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In praise of Modibbo
By Emmanuel Onwubiko,Abuja
Friday, April
25, 2008
One of Alfica,'s finest writers of all times, the Algeriffil
born Albert Camus in his classic The Rebel substantially answered
the interrogative who is a rebel? What is a rebel? A man who
says NO: but whose refusal does not imply a renunciation.
He is also a man who says YES as soon as he begins to think
for himself. Camus continued further by saying that a slave
who has taken orders all his life, suddenly decides to say
NO to some new orders.
What does he mean by saying no? He means, for instance, that
this has been going on too long, so far but no farther, you
are going too far, or again, there are certain limits beyond
which you shall not go. He rebels because he categorically
refuses to submit to conditions that he considers intolerable.
Rebellion cannot exist without the feeling that somewhere,
in some ways, you are justified.
When the current minister of the federal capital territory
assumed duty and halted the harsh demolition exercises and
announced the resolve of his administration to carry out humane
policies in compliance with the rule of law, and proceeded
to reverse some perceived lopsided practices witnessed in
the allocation of plots of land to applicants, the beneficiaries
of the former discriminatory land allocation practices immediately
saw in Aliyu Modibbo Umar a rebel who if his wings are literarily
not clipped could upstage the status quo antebellum especially
that which oppresses the greatest number of Nigerians.
Some Nigerians think that if the minister of the nation's
capital is a rebel as he has been branded by those who may
be affected by the current administration's disposition to
respect due process and the rule of law in the administration
of the seat of power, then he must be a positive rebel with
justifiable cause. Still others saw in him, a revolutionary
who is in a hurry to transform the capital city for the better
through the implementation of humane policies that will equitably
spread the dividends of democracy to Nigerians resident in
the federal capital territory.
Well as a journalist, my duty is not to sit by the fence or
to take side with the powers that be, but rather to take side
with the over all demands of the greatest number of law abiding
citizens. One major policy shift that has taken place in Abuja
is the decision by the federal capital territory minister
to reduce mass housing plots in order to enable the residents
of the federal capital territory to get added value for the
plots of land earmarked for mass housing scheme which is expected
to cushion the excruciating pains been faced by the thousands
of the internally displaced Abuja residents who were victimized
by the last administration.
The minister said that the eras of applying for large plots
of lands to be kept by the land speculators for future sales
are gone. According to him "If the set objective of the
mass Housing scheme is realized, then the federal Government's
dream of providing affordable housing for all Nigerians would
have been achieved". He noted that after the review of
the mass housing plots in the federal capital territory, the
current allottees would be left with only 25 hectares of land,
which he stressed, would remain the bench mark for all future
allocations. The minister however stated that any investor
who is able to develop such plots would be allocated more
if requested.
The minister insisted that the whole idea is to make more
houses available to the residents of the federal capital territory.
An area that the minister needs to tackle is the astronomic
rise in the rents paid by tenants in municipal areas of Asokoro,
Wuse 11, Maitama and other choice areas in Abuja. Most tenants
believe that functional rent tribunals need to be in place
in Abuja to adjudicate matters arising from conflicts between
tenants and shylock house owners.
The street lights need to be constantly switched on at nights
especially the street lights along the international Airport
Road. The minister should carry through his plan to introduce
the solar means of power generation to cushion the effects
of regular power failures from the Power Holding Company of
Nigeria which is not under the control of the federal capital
territory administration.
The Crime rate needs to be tackled even as the police needsto
implement rights-based approach to law enforcement. So far,
it appears that Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar understands that transformative
leadership characterized by the pragmatic implementation of
the ideals of accountability, transparency, fairness and respect
for the rule of law and human Rights of citizens are the essential
ingredients that will catapult Abuja from a city of exclusively
for the rich to a clean and green city for all. Time shall
tell whether this assessment is correct or otherwise.
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