Wakaman got it wrong on FCT Minister

However, the recent piece under review published in the Wakaman column last Sunday, sadly fell below the bar of thoroughness and factuality.  The piece was to say the least, an advertisement of ignorance of what is going on in the Federal Capital Territory. From the beginning to the end, the article smells of an arm-chair […]

However, the recent piece under review published in the Wakaman column last Sunday, sadly fell below the bar of thoroughness and factuality.  The piece was to say the least, an advertisement of ignorance of what is going on in the Federal Capital Territory. From the beginning to the end, the article smells of an arm-chair theorization, a hasty job conceived and brewed without recourse to empirical facts.
Tunde mentioned many otherwise germane topics in the piece but did justice to none. These included security, prostitution, transportation, environmental sanitation, used car (tokunbo) sales along the Outer Northern Express Road (ONEX), popularly known as Kubwa express road and others. For instance, on the issue of tokunbo car dealers operating along the busy ONEX road, he seemed to have found nothing wrong with that and wants them to make the critical corridors their permanent base simply because they were temporarily resettled there few years ago from their erstwhile illegal base in the city centre.
The truth is that the FCT Administration is not against used car sellers doing business in the Territory. The Administration is only insisting that things should be done properly. The road corridors where they are occupying now are reserved for greening and beautification, being a major entry and exit way to and out of the nation’s capital city. Perhaps, my colleague needs to be reminded that even some trees and flowers planted along those belts have been destroyed as a result of the activities of the used car dealers. The need to nip these unsavoury acts in the bud left the FCTA with no choice than to muster courage and do the right thing by initiating the process of relocating the car dealers to a permanent and more befitting location. The whole arrangement is definitely for their own good, the road users, FCT residents and the rest of us.
He badly missed the point by supposing that roadsides could be made permanent site for second hand auto market in a world class capital city that we are striving to build here. Again, he probably forgot to admit that when the used car dealers were relocated from the city centre by a past administration in the FCT, they were allowed to stay there on a temporary basis. Or does he want the tokunbo car dealers to make that vital axis their permanent site? Perhaps, the columnist can do Nigerians some good by enlightening them on some other highly rated capital cities in the world where such wares as tokunbo cars are displayed and hawked randomly along the most prominent entry roads and avenues. With his exposure, the author should have been in a position to know what is happening in the civilised world that we are striving to compare with.
At the last count, a whopping 176 tokunbo car dealers were operating on the ONEX with some of them encroaching on the busy expressway. But the decision to relocate them in a gradual and less painful manner was greatly necessitated by the on-going expansion of the ONEX to a 10-lane multi-carriage expressway in response to Abuja’s increasing road traffic pressure.
In the Automotive Villages located at Dei-Dei and Tungan Maje, the car dealers would not only be registered for allocation of spaces, they would be duly licensed by the Road Traffic Department for quality control and standardizations.
Abuja is a planned city whose development is regulated by the Master Plan. Business operations including sectors like tokunbo car dealers just have to be streamlined and regulated. It was in realization of this need that the FCT Administration embarked on plans and arrangements for the establishment of standard auto marts and mechanic workshops for them. The car dealers have been adequately briefed and sensitized on the intention of the FCT Administration and the attendant advantages of relocating to a permanent and befitting site planned to have all necessary facilities. For instance, the Dei-Dei auto permanent site is an expansive 50 hectares land locatednot far away from ONEX. The place is very accessible.

Apart from that, the claim by Tunde that the FCT Minister “has no interest to redeem the image of Abuja as a jammed city”, (whatever he meant by that), is not only sweeping but cannot be substantiated. Except for mischief purposes, the writer cannot tell any informed person that he is unaware of the gigantic road construction projects going on at diverse places in the FCT. What about the Kubwa express road project being handled by Dantata and Sawoe, the Airport road by Julius Berger Plc, the Bwari road dualization project, Gwagwalada-Kuje road contract to mention just a few due to constraints of space here. The Ahmadu Bello Way-Mabushi-Gwarinpa by-pass was completed and quietly opened without noise to the motoring public only last week thereby easing the gridlocks on the Kubwa/Gwarimpa axis. The author cannot possibly claim ignorance of all these and other projects.
Similarly, the points raised by the writer concerning the restriction of prostitutes are largely insincere. His assertion that curbing of prostitution is the Minister’s pet project is a blackmail because there are several well known cardinal programmes like reform of land administration and opening up of satellite towns, more robust traffic policy and extension of mass housing to satellite towns and area councils to mention just a few. One question that may be asked here is will Tunde be happy if he discovers that his daughter or sister is sighted at Gimbiya street, Garki, deep in the night, soliciting male clients? Where have morality and sanctity gone in our society, one may ponder?
The argument by Tunde with regards to the monthly environmental sanitation is also ill conceived. The truth is that it is being enforced with tact as visiting VIPs and those on essential duties are exempted from participation in the exercise. At any rate, the exercise is a temporary device which will be reviewed or abolished in due course. Lastly, having said this, the point must be stressed here that the FCTA welcomes constructive criticisms and suggestions.
Nosike Ogbuenyi is the SA Media to the FCT Minister. e-mail: [email protected]