states, ethnic backgrounds and religions were grouped together in quarters or offices because both residential and office spaces were limited. We all lived peacefully. And that was the beginning of the peaceful coexistence you see in Abuja today. You hardly hear of ethnic or religious crisis in Abuja. It has truly been a unifying city,” he noted.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr Ahmad Saleh, a resident of over 15 years, said the city remained one of the most peaceful and accommodating in the country.

“Anywhere you go, you see people of varying backgrounds living peacefully. People of different languages and religions now come to Abuja for meetings and various associations,” Saleh added.

The Esu of Bwari, Dr Ibrahim Yaro, said that as residents celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the FCT, their utmost demand is for the federal government to allow the people of the territory to elect their own governor.

“We want a situation where the people of Abuja can choose their own governor and elect members of a House of Assembly. We also want two additional senatorial seats as obtainable in the states and more seats in the House of Representatives,” he said.

The royal father added that the status of traditional rulers in the FCT had remained stagnant since 1997 when the military administration last upgraded the institution.

“Some of us have remained at the same class level since 1997. Our colleagues in other states, with whom we were once at the same second or third-class level, have since become first-class traditional rulers. The FCT Administration should look into this,” the monarch pleaded.

A cross-section of residents also urged city administrators to make deliberate efforts to develop satellite towns to prevent the Abuja city centre from becoming as overcrowded as Lagos.

Lawal Shehu, a legal practitioner, warned that if deliberate efforts are not made to develop the area councils, the city centre will soon become a nuisance, overcrowded and distorted. He noted that while the city witnessed rapid infrastructural development since becoming the capital, the daily influx of people has put immense pressure on existing facilities.

“Even in the city centre, access to water is becoming a problem. Security is another issue; street beggars and ‘one-chance’ criminals, among others, are now becoming the order of the day.

The FCTA must develop the area councils so that Abuja does not turn into Lagos in the near future.” Shehu said.