The fact that 15 out of 17 ministers in the Federal Capital Territory are Northerners is leading some Nigerians to forget its status and the reasons for its creation in 1976. In the wake of the recent outburst of Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, Godwin Ijediogol summarizes the opinions of those involved who claim: Every Nigerian has the right, as provided by law, to hold real power in the nation’s capital.
If there was any prior discussion about the status of Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it must have been in hushed tones, but Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi recently announced that the city of Abuja is part of northern Nigeria. A Muslim has caused bitter controversy among the country’s various ethnic groups.
President Bola Tinubu told Mr. Gumi and his companions that the former Rivers State He made the mistake of appointing Governor Nyesom Wike as FCT Minister.
Since the establishment of the FCT in February 1976, 15 of the 17 substantive ministers have been from the North, excluding the first Southerner and first Minister of the FCT, the late Chief Mobolaji Ajose Adeogun, and the current Mr. Wike. Ta. Ajose-Adeogun served from 1976 to 1979.
Mr. Gumi, among other things, criticized Mr. Wike’s meeting with Michael Freeman, Israel’s ambassador to Nigeria, in his office and called for his removal. Mr Wike also accused Mr Tinubu of planning to turn Abuja into Israel’s capital, Tel Aviv, as Mr Wike welcomed Mr Freeman into his office, adding: “Muslims will be targeted and killed there.” said.
Mr. Wike clarified but dismissed his October 3 meeting with Mr. Freeman as baseless, implying that he had expressed support for Israel over the Palestinians, and the Constitution, which determines Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with other countries. He emphasized that there is no constitutional authority to do so, as the above authority rests absolutely with the president and commander-in-chief. -Secretary. However, he noted that the meeting was purely for agricultural partnership with the interests of FCT farmers in mind.
Article 297(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that: “There shall be a Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the boundaries of which shall be as defined in Part 2 of the First Schedule to this Constitution.” Section 2 adds: “Ownership of all lands within the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja shall vest in the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Article 298 states: “The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, shall be the capital of the Federation and “The location shall be the location.”
Upon taking office, Wike told Abuja residents to prepare for tough decisions and be patient with the Federal Government, assuring them that tough decisions would be in the interest of the entire country.
In a bid to restore sanity to the capital, Wike ordered the demolition of several illegal structures in the territory and threatened to cancel all undeveloped properties within a stipulated deadline, as well as houses sold to individuals by the FCT administration. approved the withdrawal and cancellation of. , but has been converted to other uses.
Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi
Unlike in the past, Mr. Gumi’s inflammatory remarks, which did not go unnoticed, drew condemnation from all corners of the country, with Nigerians insisting that the FCT belongs to all Nigerians, and of course not to any region or ethnic group. It reminded me that it doesn’t belong exclusively to me. , or religion.
Indeed, Nigeria’s unity and peace have been threatened in the past, but not to the extent of Gumi’s provocative riots, but some Nigerians believe they are more Nigerian than others. This is because they believe that this is the case, and therefore cling to the spirit of rights.
One of the first organizations to denounce the idea of Gumi’s claim, which smells like a provocative outburst, was the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), which in a statement by its National Public Relations Secretary, Dr. Ken Robinson, said: The forum has been described as irresponsible, unreasonable and destructive. Gumi’s comment further added: “At a time when all well-meaning Nigerians should be concerned about the stability, peace and unity of the country, people like Mr. Gumi are fueling the embers of discord with the aim of exacerbating tensions. It’s very unfortunate to be in the country. It is absolutely despicable that so-called clergymen should pose as shameless promoters of bigotry and vitriol.
“We believe that the calls for the removal of Mr. Wike as Minister of the FCT, and indeed other Niger Delta State Ministers, are based on their barbaric nature and are a serious threat to the Niger Delta region, especially the South-South geopolitical zone. “We consider it an indirect attack on the people,” to catechize our stake in the Nigerian nation.
“Perhaps it is necessary to highlight some bare facts that Gumi pretends to overlook. Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria and not the state capital. For that matter, it (FCT) was developed and continues to be developed using the oil and gas resources of Wike’s native Niger Delta region.
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) also called Mr. Gumi’s views absurd in a statement by the National Public Relations Secretary, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, and the cleric’s insinuation that it was wrong for a Christian to be appointed as an FCT minister. The FCT belongs to the north and ministerial seats should be the exclusive right of the Muslim north.
