‘Our Abuja dream is a nightmare’

The “Abuja dream” like the famous ‘American dream’ is about success and prosperity in a land literally flowing with milk and honey; a place where opportunities abound. Much as some people have made it big in Abuja, thousands of others are living in squalid conditions and barely eking out a living. Weekly Trust visited some […]

The “Abuja dream” like the famous ‘American dream’ is about success and prosperity in a land literally flowing with milk and honey; a place where opportunities abound. Much as some people have made it big in Abuja, thousands of others are living in squalid conditions and barely eking out a living. Weekly Trust visited some of these places to find out how they are coping with life in Abuja.
Madam Esther, a middle-aged woman from Cross River State and a mother of two, is among the occupants of a 33-room three-storey building in a busy commercial area in Abuja. “I have been living here for the past two years. My husband is a bricklayer. We could not renew our rent when it expired and we found succour here. We are trying to save money to rent a room maybe by next year, because it is not easy living in an open space, especially during this harmattan season. I don’t like the way my children are living, but what can I do? I sell recharge card and buns to augment whatever my husband brings home,” she said.
When Weekly Trust asked her why they can’t relocate to their village, she said they have thought of that option but don’t have the courage to take the decision. “You know, people normally leave the village to go to cities to look for money. We have our family house in the village, but the survival there is the issue and there is no money in the village. I still believe that something good will happen here in Abuja,” she said.
The 33-room storey building is said to house close to 80 occupants. Daniel who identified himself as the younger brother of the caretaker of the building says most residents there are people who can’t afford to pay the rent and his brother offered them the place as temporary accommodation. “This building houses about 80 people. Most of them have gone out to eke out a living; that is why you see that the place is almost empty now (at the time of this reporter’s visit). But by evening, they will return. The majority of the occupants are from Cross River State, but we also have Igbo and people from Kogi State.
“Most of those from Calabar knew that they would be sleeping in uncompleted buildings before they came, but they said they preferred it than staying in the village. My brother normally informs them that there is no accommodation and he doesn’t charge them anything. He only tells them to keep the place clean. In Bana village, a Gwari settlement here in Utako, they are asking for N45,000 per annum for the small rooms they have there. We don’t have that kind of money. I am a cleaner and most people here are doing menial jobs,” Daniel said.
Our correspondent noticed that there are no doors and windows yet in the building. In some of the makeshift rooms, it is mostly leather bags and blankets that were used as curtains. A very large area was demarcated as bathroom while they defecate in the bush behind the building, according to Daniel.
The story is the same in Gwarinpa, a suburb in the FCT. A visit there showed clearly how the ‘Abuja dream’ has turned into a nightmare for some people. Gloria Cletus, a young lady of about 20 years, lives with her family of four. At the time Weekly Trust got there, her parents and other siblings were not at home. What passes for their accommodation is blocks arranged together with trampoline on top to serve as roof. The house is by a stream which makes the place very cold in the night. Though the situation there looks grim, Gloria, like other occupants of uncompleted buildings in Abuja, prefers to stay in Abuja than go to the village.
“It is only my father that used to be here while my mother and we the children were in Jos, but the incessant Jos crisis made my father to bring us here. We used to have a better thatched house, but some people in the estate complained that we are harbouring criminals and they came and demolished it. Because my father has no money to rent a house, we arranged blocks and sleep inside like that. It’s not been easy staying here. When it rains, we suffer seriously. In fact, we lost one of our siblings, a baby who was just a few months old,” she said.
She also told Weekly Trust that she, her mother and her younger sister augment the family’s income through hair-dressing because their father who is a labourer can’t meet the whole needs of the family.
When asked why they can’t go back to the village to stay rather than to live in their kind of situation, Gloria answered thus: “You can never compare life in the village to life in Abuja. We are talking of Abuja, not any other city. No matter the circumstance, you will always find your way in Abuja. The hair we make here and collect over N2,000, we can never collect that kind of money in the village. Even in the village, everyone knows how to make hair, so you can only make for one another rather than to pay to have your hair done,” she said.
