Advisory To New FCT Minister

This is to congratulate the new minister for making it into the Change Cabinet for change. Here is wishing him a very successful tenure; a progressive tenure that should and will add very manifest value to the development of the FCT, such that his tenure and added value will be a very positive change from the recent past.
Among the many problems and issues the minister will have to contend with, are those of;

1. a) The intractable problems between Durumi plot owners and the natives squatter settlement, and,
2. b) The stunted ‘development island’ of Jahi district in the midst of already developed surrounding areas.

The situation in Durumi-Gudu district seems to have been beyond the competence of past ministers to resolve, including the rather hot-headed minister, el-Rufai. Plot owners in the areas so affected by the settlements, including adjoining ones that are not physically occupied by the squatter natives, are effectively barred from taking possession and developing them by the increasingly restive and bold native occupiers. In some cases, even after the plot owners had made several “settlement payments” to the squatter natives and multiple other such groups, and their community elders, they are denied access/possession of their duly allocated plots. While others settle for such payments, others insist on extorting very high amounts, while others insist that the government has failed them for not seeing through their resettlement in the designated areas, so they won’t let go their current squatter abode until the government fulfils its side of the programme, and yet others insist that they are no longer interested in moving away from their ancestral lands to anywhere, etc. This group even resort to sentimental blackmail of those that want to cut a deal, by accusing them of selling out on their ancestral heritage, etc.
Unfortunately, and very sadly so too, the Development Control are curiously unable to be of any meaningful help in this regard. More helpless is when they seem to encourage plot owners to settle the native occupiers. They simply seem reluctant to officially intervene and retrieve such illegally occupied plots and restore same to their rightful owners. In the few exceptional cases that they are able to intervene, it is normally at very prohibitive costs to the complainant, both officially and otherwise. This leaves desperate plot owners exposed and vulnerable to the fraudulent antics of ‘blackmarket officials’ and touts on the one hand, and those of all sorts of such squatter groups and their rather dubious community leaders, on the other.
The resultant effect of this situation is that while the rightful owners are unable to take physical possession and develop these areas, the squatter settlements have illegally developed into sprawling eyesores and misfit slum islands surrounded by well developed neighborhoods. These slums conceivably harbour all sorts of tendencies and characters of serious security concerns within themselves, and more importantly to the urbane neighborhoods that have now become vulnerable to the vices that could, and often do, emanate from these slum islands. The economic impact of this is already too glaring especially in the Durumi neighbourhood, where there are too many empty luxury properties that have remained unattractive to tenants, for the obvious reasons of security vulnerability.
The new minister must rid the urban neighbourhoods of these slums, and enhance the security and value of those huge investments. The resettlement of the natives must be given priority in this era of change and order.
The issue of Jahi district is also worrisome. How could all neighbourhood districts surrounding Jahi be fully developed except it? It is now an undeveloped island of land surrounded on all sides by the developments of Gwarimpa, Jabi, Katampe, Mabushi, Kado, etc. The tenure of minister Aliero had awarded the infrastructure job to Gilmor to open up the area. But the tenure of his successor seem not to have had similar interest or commitment to the development of Jahi district for it to fully align and syncronise with the surrounding development and physical pattern.
> The new minister should prioritise the infrastructure provision of Jahi district to open it up for its quick development in sync with the neighboring developments etc. The current situation makes it an island of stunted development in relation to its surroundings..
Wishing the minister the best of luck in the New Year.