The Executive Director, Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre, SERDEC Mr. Tijani Abdulkareem has called on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to close the gap of marginalization and socio-economic inequality against the indigenous people of Abuja.
The SERDEC Executive Director, who spoke on the sidelines of the 16th Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held in Geneva, Switzerland, said the military contributed to the disadvantaged situation the indigenous people of the FCT now find themselves in.
According to Tijani, the military took away indigenous peoples’ lands, territories, and resources, adding that despite that, democratic governments have refused to democratize the process with effective mechanisms for compensation and socio-economic inclusion of the people.
He said: “SERDEC emphasizes the need for inclusion and participation of Abuja indigenous People in governance, noting that Decree 16 of 1976 which created Abuja militarized the rights of the Abuja indigenous people and displaced them from their ancestral land through a military-managed dictatorial compensation and relocation process which lack the democratic and transparent firm to infuse socio-economic justice for the FCT indigenous people.
The subsequent democratic government has refused to democratize the process of mainstreaming the FCT indigenous people into the state, local and national framework of economic, political, and social development, this has presented glaring inequality across all fronts.
“All over the world, indigenous peoples are recognized by their own history and values backed by international instruments like the International Convention on Indigenous Peoples, the ILO Convention 169 all of which emphasize the protection of indigenous peoples, including their intellectual and cultural property rights.”
Tijani insisted that the indigenous people of the FCT have suffered decades of socio economic marginalization following the forceful taking over of their land engendering the people and the culture that keeps both balance.
“SERDEC, therefore, calls on the new administration to meet her international obligations by domesticating the various international conventions that will strengthen the indigenous communities in Abuja, protect their culture, and include them in the political and economic development processes,” he said.
Tijani urged the new administration to adopt legislative, policy, and administrative measures that will lead to the empowerment of indigenous people by providing them with access to basic livelihood, cultural rights, right to land, territories, resource, and economic opportunities enjoyed by other citizens with state status.
