Suleja, the neglected milking cow (I)

Only few people knew that the geographic entity presently known as Suleja Town was the one known as Abuja, prior to 1979, which was only 45 years ago. One of the former ministers of the FCT and a famous poet, the late General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, wrote a poem in 1982, he states: “Abuja was my town but the nation asked for her. I kept her and then gave the name to our nation. Suleja is now my town and Abuja our town. I once owned Abuja but now Abuja owns me”.

Should General Vatsa be alive today, perhaps, he would have added some words in the last phrase to read “I once own Abuja, but now Abuja owns and enslaves me”.

By its location, Suleja is sandwiched between the two straight boundary lines that form an angle penetrating into the FCT, conspicuously at the top of the FCT map, it was glaring that the town was deliberately carved out of the FCT prior to the delineation by the Aguda Committee. Obviously, the initial concept was to take over the entire emirate.

Late Prof. Akin Mabogunje, in his presentation, during the Abuja at 30 Anniversary, stated that, he and the 12 scientists he led, lived in Suleja between 1976 and 1978 for the Ecological Survey and Enumeration of the original inhabitants of the territory.

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The reigning traditional ruler of the time was the Emir of Abuja, Late Sulemanu Barau. He died in 1979. Because of his sagacity, he reasoned that it would be better for his people to secure their identity, freedom and land, by belonging to a state in the confederation, rather than to be in an entity regarded as a no-man’s land, which the FCT is today.

Consequently, 80 per cent of the land of the original Abuja Emirate, including the name was surrendered to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the creation of the FCT. This is also approximately equal to 80 per cent of the total areal coverage of the FCT. Hence the remaining 20 per cent was sought from the adjoining states of old Plateau and old Kwara, but now Nasarawa and Kogi states respectively. Subsequently, the name of the town was changed to Suleja in 1979, after the late Sulemanu Barau. The remaining 20 per cent of the land presently forms the three local governments of Suleja, Gurara and Tafa in Niger State.

Eventually, today, all the indigenous people of the Suleja Emirate, prior to the FCT creation, which constitute those located in Niger State that is outside the FCT, and their brothers of Gbagyi, Koro and other tribes, trapped within the FCT, are left wandering, with the belief that, the advent of the FCT is manifesting as a curse, rather than a blessing. The FCT’s original indigenes compete for land ownership with all other Nigerians with much higher purchasing power and influence in Abuja.

All Nigerians have dual advantages, because they can belong to, and aspire for any political position in their home states, and also in the FCT. But an FCT indigene cannot have that privilege in other parts of the country, because he will be considered as a non-indigene.

Similarly, all indigenes of Niger State and other Nigerians compete with the Suleja indigenes to own land in Suleja, due to its proximity to the Federal Capital City, so long as they have superior purchasing power, and connections from the government in Minna. Meanwhile, conventionally and naturally people are more comfortable, when living in their localities, than in others’ lands.

The original Abuja inhabitants either in Suleja or FCT, are only limited to their localities, under heavy competition with all other Nigerians. Their predominant source of livelihood is farming, but owning farmlands and personal houses in their local communities are now things of the past.

Most of the youths have low purchasing power and would have to rent houses now to raise and live with their families in their hometowns, a situation considered taboo by all Nigerian communities. Almost all that was feared when located within the FCT manifested itself while being a neighbouring community to the Federal Capital City.

The predicaments of the original indigenes were compounded by those who are ignorant of the history and refused to do research but went ahead to feed the public with flagrant falsehood. A veteran journalist once wrote in the Sunday Tribune of January 28, 2024, that the federal government had paid off the original owners of the FCT land, and created Suleja for them. What it means is that even veteran journalists and elder statesmen can have the wrong notion, that Suleja is a creation of the federal government, consequent upon the creation of the FCT.

The salient questions were, whether Suleja was compensated by the federal government for the establishment of the FCT, or, its indigenes are presently provided with equal recognition in the provision of infrastructure and services in comparison with other communities in Niger State. If there are advantages from the FCT, who benefits from the advantages from the state?

To be continued.