The travails of Lokogoma natives

Lokogoma is fast turning into a popular district but the original inhabitants live in squalour surrounded by the spendour of several housing estates constructed in the district. The district, which is gradually becoming Abuja’s hub of real estates, has sandwiched the original inhabitants in a congested enclave without the basic amenities including access roads. Slowly, […]

Lokogoma is fast turning into a popular district but the original inhabitants live in squalour surrounded by the spendour of several housing estates constructed in the district.
The district, which is gradually becoming Abuja’s hub of real estates, has sandwiched the original inhabitants in a congested enclave without the basic amenities including access roads.
Slowly, their farmlands have given way to many construction sites forcing them to a sparse land on which government demolition is inevitable.
Lokogoma village, popularly called Dogon-Gada, is few minutes’ drive from Garki and is reputed as one of the fast growing urban slums closest to the city centre. The estimated 5,000 residents are without potable water, schools, hospital and police outpost.
Despite their challenges, the history of the community is fascinating.
The chairman of the community’s youth, Irimiya Kanpani, who spoke on behalf of the community head, explained how the name Lokogoma was coined.
“This place was a forest when my grandfather first settled here,” he said explaining further that there were many iroko trees in the area, which was, then without a name.
“At any turn, you will see more than 10 iroko trees, so they started saying iroko goma,” he said.
Iroko is the name of a large, hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa. It is called iroko in Yoruba language and uko in Igbo. The scientific name is Chlorophora excelsa.
So from Iroko Goma, which means 10 iroko trees, Lokogoma was coined.
While Lokogoma District gets more popular, the residents diminish in relevance to their lush surroundings. 
He said many people do not know the real Lokogoma village because a developer once named his estate Lokogoma Estate before it was changed.
He said many people took the estate as the real Lokogoma instead of the village.
Kanpani, who possessed a good knowledge of the community, explained that Dogon-Gada, the alias of the community was coined from a long wooden bridge built over a river by their ancestors.
He said then, the only road to Kabusa was through the community across a river.
“So our fore fathers constructed the bridge with wood. It was the longest bridge within this area then,” he said.
He said that the concrete bridge that was later constructed to replace the bridge is now in one of the private estates.
He said the original inhabitants of Gbaygi descent would have welcomed government’s relocation and resettling plans if past resettlement programmes were successfully handled.
“Government has already acquired our farmland. Our dead relatives are buried here so we cannot go anywhere,” he said.
He described indiscriminate land allocation to developers who paid little cognizance to the residents’ plights as a clog in the wheel of the community’s development.
He said the estates had blocked all the roads that led to the community. 
Another resident, Amwaza Taminu, said past administrations, political office holders and government appointees have turned deaf ears to their troubles.
“Some people will come to campaign for our votes but in situations such as this they won’t help us. None of the political office holders has identified with our plight even though we have been reporting everything to them,” he said.
“We have nothing from the government and they have collected our farmlands,” he alleged. 
Taminu said residents funded the community’s electrification project. He said they have so far bought two transformers.
 “It was a 200KVA before but when the capacity was small for us due to the increasing population, we bought a 500KVA,” he said.
He said the electricity project was successful because the contribution was made compulsory for everybody staying in the community.
“Despite the fact that we bought the transformer, NEPA (old name of AEDC) still charges more; if any fuse should spoil, we write to them and even pay for their transport fare,” he said,  adding that the hitherto constant electricity in the community has now turned epileptic. 
While the men in the community worry about electricity, female residents lose sleep over inaccessibility of quality healthcare delivery. Some of the women said their experiences during childbirth are unpleasant.
One of the women, Mary Musa, shared the ordeal of her friend who recently gave birth.
She said after her friend failed in her attempt to deliver on her own due to complications, they were left with the option of taking her to Kabusa, few kilometres away on a very bad road.
She said because it was late at night, there were no commercial motorcyclists to convey them, adding that the woman stood for long hours before a tricycle assisted and conveyed her to Kabusa.
She said some women were not as fortunate as her friend as some either lost the baby or faced serious complications before getting to hospital.
Mercy Barnabas, another resident, said government should help in creating programmes that would develop women in the community and also consider the provision of a primary healthcare centre in the community.
Despite their challenges, the community is well populated. Kanpani said many people prefer to stay in the community “because we are peaceful people without tribalism.
“We do not sell land here. Anybody that needs a place to build goes to the village head, elders, and youth leader. They will ask some questions, show him around. The person now finds something for them,” he said.
“As indigenes, we don’t have the power to sell land,” he said explaining that this gesture is among reasons why the community was expanding.
He said residents have heeded the warning of the traditional heads in Abuja against selling land. In most cases, he said, some people that bought land from them resold it at exorbitant prices claiming it was theirs.
Cosmas Owan, an Igbo  man who works in Area 3, Garki has been living in the community since 2012. He said the community’s proximity to the city centre influenced his decision to reside there. He said Lokogoma village is among places where there is no traffic congestion while going to the city centre.
“From here, you can easily move to town and come in at your own convenient time.”  He added that before, electricity could be uninterrupted for two weeks.
Taminu said house rent in the community varied from N150,000 to N300,000 for a two bedroom flat  depending on taste, furnishing and facilities.
He said the community has existed for more  than 47 years but has no amenity to show for it.
He said an estate developer constructed a culvert across a river that led to the community when residents started passing through his estate to the community.
He said government needed  to look into the situation in the community so as to make life pleasurable for them.