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 which created the Federal Capital Territory .
PT: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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