It is now 20 years since the seat of power was moved from Lagos State to Abuja, the current Federal Capital Territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It was General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), Nigeria's military President from 1985 to 1993 that formally moved the seat of the Federal Government from Lagos to Abuja on 12th December, 1991. That was 15 years after the creation of the Federal Capital Territory by the General Murtala Muhammed-led government in 1976.The FCT covers an area of 8,000 sq km. This makes it more than twice the area of Lagos State. This vast area was considered necessary in order to allow room not just for the capital city but also for a city region that will provide most of the needs of the city, including water, forestry, industrial, agricultural, open spaces, defence, air transport and other needs.Since that time, there has been no looking back for Abuja as the capital of Nigeria. The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, is the 15th Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Since April 2010 when he assumed office, he has been working assiduously to ensure that Abuja develops into one of the 20 best cities in the world by 2020 and this is being prosecuted by him through several ways.The Minister's achievements are inclusive of investment attraction from within and outside the shores of Nigeria. Presently, the combined value of the investments stands at $6.5 billion which was attracted between April 2010 and date. The investments include that from the US-based Balkan Development Centre of Dallas for the building of Abuja Town Centre at a value of $2.6 billion. Equally inclusive is the construction of a World Trade Center by the Church Gate Group which is valued at $1 billion, the various mass housing projects by foreign and local companies, as well as the investment by Innoson Group from Nnewi that is constructing an ultra-modern automobile manufacturing and service centre in Abuja. This goes to show that the FCT is fast becoming the best and biggest investment hub in Nigeria with a conducive and secure atmosphere for doing business, courtesy of the favourable and attractive policies of the Bala Mohammed administration.The strides of the administration also encompass land administration and allocation processes. Hitherto, these areas were defective and redolent with corruptive tendencies such as forgery, double allocation and other unwholesome acts. But within a short space of time, Mohammed had put in place enabling frameworks geared towards the sanitisation of land administration and allocation processes in the FCT, thus eliminating the identified flaws in the system and ensuring an arrangement that makes way for effectiveness, accountability and more revenue accruing to the coffers of the FCT administration through the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS).In the area of road construction, Mohammed has been able to formulate a policy that encompasses construction of roads not only in the Federal Capital City (FCC) which is the city centre but also in the satellite towns and the area councils. This has put a mechanism in place to rapidly decongest the city centre thus spreading the population of residents across the 8,000 square kilometres of the territory.One significant road being constructed by the administration and which is expected to be commissioned before the next rainy season, starts at Dutsen-Alhaji at the intersection with the Kubwa-Zuba City Centre 10-lane expressway cutting through Lower Usuma Dam, Bwari and passing through Jere and then busting out on the Keffi-Nyanya expressway. The road is expected to decongest traffic in the North-East Axis with vehicles coming from Nassarawa, Plateau, Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue States having a choice to divert and veer off the City Centre if they are going to Kaduna, Niger, Kogi and some Southern States.Another key alternative (diversion) which is simultaneously being constructed by the administration, starts from New Karu in Nasarawa State and passes near Karshi before cutting behind Asokoro District to link Kuje and Gwagwalada along the Lokoja ' Abuja highway. When completed within the next one year, this vital road would make it possible for motorists to bypass the whole Abuja City, Airport Road and even Gwagwalada town thereby making it more convenient for travellers going to the South-East, South-West and some North-Central States by avoiding the traffic grid that the residents currently experience on the ever busy Abuja- Airport-Giri-Gwagwalada road. This is just a tip of the iceberg with regards to road construction in the FCT, as several other roads are being constructed.Dissatisfied with the existing mono-modal form of transportation the FCT Minister has moved to expand and adopt a multi-modal approach of transportation, where a lot of importance is now being put on the rail transportation system. The project is being vigorously pursued in a dexterous and committed manner with the Minister ensuring that the foreign component of the contract package is secured.The first track of the Abuja rail transport line starts from Dei-Dei connecting some other areas and then passing through Life-Camp to the City Centre. Consequently, when the project is completed, all the people residing in that axis starting from Suleja, Kubwa and Dei-Dei will witness the park and ride system; whereby those of them who wish will park their vehicles at the train station, board a train and within 10 minutes, they will be ferried into the City Centre via train at a very minimal cost.Some other landmarks so far recorded include the expansion and building of vocational/rehabilitation centres for destitutes and prostitutes, owing to the fact that Mohammed believes that this particular set of persons can be rehabilitated and given the opportunity to make their contributions to the growth and development of the country. The opening of the Karu (Primus) Specialist Hospital by some Indian medical experts as an international centre of medical excellence has helped to curtail capital flight by Nigerians through medical tourism in Europe, Asia and America. This is in addition to the robust health policy that caters for the generality of the residents at an affordable rate through the various primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities in FCT.Also, the provision of qualitative and quantitative education in the FCT has been topmost on the agenda of the FCT administration. Thus the founding and establishment of Abuja University of Technology (AUTA) located in Abaji, was based on the Minister's commitment to standardised and accessible primary, secondary and tertiary education for students in FCT. Yaki wrote in from Abuja via ibrahi.sarkinyaki1@gmail.com
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