Nyesom Wike is incidentally the first southern Nigerian to occupy the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ministerial position since 1979. With its over three million population and the myriad of challenges, the question is what will Wike do differently; KEHINDE OSASONA asks?
Background
Globally, reports have it that it requires being audacious for any government to embark on projects of building a green and walk-able capital city from scratch.
So, when last year the Indonesia parliament passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to Nusantara, a site 2,000 kilometres away on jungle-clad Borneo Island, not many were taken aback.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo had cited rising sea levels and severe congestion on the densely populated Java Island as reasons for the new move. Home to more than 30 million people in its greater metro area, Jakarta has long been plagued by serious infrastructure problems and flooding exacerbated by climate change.
Nigeria in 1991 joined the likes of Brazil, which relocated its capital from Rio de Janeiro, to the purpose-built Brasilia in 1961; Kazakhstan from Almaty to Astana in 1997; and Cote d’Ivoire from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro in 1983.
The former military President, Ibrahim Babangida who championed the project cited Economic, political and security among other reasons for his action.
The el-Rufai magic
However, after it was conceived, the plan was to make Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, a truly Modern Capital City like Johannesburg, London, Abu-Dhabi or even Paris. But the big question has been: has Abuja lived up to its billing or better still, has successive administrations consolidated infrastructural development strides in the FCT?
Answering the above question might be herculean as after the exit of former minister, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, It has been argued at different forums that it would take a determined and dutiful FCT minister to restore the Abuja Master Plan and then rid the country capital of all manners of negativities and challenges ranging from infrastructure deficits, flooding, poor transportation, water shortage, insecurity, bad roads, slum menace, indiscriminate land allocation, park and pay policy among others.
Blueprint Weekend recalled that more than any other FCT minister before him, Nasir el-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, who held sway between 2003 and 2007 was adjudged as the best minister ever, owing to the doggedness, clarity of purpose and high-handedness he employed in restoring the Abuja Master Plan.
At a time, President Obasanjo who appointed him into that position in 2003, was quoted as confessing that he head-hunted el-Rufai for the job because he knew that only a ‘mad man’ could sanitise the FCT ministry and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) which were then notorious as bastions of corruption, ineptitude and land racketeering.
Today, analysts, commentators and residents who are keen followers of developments in Abuja are of the view that el-Rufai’s records as the Minister of the FCT remain indelible and unequalled.
Enter the new Sheriff
For many residents of Abuja, it is believed that the capital city experienced stagnation during the era of successive administrators including the immediate past minister, Muhammad Bello, who held the position between 2015 and 2023. Against the backdrop, many are beginning to set an agenda for the new minister, Nyesom Wike, the immediate Rivers state governor.
Wike, who was nicknamed Mr. Project for what many have described as his infrastructural strides and prompt delivery, recently took over as the new sheriff in FCT.
An Abuja resident, who spoke exclusively to Blueprint Weekend, told this medium that any minister that could not surpass el-Rufai record would not be regarded as one that can turn around the fortune of the fledgling capital city.
Not satisfied with such a stance, Shifau Ibrahim who spoke to our Correspondent, said even though Wike would be facing enormous challenges, she insisted that he is capable of fixing the mess.
“The rot in Abuja for me is beyond master plan, green area and all other things that people usually say. There was a projection of how a capital city should look like right, what happened to it? Who is doing what?
“I think if Wike wants to write his name in gold, he should just dust the Abuja Master Plan, assemble people who can walk his talk and hit the ground running as promised. Anything less would be business as usual and Abuja residents would just see him as another joker.
“That said, I strongly believe that Wike is not the typical promise and failure politician and he has the capacity to deliver. Thankfully, he also has the president’s directive to fix the capital city,” Ibrahim said.
Another resident disagreed. In a chat Wilson Eradiri told this medium that Wike can only succeed if he plays less politics and activates his action programme.
“I want you to know that the Wike outbursts could just be a political garagara typical of Nigeria politicians as many end up not performing.
“So, for me, it is until the man starts doing something that I can begin to hail and all that. Remember that Abuja is not Rivers state.
However, while expressing his readiness for the daunting task ahead at a news conference in Abuja while assuming office, Wike, who once held sway as governor of Rivers state, fired a warning signal, saying it is not going to be business as usual.
“Those distorting the Abuja Master Plan: if you build where you are not supposed to, the building will go down,” the new minister was quoted as saying.
Wike who frowned at the distortion of the Abuja master plan started by declaring that he will demolish all illegal buildings and structures in the FCT to achieve that.
“We shall overhaul and reposition FCT to be among the best cities in the world. If you build on a green area, sorry, it will go down. Those who were allocated land and refused to develop them, we will revoke such lands and re-allocate them to those who are ready to develop them.
“Those who don’t pay ground rent, we will not notify them to do so, but I will not be tired of signing revocation notices. Uncompleted buildings that have become a safe haven for criminals will be reclaimed by the government and put to good use.
“The government would no longer tolerate the indiscriminate operation of markets and motor parks by the roadside. People selling goods and wares under the umbrella by roadside, illegal motor parks and bus stops would no longer be tolerated as they constitute part of the security challenge in the FCT.
“If you have a brother, sister or uncle that is involved in any of these please tell him that the time is up. The goal is to sanitise Abuja and make it safe for everyone,” he said.
“We would strengthen waste management administration and restore all traffic lights to keep the city clean. Motorcycle and tricycle operators would be banned from the city and we will put an end to open grazing within the capital city.
“We will consult with stakeholders, the natives, and herdsmen to address some of these problems, including open grazing. We will also provide alternatives to reduce the suffering of the people, particularly those without private vehicles.
“We will bring back mass transit to improve access to public transportation, and, therefore, the person in charge of transportation must keep his record clean.”
On security, Wike promised to work with all security agencies in the FCT and provide them with necessary tools and logistics to rid the city of all criminals.
“We will provide security agencies with necessary tools and logistics and after that, we will not want to hear any excuses. What we want to see is results.
