No sacred cows: Wike orders demolition of houses blocking Abuja waterways

Jeremiah Adeshina

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of houses and other structures found to be obstructing designated water channels in Maitama and other flood-prone parts of Abuja.

Wike gave the directive on Tuesday after inspecting areas affected by the recent flooding in Maitama, warning that the enforcement exercise would commence immediately and continue until Saturday.

The minister said the exercise would not be suspended because of ongoing political activities or the status and influence of the owners of the affected properties.

He declared that any structure found to have been erected on designated waterways would be removed, regardless of whether the owner was a politician, senator or wealthy individual.

“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” Wike said.

“Whether there’s an election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done.”

The FCT minister said the recent flooding had exposed several human activities that had contributed to the worsening of flooding in Abuja.

According to him, the construction of houses and other structures on waterways, blockage of drainage channels, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, failure to desilt drainage systems and inadequate supervision of developments were among the major factors responsible for the situation.

Wike said inspections carried out by the FCT Administration revealed that some property owners had deliberately blocked channels designated under the Abuja Master Plan for the movement of stormwater.

“Unfortunately, we have gone there, and we have seen how people have blocked channels where, in the Master Plan, that is the right way where the water is supposed to be channelled,” he said.

The minister expressed concern that many of the structures obstructing waterways were owned by wealthy Nigerians and had remained in place for several years.

“All those built-up areas that were not supposed to be built up, not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians,” he said.

“Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses have been there for 10 years, eight years ago.”

Wike suggested that previous administrations may not have had the political will to enforce development regulations, while some government officials may also have failed to properly perform their responsibilities.

He, however, insisted that the present administration would not hesitate to enforce the law where necessary.

“And let nobody make the mistake that this government lacks the political will to do anything. The person must be making a very big mistake,” he said.

“If there is one minister who has political will, I have. I have the political will.”

Flooding Not Entirely Natural, Says Wike
Wike also rejected attempts to attribute the Abuja flooding entirely to natural causes or to turn the incident into a political controversy.

He acknowledged that climate change and unusually heavy rainfall had contributed to the flooding, but maintained that human activities had significantly worsened the impact.

According to him, flooding is a global phenomenon that has affected major cities around the world, including cities in developed countries.

“Flood could be a natural disaster,” he said, noting that flooding had occurred in places such as Dubai, the United States and the United Kingdom.

“We are in a climate change period. The kind of rain we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not to say that there are no man-made factors. There are.”

The minister listed buildings erected on waterways, construction in areas not designated for development, blocked drainage channels, inadequate desilting and indiscriminate dumping of waste as major man-made contributors to the flooding.

He therefore directed relevant FCT authorities to immediately commence desilting of drainage channels and other identified areas.

“The facility management is not here. The Director is not here. Yes, we have to immediately start desilting some of the areas we have identified,” Wike directed.
He also appealed to residents, traders and other members of the public to stop dumping refuse into drainage channels, warning that such practices could worsen flooding and endanger lives and property.

‘No Political Consideration in Enforcement’

The minister dismissed criticism from political commentators who questioned the administration’s response to the flooding.

Wike said he would not allow political considerations to distract the FCT Administration from taking decisions necessary to protect residents and restore proper planning in the nation’s capital.

“I don’t want to reply to political commentators. I don’t want to reply to people who think that appearing on TV, in their houses, will give them an edge to win an election that they have lost. No,” he said.

He maintained that the FCT Administration had recorded significant achievements in the last three years, while admitting that the territory still faced several challenges.

“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it,” he said.

“This administration has done very well as far as the Federal Capital Territory is concerned. That does not mean that I can claim that it has solved all problems, no. Are there problems? Yes. Have they solved major problems? Yes. Will they continue to solve problems? Yes.”

Wike also defended the administration’s performance in the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O).

He said the FCT Administration had signed 26,272 C-of-Os within three years, compared with approximately 7,000 signed by two previous administrations over a combined period of 13 years.

According to him, the performance of the administration should be assessed holistically rather than judged solely basis on the recent flooding.

Wike further rejected suggestions that the demolition exercise could be politically motivated because of the election season.

He insisted that enforcement of development regulations should continue irrespective of political activities.

“Now you have done your own by blocking the water channel, and nothing has happened. Thank God the flood has come. It has drawn our attention to the place. Now something will happen,” he said.

“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that’s found on the water channel will go down.”

The minister consequently directed the FCT Development Control Department to ensure that there was no delay in removing structures found to be obstructing waterways.

“From today to Saturday, if Development Control delay let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot,” Wike warned.

Wike also criticised the conversion of designated green areas in Abuja to other uses, stressing that the FCT Administration would protect the environmental assets of the capital.

He said the fact that an illegal structure had existed for several years would not make it legal or prevent the government from taking corrective action.

“Something that was done wrongly will not be corrected? No, we will not allow that. We won’t,” he said.

The minister reiterated that the administration would continue to enforce the Abuja Master Plan and development regulations, regardless of the social or political standing of property owners.

He urged residents who identify genuine problems in their communities to bring them to the attention of the government, assuring that such concerns would be considered.

“My interest is we’ll continue to do the right thing in FCT, where no one will stop,” Wike said.

The demolition order is expected to place several property owners and developers whose structures fall within designated waterways under immediate scrutiny as the FCT Administration intensifies its response to flooding and illegal development in Abuja.