‘Nyanya labour camp for compensation’

Akinjide who was represented by the Director, Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA), Mr Tukur Bakori, at the opening ceremony of Town Planners Week 2014 in Abuja, told journalists that due to the huge cost of relocation of residents in the camp, government will pass that responsibility to a private developer.
Whoever gets the contract for the construction of houses for the relocation of the camp’s residents will inherit the camp as compensation.
The much talked about Nyanya Labour Camp which is only five-minute drive from the good-looking and exclusive Asokoro district of Abuja has been described as unfit for human habitation many years ago.
Apart from poor environmental conditions, Nyanya has been badly affected by activities of terrorists. On April 14 and May 1 this year, two separate explosions there claimed lives of over 100 persons, among them commuters and roadside traders.
However, the process of relocating residents of the place who are mainly government workers has been tardy and hazy. Quite often government officials say there is no budgetary allocation for the job.
The minister said, “The situation has gone as far as 35 percent. Thirty-five percent in the sense that the site has been identified.  
“The site has been located in Gidan Daya. The contract for the provision of infrastructure has been awarded.
“Yesterday [Thursday], the handing over of the site for relocation of Nyanya Labour Camp was done in our own office.
“We took the contractor to the site. What we’re going to do now is to assess the quantum of compensation that is going to be done on some of the economic trees and structures that are there.
“Once the infrastructure is started we intend to partner with the public who will finance such houses and take over the land in Nyanya as compensation.” It was gathered that a firm by name Nairda Limited has been awarded the contract to do infrastructure on the new site.
Concerning continual removal of buildings, the minister maintained that there will be no end to demolition of structures in Abuja because “demolition is part of city management.”
She gave reasons for this: “These structures were maybe built illegally on somebody’s plot.
“Two, they were built illegally without meeting the standards – they’re not fit for human habitation.  
“This demolition is a way of improving the security situation in the country and protecting the lives and property of the people of the FCT.
“Some miscreants use them as hideout. Without demolition, the city will be in chaos.”
In her keynote address, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs Akon Eyakenyi said that human settlement issues have taken very prominent position in national and international discourse in the last decade stressing that security challenge has become one of the greatest threats to humanity.
The minister represented by the ministry’s Director Urban and Regional Development, Mr Olali Opuene, harped on the need for proper management of settlements noting that Nigerian cities must be integrated into the global economy and supported to participate actively in the process of globilization “which demand that we improve our telecommunication systems, road networks, electricity and water supply network, hospitality industry and urban safety/security.”
In his welcome address, the chairman of NITP, FCT Chapter, Mr Barnabas Atiyaye lamented that movement in some parts of Abuja is encumbered because security concerns have encouraged property owners and government organisations to install security barriers and devices on sidewalks, buildings and transportation facilities.
He said these installations have come to have adverse impact upon the physical, social, economic and civic life of the city.
Atiyaye who observed that insecurity thrives in unplanned environment said, “As planners, we believe that security can be combined with good practical design. Many of these piecemeal solutions can be modified to be more comprehensive and context sensitive. Unfortunately, most of our cities are unplanned, which promotes an ideal environment for hatching and developing Improvised Explosive Devices.”
He called on policymakers to always consider town planners in decision making because town planning is critical in modern society.
Insecurity dominated this year’s discourse. The theme was The Role of Physical Planning in the Context of Emerging Security Challenges in Nigeria. Town Planners Week is annual meeting of town planers where contemporary issues in the built environment are discussed.
Dr Ade Abolurin, the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps; Dr Adamu Ahmed, of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; and Mr Yemi Omidji of the Federal Road Safety Corps were resource persons. The event hosted by the Urban and Regional Planning Department of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) brought together planners in FCT working in both public and private sectors.
Town Planners Week 2014 ended Friday with awards night. Governors of Kano, Plateau and Akwa Ibom were honoured for their outstanding performances in city renewal.