ABUJA : THE NEED FOR SUBTLE BALANCE

We must treat the city like a living organism… the urban phenomenon then, like life is founded on a subtle balancing act. If we want a city to function properly as a society, the balance must not be upset.                                                                        B. Cools. 1987 “The Future of the City”

Remember a typical day. You wake up, you grab your breakfast, and you off to work. Maybe in summary that describes a part of your day. In Abuja , many folks wish they could have that typical day. It has become a luxury. The Okada motorbikes ban put paid to a semblance of your typical day.

Hear Chigozie Nwale, an 18 year old Okada operator, lamenting his loss in a recent BBC article and those hit by similar fate, “I don't know what to do. I have been sleeping since morning because el-Rufai has effectively rendered me and so many others like me unemployed."

People do feel a sense of hopelessness when they loose their jobs. And in Nigeria unlike some other countries government puts you out of your job without social welfare – no unemployment benefits while you are busy looking for another job. The case in Nigeria is that of a feeling of a consuming hopelessness and that of a great loss that most times send a few angry young people into a life of crime.

And crime says Nasir El Rufai is what the government tries to avoid when they ban Okadas from the streets of Abuja . But the reality seems to differ from what we have been told. We are leaving in a season of contradictions that have come to define public policies Rufai is inadvertently promoting crime in order to rid it of ‘nuisance.’ And this raises some concern about how policies are arrived at in a city like Abuja .

The metaphor of a city as a living organism holds true in many situations. It helps define a city with all its plurality and contradictions, the rich, poor, gay, Christian, Moslem disabled and different ethnicities. The role of policy makers should be to balance all interests. And there is no where on earth where you have a perfect city. It is a continuous effort at working with what you have and promoting the public good and not just from one point of view. That has been the stuff of progressive societies.   

 But, in Rufai’s policy one is confronted with the arbitrariness of decision making, and less of good moral choices, hardwork, and wide consultation with stakeholders.  Efforts were spared to draft sound policies that could make cities function with fair and equally treatment for all stakeholders.

For instance, why should a policy that seeks to curb crime further stew or escalate crime. The government has the resources to conduct a research, talk to experts and discuss with stakeholders to arrive at a sounder policy. And from people’s reaction, it appears government refused to adopt this problem solving approach

Increasingly, we are creating a gulf between two worlds, the rich and the poor. And the voices of the poor have no resonance in policies that govern them .And poor continue to express their frustration to know end. Government policies continue to support elitist entitlements to the detriment of the poor.

Driving through Nyanyan and Karu, you see poverty and dearth of infrastructure. But spatial planning shows a municipal that favours wealth and privileged in Abuja municipal. And well supported with infrastructural facilities that folks in the satellite towns don’t have.

This raises the fundamental question of who benefits from the policies in Abuja . Is it the rich or poor?  For instance, when an individual owns empty fifty houses he will never live and many are homeless in Kubwa.How has the government served their interest?    

   If we must curb crime, we must start reaching out to the poor. Instead of the way the society is stratified that few people amass wealth. There needs to be redistribution of resources in a way the poor can share in the nation’s wealth. Government policies keep shutting the poor folks out of their attempts to make a decent living. And Nasir El Rufai’s recent effort is one of those moments were governance has gone to the dogs.   

 

    A city must be allowed to breathe like an organism does and we must allow it develop innovate, and later re-invent itself .The human component is precious and must be allowed to thrive and burst loose in an environment that encourages enterprise and initiative. Top down approach to legislation won’t help the Masterplan. The city is not about artefacts – it is the human element that makes it breathe. 

Would Nigerians stand up and force the “Mallam of  Abuja” to listen to the voice of  Prince Ngige, "Look, if they know what they are doing in this government, they should better listen to the voice of the ordinary people before things get out of hand” The ordinary folks are crying and asking for help.

But would the minister and his government listen? Possibly no if we go by experience.

Deola Ndanusa

Deola.Ndanusa@gmail.com

Robot  # 1 | 19.10.2006 00:03

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