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…As APC chieftain tells Gumi to leave Wike alone
From Tony John (Port Harcourt) and John Adams (Minna)
Former don and United Kingdom-based architect, Sam Orlu-Akwu, has said the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has overstretched its optimum population projection of 3.1 million and, therefore, requires credible and equitable urban governance.
This is even as a former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and chieftain of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Niger State, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa has tackled Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, who recently attacked the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, describing Gumi’s claim on Abuja as that of a person living in the past, who has lost touch with the current reality in the country, especially in the north. He added that the era of using religion and ethnicity as identity in the North is over.
Sam Orlu-Akwu applauded the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for the steps he had taken to actualize the Abuja Master Plan.
Speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for the upcoming conference on ‘The Built Environment: The City as a Socio-Economic Ecosystem” Orlu-Akwu said he was happy that the minister had commenced the process of cleaning the rot that had engulfed the city over the years.
He urged the minister to take further steps by reviewing the Master Plan in line with the international best practices.
Orlu-Akwu said: “To address the myriad of growing urban challenges, Abuja requires an efficient, credible and equitable system of urban governance. l, therefore, call for a review of the Abuja Master plan.
“Going by professional standard, all master plans are subject to review every 25 years. Abuja is nearly 50 years now. Thus, the defence of the Abuja Master Plan among others must also include the periodic reviews, and their formalisation as new rules to govern the implementation.
“The optimum population projection of 3.1 million targeted by the Abuja Master Plan has already been exceeded and is still soaring, thereby overstretching the infrastructure and services.”
According to him, in the original concept, the city was to be developed in four phases, but due to the skyrocketing demand for land by developers, specifically residential, a fifth phase was introduced.
“Also, in the Master Plan, the outermost limits of the city were the Outer Northern Expressway (ONEX) and Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) on the North and South of the city respectively. But, many big districts have already been developed outside these limits.
“The areas that were originally considered as regions have been integrated into the city. There is every need to respond to the rapid growth of the city.”
Orlu-Akwu called on the federal government through the FCT minister to set up a Technical Committee for the review of Abuja master plan.
He said there was no need for the unnecessary bickering concerning what the minister was doing to reconstruct and beautify the city that would become the pride of all Nigerians.
According to him, the inability to accept changes of the status quo has been the cog in the wheel of our national development.
“There is no gainsaying that the Federal Capital Territory is drifting gradually to becoming an urban slum. The city has been abused, bastardized and mismanaged over the years and if care is not taken, it will begin to decay.
“It is in urgent need of surgery to regain its original concept. This will definitely require a decisive, firm, dispassionate and unbiased action. There is no doubt that the former governor of Rivers State is equal to the task. This is not the time to talk about religion and ethnicity. Abuja is a melting point of all Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Sunday, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa, who reacted to
Gumi’s outburst against Wike, said the cleric’s engagement with bandits in the forest has made him lose touch with the reality in the north, stressing that the era of using ethnic and religious identity to attract sympathy or favour has ended in the North.
According to the former publicity secretary of APC in Niger State, the north which Gumi claimed he spoke for is an extremely fragmented region in Nigeria today with the political class only interested in building dynasty for themselves and their immediate families on like what obtains in the south where politicians build their people.
Vatsa pointed out that any region that is laying claim to the ownership of Abuja is indirectly laying claim to the ownership of Nigeria, saying that Abuja as it is today was developed with resources from all over Nigeria be it from oil, cattle rearing and cocoa, and therefore wondered why anybody would claim the monopoly of Abuja.
He stated further that before now it was easier in Nigeria to hide failure under ethnicity and religion and also gather support under ethnicity and religion, adding that all that is beginning to change because the ordinary man on the streets of North has never benefitted from anything from the leaders who have continued to use religion and ethnicity to win their support.