MBF reminds Gumi that the FCT was originally inhabited by the Gbazi people who were evicted from their ancestral lands to create the territory they now claim, and his call for the removal of Mr. Wike from office. He said it was unfortunate and emphasized that it “reflects vague and subtle intentions.” The aim is to establish a national religion in Nigeria. ”
The forum stressed that all Nigerians, irrespective of their religious or ethnic affiliation, should enjoy the right to be appointed to public office.
“Nigeria does not belong to any particular tribe, nor does it belong to any particular religion,” the group said, but is multi-ethnic and multi-religious as recognized by the constitution. Therefore, “people who try to impose themselves on others by bringing up arguments are unacceptable.
“All these characters who think Nigeria is theirs are just a bunch of liars because we abide by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which states who are Nigerians? Because of this,” he claimed. No one owns this country. We are all equal co-travelers in this country. ”
Gumi similarly commented on the seeming belief among some northerners that the FCT Minister must be a Northerner, calling those who propagate such ideas “political jokers.” ”, asserting that the FCT was established as the capital of Nigeria and therefore that all states were established to be the capital of Nigeria. Nigerians have equal rights here.
“Before Abuja, Lagos was the federal capital. Before and immediately after independence, Lagos had two successive Ministers of Lagos Affairs, both of whom were Northerners – Alhaji Musa, father of the late President Umaru Musa Yardua. – Mr. Yardua and Mr. Muhammadu Ribadu, grandfather of the immediate past first lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari.
“It is Kumi who leads the ground forces. He and his army of angry purists are not happy with Wike’s presence as Minister and the way he is doing things in the FCT. Gumi and his supporters spoke about the state of ownership in Abuja. He spoke about who is entitled to exercise power there and who is not. Mr. Gumi said something else and I learned from him that nepotism has a tribal Yes, I learned that some people are better than others.
A recent article is titled “Between Wike and Gumi, who is the real owner of Abuja?” Mr. Lasisi Olagunju said, inter alia: “When I asked questions, I was told that President Bola Tinubu’s choice of a southerner as FCT minister was heresy for the northern powers. I think we have to govern it.
“But let us ask who really owns Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory? General Murtala Muhammed, the Kano man who created it, asked and answered that very question in the first place. Ta.”
In a February 3, 1976 broadcast announcing the area as the new federal capital, he said the area would “belong to all Nigerians” of every tribe and language. The region is not under the control of any of the country’s major ethnic groups. As suggested, it was built on such a virgin land for the benefit of all Nigerians and was to be a symbol of the oneness and unity of Nigerians.
The late head of state said: “The federal territory will belong to all Nigerians. The few local residents of the areas who are required to move out of the area for the purpose of the plan will be resettled at their desired location outside the area at the expense of the government. ”
Until Tinubu appointed Wike, Abuja was governed as if it were the 20th northern state, negating the idea behind its creation and questioning why Nigeria built a new federal capital. People had doubts.
Olagunju said in the article that the fate of Lagos as the capital was finally decided by the Murtala Obasanjo government in February 1976 and on August 7, 1975, less than three months after taking over. He said that Muhammad established the government. Justice Akinola Aguda panel to find a suitable location for the federal capital.
Other members of the panel are Chief EE Nsefik, Dr. Tai Solarin, Professor OK Organ, Alhaji Muhamed Musa Isuma, Chief Owen Fibay, Dr. Ajat Kandonu, and Colonel (Monsignor) Pedro Martins. there were.
The Mohammedan government accepted the recommendations and issued Decree No. 6 on February 5, 1976, giving legal backing to the White Paper on the Commission’s report.
In fact, so much water has passed under the bridge since the creation of Abuja that Oba Olumuyiwa Akintola, one of the children of the late jurist and the chairman of the committee that recommended Abuja to the FCT; Aguda said in an interview in August this year. His father said that before his death, he expressed disappointment with the implementation of the entire project. “He wasn’t very happy about that before his death because at a certain point, Abuja became more like the northern capital than the capital of Nigeria.
“Perhaps it was because the people appointed to the Abuja position were northerners. The intention of those who came up with the idea of Abuja was that it would eventually become the real capital of the country.”
Source: guardian.ng