Barely four days after the invasion of warehouses by angry residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to set machinery in motion towards ensuring immediate distribution of grains to residents to ameliorate their living condition.
Tinubu, who gave the directive in a memo addressed to the FCT minister Tuesday, instructed that a strategic committee be constituted to ensure a transparent and equitable distribution of the grains to vulnerable Nigerians through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Some residents of Gwagawa, Jiwa and Karimo, all suburbs of the FCT, had, Sunday raided a government food storage facility, carting away bags of maize, rice as well as other items.
…Tinubu’s directive
Announcing the constitution of the committee at a maiden meeting with area council chairmen and other stakeholders Wednesday, FCT Minister of State Dr. Mariya Mahmoud said the committee has less than two weeks to carry out the presidential directive.
The enraged minister, who expressed disappointment with the area council chairmen for treating the invitation to the maiden strategic stakeholders meeting with levity, warned them against any act that will sabotage the good intention of the president towards the residents of the territory.
Mahmoud listed members of the committee to include area councils’ chairmen, FCT Emergency Management Agency, traditional rulers, Department of State Service(DSS), Nigeria Police Force(NPF), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), faith-based organisations, National Union of Local Government Employees(NULGEE), Nigeria Red Cross Society(NRCS), women association, persons with disability group, youth associations, principal of boarding schools, Civil Society Organisations(CSOs) and the media.
…Foundation empowers over 200
Meanwhile, not less than 200 FCT original inhabitants have been empowered by an Abuja-based non-governmental organisation (NGO).
President of the NGO, Helpline Social Support Initiative, Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, disclosed this during an exhibition of the cultural attires of nine FCT original inhabitants in Abuja Tuesday.
She revealed that with support from Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) and MacArthur, the original inhabitants were trained in several skills, including traditional attire weaving and dying, among others.
Represented by the foundation’s Project Manager, Arome Onoja, Ahmadu said: “This exhibition is not just a showcase of traditional attires of the nine tribes in FCT; it is a celebration of who we are as a community and a testament to the beauty and vibrancy of our shared humanity.
“Through this event, we have the opportunity to explore and appreciate the culture the cultures of the nine tribes that make up the tapestry of Abuja.”
The president invited those in attendance and the public to open their hearts and minds to the stories of resilience, creativity and ingenuity the exhibitions tell, adding those stories of heritage passed down through generations and must not be allowed to perish.
According to her, events like such “should remind us of the power of culture to unite, inspire and transcend boundaries.”
“They remind us that l, despite our differences, we are bound together by our shared humanity and our common desire for peace, understanding and mutual respect,” she said.
Traditional attires from original tribes of Gbagyi, Gwandara, Gede, Ganagana, Egbira, Koro, among others, were exhibited at the event.
The colours of the nine tribes on display were predominantly white, red, green and black.
White, in most of the tribes, signifies peace, while green stands agriculture in most, even as Gwandara, which has milk colour representing agriculture, has red for peace.
To the Gede tribe, red stands for hospitality, not war, while the Koro people view black as strength.
