Government and Governance by Demolition

Until and unless it is proved otherwise, residents of the Federal Capital Territory are bona-fide citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and are entitled to whatever protection existing government has the capacity or capability to provide. Again, whatever the laws of the Federal Capital Territory and the requirements of its master-plan may stipulate, these laws and ordinances are made for the people and not otherwise. However, in the application of these laws, Nigerian citizens are often treated as aliens or better still, as slaves. Our leaders in the Executive and Legislative, and Judicial arms of government are more than adequately provided for in terms of access to land and housing, and they are beneficiaries of various housing schemes put in place by government. The only snag is that low income staffs of the same government and self employed Nigerians who are in majority has no place in government’s plans on housing. While the senior management staff and high political appointees enjoy access to loans or use the privileges attached to their positions and offices to secure loans, their low – cadre counterparts are neglected or at worse, ignored. It is a well – known fact that the same elected or appointed officials to high offices alone possess the collaterals needed for bank or housing loans. Even where there is no loan facilities, senior officials often grant themselves large ‘loans’ through misappropriation or embezzlement of public funds in their charge, part of which they invest in the buying, building or purchase of choice lands and houses in Abuja; not only residential houses but commercial houses such as hotels and plazas. Although, this category of public officials has the EFCC and the ICPC to contend with, pray how many of them have been apprehended and convicted? How much of the stolen funds have been recovered and paid into the treasury? This among other reasons multiplied my pains when the other day, the Abuja Municipal Area Council announced a list of 19 villages in Abuja, the residents of which they gave two month’s notice to quit or vacate their houses or face demolition. In the first place, Abuja is not made for any identified or specific Nigerian only; it is made for all who desire to be domiciled in it. Abuja is not meant for the upper and the middle class alone; it is also made for the lower cadre and the self employed. Again, none of the three classes are islands; all three need each other in order to exist and function well, and so they are inter-dependent. If these assertions are true or correct, whoever is responsible for not providing for the lower cadre in the Abuja Master-plan are the people whose houses should be demolished and not their victims. Moreover, the informal governments of the people represented by the traditional rulers or system retain or should retain residual powers to allocate lands to people who wish to reside in their domain and contribute to the development of the villages through the building of houses and to engage in petty commercial activities. To deny the poor of this choice is to abolish the traditional institutions as they exist in the Federal Capital Territory. Come to think of it, where is the wisdom in creating Area Councils, appointing, grading and up-grading traditional rulers for the various villages in the FCT, but denying them of people and domains? If the law on FCT or its Master-plan is clear as apologists are wont to claim, they need be reminded that the laws against corruption and stealing of public funds are clearer and yet, these laws are obeyed more in the breach by the fraudulent in high public offices. If residential houses of villagers of FCT must be demolished for non – conformity with the Abuja Master-Plan, embezzlers must be publicly executed for thievery and pen robbery! In fact, if in the FCT Master-plan, no provision was made for housing for the low income people, demolition as of necessity must begin with the houses of public officers before getting to the villages of the poor. To whom will the land of the demolished villages be allocated? Is it not to the same pen robbers of public funds? A government worthy to be so-called, ought to approach law enforcement on the basis of the needs of the people or majority of the people and not the convenience of the few elites. In doing so, another land should have been made ready for allocation to those whose houses in the villages are to be demolished. An enumeration of the residents and the size of the plots they currently occupy should have been undertaken to determine what size of land is to be allocated to them. After due allocation of land, a two to three year period of deadline should be given to the people to develop and move into their new place, failing which the talk of demolition could be justified. Any government who failed to do this should not continue to regard itself as a legitimate government but a gang of brigands’ intent on destruction of the products of the peoples’ sweat. No one was voted for so he/she could live in Aso Rock, Maitama, Garki, Wuse or Apo in Abuja. The mandate given by voters is not for the monopoly of comfort and luxury by the few in exchange for the applause and acclamation of the many. If the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution is to be respected, no Nigerian should be living in a slum bad enough to deserve demolition by some Caterpillar squad. If many of the villages had been demolished before and people kept returning to them, it is because government failed to provide alternative place, land or houses for them and there exist no choice but to return to where land could be purchased with their hard – earned money. If indeed there is any government in place with ears to hear, I urge them to adopt the civilized approach to relocating the people in the 19 villages before they embark on demolition. If not, do they intend to, first of all, dig enough holes for some to live in, provide plenty of trees for others to perch on, or build more bridges and fly- over under which the Nigerian wretched of the earth could live in Abuja? If so, I advise that no one should claim he is running anything called government. Government by demolition? T-u-f-e-n-e-v-e!!