From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Traditional rulers drawn from the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have appealed to the Federal Government to give original inhabitants a pride of place in the scheme of things.
They lamented the refusal of successive administrations to appoint an indigene as minister of the FCT despite occupying their territory.
The monarchs spoke recently in Abuja at a National Dialogue on Rights of FCT Original Inhabitants, organised by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Education (CHRICED) in Abuja.
The theme of the was ‘Building Resilience, Fostering Recovery: FCT Original Inhabitants and the Struggle for Justice.’
Chairman of the FCT Council of Traditional Rulers, who doubles as the Ona of Abaji, Alhaji Adamu Yunusa, called on the present administration to treat like every other Nigerian.
Represented by Mansur Sule, he said: “The donation of our ancestral land to government is remarkable for the unity of the people and the peaceful co-existence of the citizens, but we are not getting commensurate appreciation from the country.
“The people should do us justice to see we are given our rights. We just want to be treated like any other Nigerian. It is high time they gave us our right.”
Also, the Etsu of Kwali, Alhaji Shaban Audu, stressed that the indigenes had sacrificed a lot for the FCT which ordinarily should count for them.
He said: “We have sacrificed a lot. Though we remain grateful to the government because certain things had been done, more needs to be done for the socio-political advancement of the people.”
The Executive Director of CHRICED, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the inhuman treatment meted out to indigenes might fester due to the insidious mien of some politicians determined to stymie their progress.
Zikirullahi said: “FCT indigenes made enormous sacrifices to provide space for Nigeria’s capital. Therefore, the government can no longer ignore the voices of the original inhabitants.
“They are landless, don’t have representatives in the federal cabinet and of course, even their children don’t have a place they can call their own.
“They have been suffering discrimination over time. We are supporting them to re-awaken their voice and put their issues before the government and the international community.
“They are going about their case lawfully and peacefully and perhaps maybe that is why the government is not listening.
“We are telling the government that it is not only those that are violent and unholy that it should discuss and negotiate with. It is high time they listened to the original inhabitants.”