Abuja is a Nigerian miracle, Ex-Minister Modibbo reflects on FCT at 46.
Abuja was pronounced the new federal capital of Nigeria through a nationwide broadcast by the then Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, on February 3, 1976, while legal backing was given to the declaration on February 5, 1976, through Decree No 6 (now an Act) which created the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the new federal capital turned 46, albeit without fanfare, PREMIUM TIMES’ Nosike Ogbuenyi and Abdulkareem Mojeed sought out the 12th Minister of FCT, Aliyu Modibbo, an ex-university don, for his reflections about the nation’s capital. Here are excerpts from the encounter which took place at his Abuja residence.
Can you reflect on Abuja, 46 years after creation in February 1976?
It is indeed a great pleasure to talk to you about something that I’m very passionate about, which is the city of Abuja. I have been associated with Abuja since 1982 when I came back from the United States, and at the prompting of one of my mentors. He told me that since you have a PhD and you are young, go and start your career in Abuja. You know, before then Abuja was not that appealing but I had been coming to Abuja.
Since 1984-1985, I recall, when I passed by the present location of (Transcorp) Hilton, it was a Fulani Ruga that was there. And they were all constructing that Shehu Shagari area. Incidentally, one of the officials at the Federal Capital Development Authority that was there at that time is the husband of a former colleague of mine, when I was working with NTA (Nigerian Television Authority).
So when I came here, he brought two (plot of land) applications and gave me – one for residential, one for a company, in 1985. Then I said no, but I took it anyway. I said who was going to come and live in this bush, you know, but this bush became a very important city, because of the hard work of some of our predecessors; both the founding fathers, the Heads of State, down to the ministers, down to the technical people, including even the private sector, contractors and things like that.
How would you rate Abuja so far vis-à-vis its foundational dreams and objectives?
Abuja, I keep telling people, no matter how hard you are going to be on Nigeria, how critical you are about our system here; how even when you extend it to Africa, but particularly Nigeria, that it is this and that; but the single miracle that the Nigerian country or the Nigerian project has wrought is Abuja. I challenge our readers, when they read this interview, to check with Google or go to YouTube, and ask for five best African cities. They will see that Abuja will be there, compared with cities that are over 200 or 100 years old.
So, to build a city from scratch to this level in 46 years, that is really to be reckoned with at the world stage, is really, really a great achievement. If you recall, when this territory was picked by the (Akinola) Aguda panel, it was nothing to reckon with, even though some people now, because of political reasons, are rising up as indigenes or this and that. But the whole idea why the FCT territory was picked is because there were very few people and little hamlets. You know, so nobody can claim it and say it belongs to this or this ethnic group, like Lagos or Kaduna or somewhere. Abuja was really a virgin territory, and then our people applied themselves and built the city.
As a former FCT Minister, can you reflect on some high points in Abuja’s journey from dream to reality?
We started sort of in a rickety way, but you know, former President Shehu Shagari of blessed memory was very enthusiastic about Abuja and he also put in equally good people. But at that time, the technology and the vision or the exposure was not there. That is why when you go to the neighbourhoods that President Shagari built such as the ministerial quarters in Wuse, near Wuse market or some of the roads in Garki district you’ll see them and just keep wondering who built these roads; but they were among the best then. Shagari even celebrated the October 1 event in Abuja in 1981. He built the Aguda House and stayed there as the presidential building then. That is where the SGF office is now. Sometimes, they even held their cabinet meetings there.
I recall when our current president became Head of State in 1983, he jettisoned Abuja completely for about two years that he was there. He stopped construction, you know, and thought that some property needed to be introduced, you know. He questioned a lot of the expenditures. So, a lot of things did not happen within those two years and that was when Major-General Mamman Vatsa was in charge as the FCT Minister.
But the real work, the miracle of Abuja started with President Ibrahim Babangida, and through his (FCT) Minister, (Major-General) Hamza Abdullahi. For those of us that held that ministerial office, without a doubt, all of us really believe that the real golden era, the golden minister of Abuja, that had a fantastic vision and brought very good contractors was Hamza Abdullahi of blessed memory. All of us, including myself and El-Rufai, will tell you that the person who laid a solid foundation for Abuja was Hamza Abdullahi.
