The defence of Abuja’s image as the Federal Capital City of Nigeria should be a duty to all patriotic citizens. Especially those of us that were involved in its planning and implementation. Almost all former chief executives, directors and other high ranking senior officers who were in the service of the FCDA are sorrowful on the prevailing derailment in the compliance with the city’s development programme. Clearly, the present administration is not concerned about the dangers of these alterations.
The Central Area is the most valuable, as such, most attractive District in Abuja. All the plots of lands to be allocated for physical developments have for long been exhausted due to the extreme demand for land ownership in the District, either for genuine development, or speculative tendencies over the years. Presently, there are only two ways which land can be made available for allocations to new applicants.
The first is by revocation of existing titles. This will not require any change of land use, so long as the new allocation will maintain the land use of the former allocation. The backlash is the administration will have to battle with very powerful litigations in the event of any revocation of title that cannot be justified. There is every likelihood that the revocation cannot be sustained, due to the weights and powers of the existing plot owners.
The other option, which new allocations of lands can be made for physical development to new interests in the Central Area District, is by violations of land use requirements, which entails the conversion of the lands earmarked as green for physical development.
Meanwhile, as green areas, their function is to serve as buffers for the prevention of floods. Due to the dangerous consequences of floods to lives, 100 years flood regime was considered. What it means is, 100 years is the minimum the plan can allow for a flood to occur in the Federal Capital City. Presently, we are 47 years from the beginning of the plan implementation, not yet half way.
This safeguard was maintained by all the previous FCT administrations, in order to respect the safety, serenity and aesthetics of the Federal Capital City. Truly, save for flash floods that would accumulate water on the roads due to the blocking of the road side drains that were not desilted, the natural drains in the first phase of the city do not experience floods that are life-threatening, unless by accidents due to negligence or some occasional violations. It could be observed that almost all floods experienced in the city are occurring in Phase II and beyond. Unfortunately, these precautions have now been thrown away by the present administration, and the floods are now imported.
The land use change will lead to paving of the entire surfaces. One of the aspects of prevention of floods is infiltration, this is otherwise known as the soil absorption of the rains. Infiltration capacity is not only reduced, when surfaces are paved but would be non-existent. As a result of multiple violations of the green areas, the volume of water for runoff would certainly be multiplied.
On the other hand stream channels that would convey the liquid downstream is tremendously narrowed, volume and pressure on the water increases, velocity of the runoff is higher, and the capacity for destruction becomes more devastating. That is why flood water would seem harmless, but its strength, due to the speed it generated is unimaginable, and all objects attempting to move across are easily whisked downstream, along the direction of its movement.
The El Nino years are characterised by higher global temperatures, droughts in some regions and heavy rains in others. There are signs that our portion in this part of the world is the heavy rainfall. Therefore, NiMet advised state governments to clear drainages and relocate communities in high risk floodplains.
But on the contrary, the big brother state, which is the FCT, is narrowing drainages, disrupting trunk sewer lines and introducing physical developments along areas that are earmarked as flood plains right at the centre of the federal capital city.
There is no any mistake on our observations, because the floods have already started. The heavy downpour of Wednesday morning, just two days back, has started sending the ugly signal that all is not well around the violated areas at the boundary between the Central Area and Wuse District along the Olusegun Obasanjo Way. Within just two hours of rains, the green area that was cleared, appeared beautifully reclaimed and fenced was summarily swept and bisected into a huge gully of running water. This is only the beginning, because we are only in early June, not yet July, August or September.
The land reclamation for the physical development has become the cause of environmental degradation, rather than development. Another dimension portrayed is the instability of the ground. The fact is that if the planned development has already taken place, based on the ferocity of the flood water on that land two days ago, it would have been susceptible to building collapse.