Tough Life Atop Madalla Hill

Standing at the foot of Madalla hill, also known in Hausa as Tudun Bakin Kasuwa, a first-time visitor is welcomed by its suffocating ambience.  The sight of the hill with its environmental disharmony presents an interesting irony – the umbrella-like shape of the hill, which apparently had failed to provide the desired shelter for its […]

Standing at the foot of Madalla hill, also known in Hausa as Tudun Bakin Kasuwa, a first-time visitor is welcomed by its suffocating ambience.  The sight of the hill with its environmental disharmony presents an interesting irony – the umbrella-like shape of the hill, which apparently had failed to provide the desired shelter for its over two thousand inhabitants over the years. Like the moth to the naked light, hundreds of immigrants seeking for ways to earn their living in the Federal capital Territory are attracted to this sprawling hill where they have either rented or erected various kinds of makeshift structures as their homes that stand precariously on the boulders of rock that form the length breadth of the hill. What comes across as accessible roads leading to the hill are undulating rocky tracks of potholes and sunbaked earth imprinted with kaleidoscope of footpaths that meander upwards to the hill-top. Welcome to Madalla hill, a slum satellite settlement located at the edge of Zuba on the eastern suburb of Abuja. Overlooking the hill on the far right is the popular Zuma Rock while on the far left is another massive sedimentary formation known among the locals as “Rock Avenue.”
Its proximity to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) notwithstanding, the Madalla hill settlement located near the bustling Madalla market in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State is a tale of contradictions. Like many such settlements found around the FCT, the inhabitants of Madalla hill have stories that stretch through the mist and dust of remembered agonies, excitements and angers. Theirs are tales that can better be appreciated through the rhymes of that quintessential song by the late Afro beat king; Fela Anikulapo Kuti entitled ‘suffering and smiling.’
One common theme that runs through their tales is the fact that life atop the Madalla hill in Suleja has  been a living nightmare for the hundreds of inhabitants most of who earn their living through peasant farming and engaging in petty trading at the Madalla market as well as the nearby Suleja market. The absence of basic amenities such as running water and electricity for the inhabitants has forced them to depend on alternative sources such as streams and firewood. A few others who could afford the luxury of mini size-generators have created small tabernacles within their homes where they are kept. But the fumes and noise emanating from the machines have only added to hurly burly that has become part and parcel of daily life on Madalla hill.
It was a Thursday when the weekly Madalla market usually holds and as soon as Sunday Trust reporters arrived at the foot of the hill and stated their mission a horde of inhabitants who had congregated under the shade of a big tree in front of a hewn-wooden table took turns to unleash a catalogue of their problems and grievances against the central government ruling from the Federal Capital Territory. Paradoxically, in spite of the numerous challenges that make life almost unbearable for them, most of the dwellers said they would rather live in penury atop the Madalla hill than contend with the expensive life at the city centers.
Over the years, the residents of Madalla hill have been living life on the hill with several challenges. The government has been making promises to make provision of light, water and road for the residents of Madalla hill, but such promises are yet to be fulfilled.
On reaching the hill, many residents spoke bitterly to our reporters on their experience of life on the hill (rocks).
Although the hill is dominated by the Gbagi people, Madalla is equally home to dozens of people from other ethnic background across the country. Elvis Frank, a 19 year old secondary school student is one of the inhabitants of Madalla hill who considers life there as a mixed grill.  Elvis who hails from Imo State and had been living with his parents there for the past nineteen years said: “Life on the hill is fun to me although there is no good road, no light, no water and other basic amenities. While his father earns a living as a driver with the famous Julius Berger Company, Elvis said his mother engages in petty trading at the Madalla market, the proceeds of which she supports her husband in catering for their family and “life goes on.”
For Ramatu Ibrahim who is married to the ward head of the Madalla hill settlement, their greatest nightmare is the problem of running water. Ramatu who said they have been living on the hill for about 20years with her family comprising ten children also complained about the difficulty in climbing the hill, especially among the women and children.
“Life on the hill is not easy at all especially when it comes to sourcing for water. Apart from fetching water from nearby streams our only source is a ‘commercialized’ borehole that is located at the foot of the hill. Therefore climbing up with a bucketful of water, one gets tired easily. She also talked about lack of power supply and access road, saying “when it comes to rainy reason water flows into our houses and we find it difficult to move about conveniently.”
