Most satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) lack basic social amenities – Anagada is one of such towns; as AMEH EJEKWONYILO discovers in this report.
A drive from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport through the city centre of the FCT would give an impression of a modern city that competes favourably with other seats of power across the globe. The FCT is a model city in terms of all the indices of development in Nigeria owing to the fact it is the country’s seat of power. However, a peek into the satellite towns adjoining the well-paved roads and solar-lit streets of the city leaves a sour taste in the mouth: “Most of the communities in the satellite areas of Abuja are left to wallow in neglect,” Mrs. Hadiza Sule, a resident of Anagada, told this reporter.
Anagada community is located between Zuba and Giri Junction, on the Zuba-Gwagwalada expressway in the Gwagawlada area council of the FCT. As one veers off the highway, a bumpy and dusty road ushers you into Anagada, a densely populated community with refuse dumpsites littered all over the community.
According to Mrs. Sule, “The refuse dumpsites are all over this community because there is no one to evacuate the wastes that are being generated. That is why you can see everywhere in the community is hazy due to indiscriminate burning of the dumpsites.”
Another resident, Alhaji Sani Habibu, lamented the abandonment of the community, saying, “Every election circle, politicians come here to make promises of fixing our community problems, but after the elections and they are sworn in, we no longer see them. It has been failed promises from the government.”
Anagada’s challenges
For the traditional ruler of Anagada, Malam Alhassan Musa, it is a community yearning for government’s attention. He lamented about the many challenges being experienced by members of his community.
“The challenges range from bad road network within and around the community. None of the roads in the community is tarred, with some no longer motorable, inadequate water supply. No pipe borne water supply system; only three functional boreholes exist, which they say are inadequate; poor access to healthcare; inadequate healthcare facilities. The only public health care centre is poorly staffed and indiscriminate dumping and burning of refuse within the community,” he said.
According to Malam Musa, the community has existed for many years, which he could not say exactly when. The current population is about 500,000. The first settlers were the Koro people, most of whom migrated from Zuba,” he said, adding that the name Anagada means, “A place for relaxation (in Koro language).”
Giving further insights into the historical evolution of Anagada, the traditional ruler said, “According to history, we are originally from Zuba. This place used to serve as the farming site for our forefathers. They would travel from Zuba to this place. Do their farming activities for days and then return home.
“The practice, as we learnt, was that they would come on Friday, stayed until Thursday the next week and then return to Zuba. But at a point, some began to settle here. They did not see the need to travel to and from Zuba again. So, that was how this community – Anagada – was formed. We are Koro. We are not Hausa. Our language is Koro. Our Community is under Gwagwalada area council.
“It simply means a place of relaxation; a place of rest. You know our forefathers used to rest here after their farming activities, until they decided to settle here. So, the name was derived from the purpose for they used this place before they decided to settle here.”
Speaking on what areas of need which they would urgently want government’s attention, Malam Musa said the authorities’ interventions would be most welcomed in the areas of health services provision, water supply and road infrastructure.
“We need government’s assistance in the areas of health services provision, water supply and road infrastructure. The only government-owned health facility in this community is the primary health care centre. The structure is there but there is the problem of inadequate personnel. Those managing the healthcare centre are trying their best. But we need more hands. The government should post more healthcare experts to this community.
“In the area of water supply, we only rely on boreholes, which are becoming inadequate. We currently have just three boreholes that were provided by the government. We want more. We want the government to help us with more boreholes, since there is no arrangement for public water supply.
“The area where we have more trouble road; there is no single tarred road in this community. All the roads are not motorable. The Gwagwalada Area Council promised about five years ago to help us. We are still waiting for them to fulfill their promise.”
Community efforts
He disclosed that in the absence of government’s presence in fixing their road problem, the community resorted to self-help. “Well, most of the time, we resort to self-help. During the rainy season when the roads become impassable, we mobilise the youth, who use shovels and other equipment to dig and manage the roads for us to use. We are hoping that someday the government will fulfill their promises to us,” he said.
On the state of educational facilities at Anagada, there are enough schools the chief said. “In the area of education, we do not have problem. At the moment, we have sufficient number of schools. We have a primary school, junior secondary school and senior secondary school. We also have private schools.
“We also do not have problem in the area of electricity supply. I do not know how they did it, but we also have sufficient supply of electricity here, except on few occasions when electricity facilities, like cables and transformers, are vandalised by criminals.”
To ameliorate the problem of inadequate health care, some members of the community, trained in community medicine, are encouraged to volunteer at the existing primary health care centre in the community.