And from then on, every minister just had to follow up because as you already know, Abuja is guided by the Master Plan. So, no matter how a minister is, either way you may gauge him or size him to be fantastic, not fantastic, good or bad or ugly or whatever. Every project is already there in the Master Plan. Particularly, the major ones, if it is the roads, you know, the cycle roads or the airport road or these, it is just a matter of by the time you have money, you know, then you embark upon it.
For instance, the way the airport road is constructed is just the way it is envisioned in the Master Plan. It is nobody’s idea; it is those people that designed the city that put it so. If it is not done, it is because money is not there. That is why Abuja is so unique. And for some of us that had the privilege to run it as administrators, we laugh sometimes when we see states, celebrating the building of a flyover. The whole state is so excited. So when El-rufai also took that miracle to Kaduna, that’s what they are celebrating but he’s already used to it when he was in the FCT. There are flyovers all over the place.
And thank God because it is a virgin territory, we could plan it better than Lagos. You know, because Lagos already was traditional, and so there is no way if you want to construct flyovers or underpass you have to pay the whole budget of Nigeria for it because the compensation alone will consume the money. But here, Abuja is a clean canvas. That is what an artist would say, you know, it was blank, a tabula rasa, so to speak. So you just come to implement the plan there. The only difference some of us bring is the innovations, personal things that you bring yourself as an administrator.
Everyone of us had his own baby. When I came, my initial emphasis was on security. I wanted the territory to be secure for its residents. And I did my best within the time I was there, and I can beat my chest that we cut down crime in the territory to the barest minimum at that time. Then I embarked on some social issues, free antenatal and postnatal; then my innovations such as the Abuja Boulevard. Even the Abuja Boulevard was there already in the Master Plan. It is just that up till now they are not built but I thought I was going to break the jinx and do them; the same thing with other ministers. They bring their own visions and say that during my tenure I will do this and I will do that in addition to what is already in the Master Plan.
And what is the fundamental challenge?
Thank God we have reached 46 years of existence, but then, all these successes are coming with challenges. It is coming with great challenge and if care is not taken, it will become so difficult to manage. And we are hoping people that are currently at the helm of affairs and the ones that will come in the future will address the challenges squarely a help us to enjoy this city. And what is that greatest challenge – It is population increase or explosion. Because the whole Abuja Master Plan envisages that by the time the whole districts are fully built; and what I’m saying is from Phase One – Wuse 1, Wuse 2, Garki, Maitama, Asokoro, Central Business District, the Phase Two – Jabi, Utako, Guzape, Wuse, Jahi; Phase Three are what Nasir started, what do you call it, all these satellite towns – Karmo, Jikwoyi, Nyanya axis and beyond. Even our border zones with Nasarawa State like Mararaba, Masaka are under the pressure of population because of Abuja because immediately you cross Nyanya, you are already in Nasarawa. It is the population pressure on Abuja that pushes people to go and live in those areas all the way up to Keffi even though they work or do business in the FCT on daily basis.
But the real chunk of land in the FCT is on the flank going towards River Niger, Kogi from Gwagwalada, Abaji that is big portion of land. Even from here, our border is in Madalla or Zuba, we don’t have enough land on that axis. But that area, I think is the last phase.
But all these other areas that you see like Lokogoma and so on are all Phase four. So, by the time the whole of those territories up to Abaji and beyond are developed, we are not supposed to be about three million people. And if I remember correctly, Phase One made up of Wuse, Garki, Maitama, Asokoro, we are not supposed to have more than 500,000 people there.
But right now, I’m telling you, whoever comes to Abuja does not want to leave. When I was minister, I did a small experiment. And we are talking about 14 years ago, that was 2007. When I did it, I wanted to know really how many people come in and go out. And so the engineering department said, there is a way you can measure it, at least vehicular movements not the occupants, but we assume that each car or vehicle that came into Abuja would carry not less than three people or two people. So we placed that little thing that you put on the road and when you drive you hear pim ! pim !! pim !!! you know, that robot was a counter, a kind of recorder.