While calling on government to remember their plight Ramatu said: “Politicians visit us only when canvassing for our votes and after elections they don’t show up again until the next elections draw near. The last time some government officials visited they promised providing a van for the evacuation of the huge debris of dirt that surrounds our hill but we never heard from them thereafter.”
Mrs Mariam Julius from Benue state also lives on the hill with her family. Her husband is a police officer while she is a petty trader who fries and sells plantain chips in front of their apartment.  “Survival on this hill is not easy; as you can see I try to support my husband through selling plantain chips but the business has not been that easy. We are faced with so many challenges such as lack of water and power supply. The bad nature of the terrain sometimes subjects us to threat by marauders and robbers that disturb our peace”, Mariam said adding, however, that: “We thank God that we are managing to survive.”
For Mrs Mary Amos, an Eggon lady from Nasarawa State  who had been living on the hill for the past twelve years life there has been challenging especially when it comes to climbing the hill.
Mary who owes a tailoring shop on top of the hill identified lack of running water and power supply as the greatest challenges. “Life on the hill has been a big challenge especially when it comes to climbing the hill with water because we don’t have water supply on the hill and no light.  Most times government officials and politicians come to make promises when canvassing for votes but once they get our votes we don’t see them again”, she said.
In spite of the challenges, Mary who lives with her husband and children said her tailoring business has being a source of support for them.
As we moved further up the hill it was becoming more and easier to appreciate the plight of the inhabitants of Madalla hill.  We encountered another resident who gave his own experience. As he sat on a mat under a tree receiving fresh air, Malam Isiyaku from Jigawa State who had spent  over 20 years on the hill simply said  life atop  the hill was simply  fun. “Our greatest source of joy is that we enjoy relative peace on this hill”, Musa said adding: “Sourcing for water has not been easy for us.” Musa who is a peasant extended an appeal to all those who come and ask for their votes during elections to keep to their promises and provide them with good road, light and water supply.
Another resident, Mr. Salvation Joseph is a 28 years old wielder who is into aluminum work. Although he spent only about seven months on the hill so far, Salvation who hails from the eastern part of the country said life on the hill is rough because everyone there is on his/her own.  “I chose to stay on this hill because I feel  okay with the environment and the cost of living here is better compared to those living around the centre of Abuja”, he said.
As he struggles to start his small generator Salvation said even though he loves the environment, he is worried about incidents of thieves and buglers that occasionally disturb them in the area despite the presence of local vigilantes.
For Mrs Kassim Caroline who  sells fufu and yams in a small shop on the hill life on this hill and the town itself is just like living in hell. “No light, no water, rough roads;  in fact  there is no government presence here at all because we are not feeling their impact at all”, she said.
Perhaps the absence of government presence at Madalla hill has encouraged some private initiatives especially in the area of schools.  One of such private initiatives is the J.F.K International nursery and primary school that had being in existence on the hill for over 10 years. According to the proprietor, the school which has a student enrolment population of about 100 is equipped with all the necessary facilities to make it a standard place for learning on the hill.
Also found at the summit of the hill is a private school called HATOPS International Nursery and Primary school coined after her children: Helen, Amaka, Tesiena, Onyeka, Precious and Success. The proprietress, Mrs Okoro said the school had been established for the past six years to provide basic education for children living there. How does she cope running a school in such an environment? Mrs Okoro said: “There is nothing too bad about the place except for the lack of good access road. Although government imposes some levy on the school for light and water but they don’t supply us with those facilities.”
After traversing the length and breadth of the Madalla hill, we sought audience with Malam Muhammadu Salihu who has the impressive title of the chief of Madalla hill. Saliu, a middle aged man who spends most of his time on the farm lives with his two wives and 14 children. He said he had been living on the hill for almost 20 years. Asked to give a brief history of the hill, Malam Salihu smiled and said: “I wish I can tell you the full history of Madalla before saying anything else, but the little I know is that Madalla is a land full of people of different calibers. When I came here years back to settle on the hill, the land was already inhabited by people. It has been developing gradually with immigrants from other parts of the country and up till now it is still growing every day.”