For the first time, Abuja indigenous peoples take their case to the United Nations in a weeklong event in Switzerland that drew global attention to the travails of long-suffering communities. Adewale Adeoye reports.
Hameed Tabale is 60. A few years ago, he was one of the ring leaders of a group that had planned to paint Abuja red. Their design was simple: block all the gateways to Abuja, including the airport road, in a huge human shield that would throw the capital city into panic and turmoil. The plans were already in top gear a few years ago. The organizers planned to mobilize no fewer than 2 million indigenous peoples of Abuja who have been subjected to land dispossession, exclusion, and misery following the relocation of the Nigerian capital from Lagos to Abuja by the military government in 1976.
‘We wanted to take Nigerians by surprise. It was a carefully planned plot. Our plan was to block each entrance to Abuja consistently for one week,’ he told our correspondent in a chat on Sunday. For long, the Abuja indigenous people have cried and wailed, but their astonishing plight consistently met deaf ears. The original inhabitants of Abuja are the Gbayi, Ebira, Koro, Nupe, Bassa, Gwandara, Gade, and Dibo, among others. The indigenous people insist their homeland has been scorched by years of exploitation that has given rise to a sprawling Abuja city-state to the decline of their economic fortunes. They claim their land was taken by fiat with little or no compensation paid to them. However, the plan to stir a stormy wind in Abuja was put to rest following the intervention of human rights groups who brought hope in place of despair. ‘They engaged us. They told us there are more gains in peaceful protests driven by international standards,’ recalled Samuel Gida, one of the Gade youths who spoke to our correspondent.
However, this week, the indigenous people of Abuja have a greater cause to dance and make merry. Their case has been taken to the United Nations. This means the international community is now mandated to engage the Nigerian government on the status of misery that has been the lot of Abuja indigenous peoples.
The road to a new beginning began on July 18 in Switzerland. Amidst the prevailing reports of violent attacks, rape, torture, and dispossession of land resources across the world, indigenous peoples of Abuja, for the first time, joined others from around the world to storm the United Nations, UN, to draw global attention to their diminishing status across the world.
In different colors, ethnicity, creed, and faith, the representatives from indigenous peoples from no fewer than 180 countries were the cynosure of Swiss for most of mid-July as they trudged under the snow, in their traditional dresses, from their hostels to the UN office in Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, sometimes in rows to the admiration of thousands of onlookers.
The summit is not only of importance to Abuja indigenous peoples but also to Africa, which is home to some 1000 indigenous peoples and whose territories currently host a string of conflict and wars that have led to the displacement of millions of people from their ancestral land.
The indigenous peoples face erosion of values, language, spirituality, civilization, and traditional cultures linked to desperate exploitation of natural resources by state and international groups which often lead to dramatic changes in migration of peoples, new settlements, and displacements.
In Abuja and other parts of Nigeria, issues affecting indigenous peoples, from attacks on farmers, seizure of ancestral land at gunpoint, violent assaults on communities, rape, exclusion, and repression are real.
The Abuja original inhabitants had gathered to attend the 17th Expert session on the rights of indigenous peoples. In 2007, the Human Rights Council, which is the United Nation’s main human rights institution following resolution 6/36, had provided the platform for expert advice on the rights of indigenous peoples, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), for member states including Nigeria. The focal point of the Expert Mechanism is to provide the UN Human Rights Council with the right approach to the implementation of the rights of indigenous people to enhance development and reduce conflict.
Indigenous peoples from all over the world took the center stage of global events at the United Nations for most of the third week of July this year. Delegates from over 180 countries rose in ovation for a Nigerian activist who made presentations on the plight of Abuja indigenous peoples on a Tuesday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The event saw a significant representation of indigenous peoples in Nigeria and the various organizations that echo their voices from the deep, isolated valleys.
The Nigerian group was led by the Executive Director of Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) Dr. Ibrahim Mualeem Zikirullahi.
I am here with the support of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The Nigerian team drew the attention of the international community to the two million Original Inhabitants (OIs) of Abuja’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Nigeria, comprised of nine tribes and seventeen chiefdoms.
The group said the indigenous peoples face the challenges of landlessness, statelessness, and the extinction of their culture. He said if nothing is done to rectify the injustice done to them, their future is very bleak.
‘Over the years, successive Nigerian governments have refused to adequately compensate or resettle the Abuja Original Inhabitants, whose lands were forcibly taken by Military Decree 6 of 1976. The Nigerian government has refused to respect and protect the rights of the Original Inhabitants of Abuja, despite solemn commitments to do so. A visit to the Abuja Original Inhabitants’ communities would reveal that they lack functional health and educational facilities, deplorable roads, potable water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.’
He said unlike other Nigerian citizens in various states who have the right to vote for a Governor and a State House of Assembly, Abuja OIs are denied such political rights.
The original inhabitants, he said ‘have done everything possible over time to bring attention to the obvious discrimination and injustices they face, but the Nigerian government has refused to listen. Even some landmark judgments of the Supreme Court in favor of the OIs were never obeyed.’
He called on the UN to echo the voices and pains of the indigenous people of the Nigerian capital, Abuja. He said to a standing ovation: ‘We demand an end to the violation of their right of belonging, history, and legacy. We request that Nigeria should be made to fulfill its constitutional and international human rights obligations to address the plight of the Abuja Original Inhabitants without delay.’ In the statement submitted to the UN, the Nigerian team stated that Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, is home to diverse indigenous communities whose livelihoods are intricately connected to their traditional and other economic activities. It added that the activities encompass practices such as farming, fishing, hunting, gathering, craftsmanship, and other cultural pursuits that have sustained their communities for generations.
‘These activities not only serve as a means of economic subsistence but also foster cultural heritage and preserve their way of life.’
The team noted that the indigenous people of Abuja have encountered various barriers that hinder their ability to engage freely in these activities. Rapid urbanization, encroachment on ancestral lands, displacement, and limited access to resources pose significant challenges to their sustainable livelihoods. Land dispossession, restricted access to natural resources, and lack of recognition and protection of their traditional knowledge further undermine their economic autonomy and cultural identity.
It urged the international community, governments, and relevant stakeholders to take immediate action to address these pressing issues.
It is crucial to ensure that the rights of the indigenous people of Abuja, as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), are respected, protected, and fulfilled. This includes the rights to self-determination, participation in decision-making processes, control over land and resources, and the preservation of cultural heritage. It called for the implementation of inclusive policies that empower indigenous communities and prioritize their economic empowerment. These policies should involve meaningful consultation and collaboration with the indigenous people of Abuja to develop strategies that ensure the sustainability of their traditional and other economic activities. Efforts should be made to provide them with legal recognition, equitable access to land and resources, and the necessary support to strengthen their capacity for self-governance, economic development, and cultural preservation.