And so at that time, we found out that about 100,000 vehicles were coming into the FCC Abuja, that is the Federal Capital City in a week and only about half of them left because we did both in and out. We placed the marker along the Kubwa axis going to Zuba, we placed one around the Nyanya axis and we placed another one around the Utako area, the three exits and entrances of Abuja city. Right now, as I’m talking to you, I’m pretty sure the figure will be triple or quadruple of that. The reason, according to my understanding, is that fortunately or unfortunately, Abuja is the only city in Nigeria with the semblance of good infrastructure.
Why do many people visit or come to Abuja and decide to stay back instead of returning to where they came from?
The reason is simple – better infrastructure. Abuja is the only city in the country with a Master Plan to regulate its development in an organized pattern. That is a major reason why many Nigerians and even non-Nigerians find the city more attractive to live in.
If you have noticed, unless you are really in the suburbs in the unplanned areas, Abuja is the only city in Nigeria that does not smell. When you go to Kano, you will see open sewer system, in Lagos open sewer system, Benin and Port Harcourt the same; all these are major cities. So, odour comes out, depending on if they’re cleaning their sewers thoroughly.
But here in Abuja, you don’t see the surface sewer. Everything is underground. We have a fantastic and one of the best sewer treatment plants in Africa. When I was minister, in 2007, they took me there in Wumpa. The plant handles both solid and liquid wastes. So the managers took me to the liquid waste. And they showed me on the computer and physically too how all wastes generated (including our excrement) come in there.
And then you know, something collecting all of them, the excrement and then the liquid, our urine and everything goes in. And all our other liquid wastes from cleaning, dishwashing, and clothes washing are channeled into the place. All the water will come and then it will go into a purifier. And the whole stinking stuff will flow in, purify and come out as clean water. And then they have a huge tank.
They showed me and they put some live fishes in the tank. They told me, the reason why they have those fishes in those tanks is because of control. That is because they discharge the clean water that is produced back into the stream. There is a stream close to them. So it goes into it and people can use it. They told me that every hour, they checked to see if there was one dead fish inside the water. If any fish died, then the water is contaminated but if none died then the water is clean and safe for consumption.
So we went to the end where the recycled clean water was being collected. And they brought two water bottles. They refilled them with the recycled water. The manager drank the water in one of the bottles and gave me the other one to drink and I said not me (laughs). I did not drink not because it wasn’t good; no it was very safe because I saw the process and it was very nice.
Abuja seems to be attracting the good, bad and ugly as it grows. Consider for instance, the social implications of the increasing number of persons running after vehicles on the roads and streets, begging, selling… ?
Abuja is a city that we can be proud of and we are managing it, but of course, like I said, people are trooping into the territory – the good, the bad and the ugly. And there is nothing you can do about it, because they have the right to come as far as they are Nigerians. That was one of the difficulties I had to manage when I was FCT Minister. Before I took over, one of the practices was to go around the city and collect all these beggars plus these people that sell things on the streets and our roads, the hawkers. They went round and packed them and dumped them at the border. They took them to the borders with neighbouring states like Kogi, dump them and then come back. They said well, it is practically good for them, but then morally speaking it is wrong. Because they are Nigerians like us. They are the same, they may not have money, but they have the same right as billionaires or millionaires to be here.
The only thing is the challenge for an administrator or administration to find something for them to do. If you don’t want beggars, then try and rehabilitate them; the same for hawkers. If the facilities are inadequate, try to be creative. It’s not that other countries don’t have beggars or hawkers, it’s just that they have ways of handling them or making sure that they are also self-sufficient.
In some countries, you have a welfare system. So if you have a problem, if you are approved or enumerated, you are a part of the welfare scheme. You know, a cheque comes to you every month. In America, not only do you get cash, you also get a voucher to go and obtain at least certain minimum standard of what you can eat, so that the voucher goes and buys you, foodstuff, at least the quantity that will last you.
So if you really have disability, then the society knows that you cannot go and work; if you’re blind, unless if you’re really a motivated blind person or a handicapped person, you know, and those ones, then you pick and give them. And that is what I did.
It was just recently that somebody reminded me about something that I did when I was minister here. He said, ‘Do you know, you are the first Minister that started the school for the blind in the FCT?’ You know, I said, Well, I forgot, but these are the things. And he said that they even go to universities with the Braille method.
