August 25, (THEWILL) – In 2003 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was shopping for someone to clean up the vast mess that had become the Federal Capital Territory, a friend recommended a little-known Quantity Surveyor from Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir el Rufai.
According to those in the know, OBJ wanted a “mad man” to oversee the corrupt-ridden ministry, to put some sanity back into it. The perfect man for the job, he was told, is the surveyor from Kaduna state.
OBJ duly appointed el Rufai as Minister of FCT. By the time he was through four years later, the minister had made a thorough job of Abuja and its environs, a makeover so complete even his detractors grudgingly admitted he’d done a good job. El Rufai also got the name “Demolition Man.”
Twenty-three years after, with another president and an altogether different political dispensation from OBJ, a new demolition man has arrived the FCT. He arrived through his nomination as minister then confirmation by the Senate. PBAT later assigned him the FCT portfolio. Welcome Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, erstwhile governor of Rivers state, as Minister of FCT.
In his first maiden meeting with the press which was also his first day at work, Wike outlined his plans for the FCT. Much of it has to do with demolition of buildings thus quickly earning him the soubriquet “Demolition man,” just like el Rufai.
“If you know you have built where you are not supposed to build,” Wike declared, “it will go down. Be it a minister of anywhere, be it an ambassador… if you know you have developed where you are not supposed to, your house will go down. And those who have been given certificates of occupancy (CofO) and failed to develop, and they have become land speculators, the land is gone. I will revoke them.”
So far, about 30 slums have been marked down for demolition and makeover, ghettos in parts of Garki and Jabi. Also targeted are Apo Mechanic Village, Byanzhin, Dawaki, Dei Dei, Durumi, Dutse, Garki Village, Gishiri, Gwagwalada, Idu, Jabi, Kado Village, Karmo, Karshi, Karu, Katampe, Ketti Village, Kpaduma, Kabusa, Kpana Village, Kubwa, Lokogoma, Lugbe, Mabushi, Mpape, Nyanya, Piya Kasa, Jikwoy and Galadima.
To those who have followed the combative politician closely, it is hardly a surprise he has embarked on a demolition exercise so soon after his appointment. Months to completing his second tenure as governor of the littoral state, Wike commissioned a batch of projects and buildings in and around Port Harcourt. Former President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned some. So did his successor PBT, both of them from the ruling party to Wike’s opposition PDP.
As a rule, people destroy to create, that is to say, older and less enduring structures have to give way to newer and sturdier ones. In that sense, you could say Wike is only carrying on what he’d done for years, clearing and building.
According to reports from the minister’s office, 6,000 illegal structures in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) across 30 areas might be demolished by the Federal Government. “We will take back our land and give to those who want to develop, and you must sign that you must develop at so and so time.’’
Wike also made clear his intention to revoke land given to those with Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) who have yet to develop their property. They will lose such land to those ready to build. In his maiden address, Wike insisted he made a nocturnal casing of the FCT to “see things for himself,” after which he concluded that the master plan of the territory has been distorted with illegal structures in green areas of Abuja. They will all be demolished, the minister added.
The outspoken minister who never fails to say it as it is vowed “to restore the master plan of FCT, that all illegal structures would be demolished and that his administration was ready to end land speculations.”
Muktar Galadima director of FCTA Department of Development Control agrees completely with the minister. “We would find time to go back and conduct a new survey.” The last survey carried out was early last year in February.
Expectedly, residents of some parts marked for demolition have complained about the minister’s intentions. Times are pretty difficult, they carp, especially in the face of removal of fuel subsidy which has made life generally unlivable for many of them. The prospect of being evacuated from their homes, however decrepit they may be, will be a disaster they can hardly cope with.
Aside the residents, analysts have picked holes in Wike’s demolition plan. One of them Professor Charles Nwekeaku of Department of New Public Management Nasarawa State University commented thus: “Our government and its officials are known for always acting before thinking and also threatening and issuing warnings to the people. President Tinubu announced the fuel subsidy removal without first thinking about how to implement it. Wike is going the same way.”
Continuing, Nwekeaku said: “How much of the Abuja master plan does Wike know? What I think Wike should have done first and foremost was to sit down, study the master plan, understand it, and thereafter set up a committee to advise him on what to do where the master plan has truly been distorted.”
For social affairs commentator Rockad Aderanti, Wike’s “threat was uncalled for, especially now that Nigerians were suffering from a bad economy caused by bad leadership in the country.” Abuja, he went on, was dominated by real estate developments which are largely owned by people in government.”
Whether such sentiments might forestall the new minister’s demolition plans is hard to say. Even so, his new nickname “Demolition Man” has stuck after less than a week in office.
About the Author
Michael Jimoh is a Nigerian journalist with many years experience in print media. He is currently a Special Correspondent with THEWILL.