Gloria said she completed her secondary school education this year from a school in Life Camp and hopes to get admission into a higher institution. She took part in the recent post-JAMB exercise in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. “Life is difficult but I am determined to make it no matter the circumstances, even if it means living the hard way in Abuja,” she concluded.
Ifeoma Okoye is another occupant of an uncompleted building with her two kids. Our reporter observed that the kids were looking very rough as a result of the weather. She told Weekly Trust that they used to live in Gwagwa before el-Rufai’s demolition exercise sent them parking.
“I have been living in Abuja for the past 10 years. I was not doing badly. I owned a bukateria in Gwagwa where I used to sell food. It was there that I met the father of these kids. He promised to marry me and we were living together. I gave birth to my first child in Gwagwa. el-Rufai demolished our house and place of business, so we moved to Mpape. Then I became pregnant with my second child and things were not easy.
“To my surprise, my fiancé woke up one day and threw my child and me out. That is how I found myself living in this uncompleted building, because I don’t have money to rent a house. Here, we manage a very small place with just wrappers demarcating every occupant’s space.
“In the night, all I do is to make sure that my kids are well-dressed with double or triple clothes, especially thick ones, so that they can at least be warm as the harmattan season has set in. I also do some menial jobs like washing and cleaning for some people. At least, with that, I am able to provide some things for my kids and pay for the school fees of my first child in a government school here in Jabi,” Ifeoma narrated in tears.
When asked why she insists on staying in Abuja instead of relocating back home and living life all over again in a more comfortable atmosphere, she said, “People have made it here in Abuja and that was my main aim of coming, so why should I move back home when it will be making things worse and people will see you and your children as burdens?
“It is better I stay here because I know my people. They will make things worse for me. There are people whose conditions were worse than my present situation, but with time and patience, they have made it in this Abuja. Mine will not be any different, because I believe that God will send someone that will bring an end to my misery. I will stay on in Abuja, because that is what I owe my kids. They will be better off here than any other place,” she insisted.
Mathew, another young man caught in the uncompleted building problem, who didn’t want his picture taken, revealed to Weekly Trust that sometimes when he reflects on his situation, he sheds tears and feels like going back to his village in Benue State. “I came from Benue State six years ago. I am presently working as a security man in this neighbourhood (around Kubwa). We are about five doing the job. We sleep in the same place, which is a batcher constructed by us.
“Sometimes I feel like relocating back home, but I can’t. I am the eldest in the family and I feel it is my responsibility to help my aging mother no matter how difficult it may seem. I came to Abuja with the hope that I could go into property business, because I know somebody who came to Abuja from our village; he joined the business and made it. He owns his personal house in Nyanya, Nasarawa State. My dream was to toe the same line, but my story became different.                                                                                                                                                                          
“I make at least N15,000 monthly from the miscellaneous labourer work I’m doing. In the morning, everybody goes out to look for something to do, return in the evening and sleep. There are about five of us, including some boys from our village who recently came to struggle, thereby making us to be eight people in the batcher. I have my WAEC result, but there is no money to further my education. I thought if I come to Abuja and make some money, I’d be able to further my education,” he said.
The story of Friday Philip has elements similar to Mathew and his friends’, though his entire nuclear family is involved. He told our reporter that he was a guard with a private firm in Maitama.
“I was a security man, but I lost the job. My condition is so terrible that some people think I am insane. I am not; I know what I am doing. I live here with my wife and kids because I have no option. The owner of the uncompleted building knows that we are living here.” he said.
When asked if they are not scared of the hazards of living in the uncompleted buildings, he responded, “Fear what? No be God dey protect? I’m not scared of anything. My children are used to this place. They are also not afraid of anything,” he said, adding that at some point early this year, he contemplated relocating to his village in Kogi State but hadn’t the transport fare.
“I went to one of our village people to get assistance but I did not get. If I get enough money, I’ll move with my family back to the village, even though I know I’ll be mocked and laughed at, but it doesn’t matter. You know village people; they’ll say after 15 years in Abuja, he has returned without anything. Anyway, I thank God for the children he has blessed me with, even if my Abuja dream is turning out to be a nightmare,” he said