So, these are things that are the challenges because everybody has a right to be in this city. You have no right to tell people not to come. You know, as a matter of fact, this is the city just like they say, the centre of unity. This is the city that every one of us unless if you chose not to, have the right to even run for office and be voted for. So you can go for Senate or for House of Representatives, or for chairmanship of an area council or to be a councillor to represent the people here in Abuja. It doesn’t matter your ethnic origin or where you come from as long as you are living in FCT.
It is just that some of us still go to our different states to go and register and vote. That is why we have to make a case for the few indigenes because they don’t have any other place to go to other than the FCT. Some of them like the Gwaris that are in Karu or in Nyanya, the Gwandaras or even the Fulani. In a nutshell, this is a city that we should really cherish and preserve and make sure that it really reaches its potentials.
Land and infrastructure provision remain two interrelated knotty issues in Abuja especially against the backdrop of the ballooning population, push for plots allocation and scarcity of fund for government to provide infrastructure in more districts. What is the way out of these issues?
There are things that we need to do. Let us not waste infrastructure. This needs some explanation. The land and infrastructure are the gold and diamond of Abuja. Let us not waste. If today, the minister decides to allocate a piece of land to you and then there is nothing there and you decide to sell it to pay school fees or medical bills or take care of this and that. May be somebody may buy it at a price like say N2 million or N3 million. Another person with similar plot of land may decide that he is not going to sell immediately and decides to keep it for two, three, five years. During the period, the government decides to build a road through that district. Julius Berger mobilizes to that site to provide roads, water, sewage system, electricity and other infrastructure there and the cost of the plot jumps to N50 million. Then after the full infrastructure is in place, the person who kept his paper suddenly discovers that the land that initially sold for N2 million and later N50 million is now selling for N100 million or even N200 million.
Then what are they selling? It is our infrastructure that government has paid for that they are selling because without infrastructure the land is almost useless or worthless. So, when I came in as minister and realized that land is the value of the city we decided to grow the city with the land. I said I was not going to take a kobo from the city. We said let the companies or enterprises that will build on the plots pay for the infrastructure by charging them near market value for the land you are allocating and they were willing to pay. Shell wanted a plot near NNPC because NNPC is on the boulevard, so they wanted their own near there and were willing to pay.
Even the minister is not allowed by law to charge more than what the Land Use Act has said. But we came around it and said ok, in the absence of a land holding company what should we do. We went to different countries to understudy their models; we went to Malaysia because they moved their capital about the same time with Nigeria. They have a land holding company. So all the land is vested in that holding company and the minister has no business of allocating land. The minister will just mind his own business (instead) of allocating land. So, the minister will just concentrate on municipal services, hospitals, education and so on. Then, the revenue will come and it will still come to the FCT.
So, I said let’s do it. We were in the process of doing it and I had to take it to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and I knew it was not going to be popular. But we went around it without breaking the law. We said there is nothing that stops us from allocating the land to Abuja Investment Company, the FCTA’s investment outfit; then Abuja Investment will in turn ask people to come and subscribe for these lands.
During my time, in 2007, that is 13 or 14 years ago, it cost the government N20,000 per square metre to provide infrastructure, to provide the roads, the light, the sewer, the water. I don’t know what it will cost now. It may be higher.
I said ok, when we do this land holding company, still government will have to be responsible for something. That time a lot of these new districts were not opened. Only Guzape, Mabushi, even Katampe Extension was on the drawing board. So, I said henceforth, we vest the land into Abuja Investment, let’s do a ratio Government will pay 50 per cent, you the allottee of the land will pay 50 per cent. So, when you calculate, you have your 1,000 square metres, if it is N20,000 per square metre all you need to pay is N10 million, I don’t know, you can do your mathematics. And then you pay and submit your plan for design approval and build your house. That is you pay N10 million, Government pays the other N10 million to make up the N20 million cost of infrastructure provision on the land.
That way, the money you paid will be put in an escrow for that district so that the contractor as soon as he finishes the infrastructure work on the land; you know what they do is that when they finish, say plot ‘A’, they will bring their certificate and our engineers will go and inspect and certify their work and then you pay them. Then they go to the next stage and you pay them. So, there would not even be the need for you to go through all the wahala, go through officials. You just wait in your office and they would check that for you once the inspection has been done. So in a nutshell these are some of my random thoughts about Abuja.