Nigeria's Federal Capital, Abuja recently recorded a very important milestone in its evolution when it clocked 20 years since federal power was relocated from Lagos in 1991. This feat, as expected, was marked with pomp and pageantry at the popular Transcorp Hilton where administrators, opinion moulders, business moguls and captains of industry converged to celebrate this monumental achievement.Going down memory lane, Decree No. 6 of 1976, had authorised that the FCT be carved out of Niger, Kaduna, old Plateau and old Kwara States and that same Decree had also set up the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) as the Administrative body vested with power to plan and develop the new territory which comprises approximately 8,000 square kilometres.Similarly, on the 30th of October, 1976, the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory was created by Gazette No. 55 Vol. 66, under Decree No. 12 of the same year. The Ministry was scrapped in 2004 by Dissolution Order No. 1 of the same year, in order to give room for prompt, effective and efficient administration and service delivery in the Territory.In order to take government nearer to the grassroots, the Territory was divided into seven administrative units in 1981, with a Secretary heading each Development Area. At the moment, the Development Areas have been merged into six Area Councils with the status, rights and privileges of Local Government Areas. These Area Councils are Abaji, Bwari, Kwali, Rubochi, Gwagwalada and the Abuja Municipal Area Council.The FCT is recognised by the Constitution as if it were one of the States of the Federation. It is administered by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) which operates on a functional pedestal of seven Mandate Secretariats; namely Transport, Education, Social Development and Agriculture. Others are Area Councils, Health and Human Services, as well as Legal Services Secretariats. Each mandate secretariat is headed by an administrator, known as Mandate Secretary who has the same status as a State Commissioner in the States of the Federation.Special tributes must go to the patriots who made significant contributions to the development of the FCT. First on the list are members of the Supreme Military Council of the regime of late General Murtala Muhammed and of course, the distinguished panel members headed by the late Justice Akinola Aguda that chose the FCT.Prominent among other heroes who made the FCT dream a reality were the original inhabitants who gave up their ancestral homes to enable us create our centre of unity. I am equally referring to the engineers, architects and builders who waded through forests, rivers and climbed mountains to map out the FCT when the territory was still undeveloped.I must also salute those patriotic Nigerians who relocated to Abuja, either as civil servants or business entrepreneurs, in spite of the near total absence of the type of accommodation and other luxuries they were used to in the places they relocated from.I will also not forget the market women and men, artisans and sellers of essential food items to the first residents, without whom they would not have performed their duties well. All of you are the real heroes of our capital city.People have been asking why Abuja at 20 when we had already celebrated Abuja at 30 in 2006. The answer is obvious. Abuja at 30 was a different high-point that captured the heroic action taken by government to address the challenges that Lagos posed to the smooth running of the country, when it served as both a state and federal capital. Owing to its location, Lagos was vulnerable to military attack in case of war. It was also congested, leaving little room for expansion.Besides, Nigerians wanted a capital city that was not culturally attached to any of the major ethnic groups and one that could be easily accessible to people living in far-flung parts of the country. It was no wonder that Abuja was chosen owing to its neutrality, centrality and setting out of so many sites across the country. On the other hand, Abuja at 20 represents a strategic and decisive actualization of the original vision, without which we would not have been where we are today. As they often say; it was a case of putting action on words.At this juncture, I must also commend the excellent vision of the current FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, who in his wisdom, decided to organise an interactive session where we ideas were exchanged by Abuja residents on the journey so far with regards to where are in the city, why we are there and what we can do to take the city to the next level. I'm very sure that various views that were exchanged at that forum will prove to be immensely useful in this worthy task of moving Abuja forward. 'Ibrahim, a media analyst, resides in Abuja, FCT.
Click here to read full news..
