Resettlement of original inhabitants versus integration

The Abuja Master plan was designed having in mind that the entire territory is going to be a completely vacant land, according to the recommendation of the Akinola Aguda panel that recommended for the creation of a new Federal Capital Territory at Abuja. Thus, proposals were made for the resettlement of the original inhabitants of […]

The Abuja Master plan was designed having in mind that the entire territory is going to be a completely vacant land, according to the recommendation of the Akinola Aguda panel that recommended for the creation of a new Federal Capital Territory at Abuja. Thus, proposals were made for the resettlement of the original inhabitants of the entire FCT to their parent states, to create an ethnically neutral or what was termed as no-man’s land.
It was later discovered that the number of the original inhabitants were grossly underestimated. Thus, the resettlement cost became higher than the amount needed for the city development. It therefore became necessary to change the resettlement policy from total evacuation of the local indigenes to areas outside the territory, depending on the actual areas needed for the city development. The Senator A D Rufa’i Committee was subsequently established to determine the population to be resettled within and outside the FCT based on their choice. The Committee’s assignment covers only Phase I.
Thus, the first fundamental change in the Abuja development concept was the jettisoning of the evacuation of the entire FCT for the creation of the no-man’s land. Three types of resettlement policies that came up afterwards were resettlement of the local population to areas within the FCT, resettlement to areas outside the FCT and the integration of the local population into the city plan.   
Presently, in the Phases II and beyond there are many communities whose houses are sitting on the City layouts that were allocated as far back as the early nineties. Most of these communities were earmarked for resettlement. On the other hand, the original inhabitants have been agitating for integration rather than resettlement.
Both the resettlements and integration have their advantages and disadvantages. The argument advanced by proponents of integration is that, local indigenes in new project sites also have equal rights with other citizens. As such they should be integrated, rather than being displaced from their ancestral lands for the benefit of others. Others are, the evacuation of local communities from their original environment also leads to the destruction of their culture and historical monuments which values require preservation.
The pilot case for the integration started with the Garki Village. Unfortunately, it was a story of failed exercise. It failed because the local indigenes who were predominantly farmers no longer have access to agricultural lands, as it was prior to the advent of the FCT project. They were made to become an island, surrounded by the very rich with very intimidating magnificent buildings.
Being very low income earners in comparison with their very rich neighbours, they couldn’t resist offers of huge amounts of money in places of their abodes. As a result, majority sold their titles and moved to unknown lands, mostly to their kith and kins that opted for resettlement outside the FCT. The evolving circumstances were not such that they can adapt, and thus forced them to sell their rights. Is there any guarantee that other integration exercises will not suffer the same fate? If not, then the aim of the integration with its benefits as stated above is defeated.
Meanwhile, the resettlements were not implemented by the FCDA due to paucity of funds for building the required structures and compensation. The locals cannot be forcefully evacuated, because, legally, the acquisition of their abodes is yet to be concluded. Have the authority not indirectly opted for the integration? The answer is no. The fact is that, they are not integrated because they were not given titles to their abodes. If given the title, we are surely going to be surprised how fast it shall be sold out, akin to what happened in the Garki Village.
In a plan of phased development spanning from Phase I to Phase V as it is today, when will all these resettlements take place? Invariably, the situation at the moment is that, after more than 30 years, 250km2 out of 8,000km2 is yet to be totally available for the implementation of the Capital City project. Even if available the issue of providing the required infrastructure to enable development is another thing else.
The better option is for the authority to muster the resources to effect the resettlements and compensation. The communities should either be provided with farm lands to continue with their age long traditional agriculture wherever they are resettled, or make them be accessible to skill acquisition centers that shall make them learn new trade and occupation for sustenance in the city environment.