Rabi’u Garba
Judging from the heart-warming trend of events in the nation’s capital city, it is safe to conclude that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, is determined to leave Abuja better than he met it, especially in the provision of infrastructure and above all, to write his name in gold in the annals of history of the city.
Prior to his nomination as minister in 2010, the nation’s capital was confronted with the challenge of dearth of infrastructure. So, Bala Mohammed practically inherited an assignment that was not only intimidating, but scary in nature.
But considering his pedigree as an achiever, Bala knew that the job bestowed upon him was an energy-sapping one and as such, he was determined to make a difference. To translate his determination into concrete reality, he assembled a formidable team of technocrats and decided to hit the ground running.
After his swearing in, Bala courageously took over the driver’s seat, fastened his seat belt to withstand the bumps and shocks ahead. And with a formidable team of aides as handmaiden and a blueprint of action as a compass, he set to work with gusto and unchained the ministry and put it on the path of accelerated development.
Unlike some his predecessors who merely savored the comfort and coziness of the office, Bala, with his eyes fastened on the verdict of history, is determined to make a whole lot of difference in the derelict condition of the nation’s capital city. And he is succeeding against all odds, with appreciable results to show for it.
Recently, at the ground-breaking ceremony for the N40 billion Outer-Southern Expressway in Abuja, Bala, represented by the Minister of State, OloyeOlajumokeAkinjide, said the expansion of the expressway from Presidential Villa Roundabout in Asokoro, passing through Kuje and terminating at the Intersect of Trunk Road A2 in Gwagwalada had become necessary following the daily influx of Nigerians into Abuja. This is a testimony to the determination of the Bala-led administration towards providing critical infrastructure in FCT.
This is in addition to the completion of the expansion of modern 10-lane multiple carriage super highways: the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (Airport Road) Expressway; the Outer Northern (Murtala Mohammed) Expressway otherwise known as the Zuba/Kubwa/City Centre Highway and the dualization of the Nyanya Expressway. These projects have provided employment opportunities to several people.
The first thing the minister did on assumption of office was to break the vicious stranglehold of land speculators, after which he digitalized the system, a development that enthroned accountability in FCT land administration.
Bala, as a deliberate measure, also elected to empower all plot owners by granting them titles, which has gone a long way in boosting the confidence of investors in the territory’s land administration.
Several districts have been opened up for development through provision of massive infrastructural facilities. Even at that, the minister has remained uncompromising as far as Abuja’s original master plan is concerned. This he has been doing through the removal of all structures that contravene the plan.
The minister’s quest to provide infrastructure for the FCT resulted into the historic flag-off of development of three new districts. In this vein, the total development of Katampe District to be executed through Private Public Partnership (PPP) and estimated at N61,194,747,645.00, with Kagini 1 District costing N52,609,879,284.47, while Maitama Extension District will gulp N137,454,626,929.00.
To further give teeth to his quest to modernize the nation’s capital, the Bala administration entered into series of agreements with Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), a special agency of the federal government set up to boost investment in infrastructure by the private sector through PPP initiative.
One of the minister’s intimidating projects is the construction of the Abuja World Trade Centre the first of the two buildings (22-storey each) and the 37-storey structure that will redefine Abuja landscape. The project is valued at $2.7 billion.
In the same vein, the single biggest private sector investment is the Abuja Millennium City currently being handled by a consortium, Nigeria Centenary City Plc valued at $18billion. Another of the minister’s audacious policy is the land swap programme geared towards opening up 10 new districts for development simultaneously. In addition, work is currently going on at six districts, namely, Jahi, Wuye, Guzape, Maitama Extension (Goodluck Jonathan Estate), Kagini and Katampe.
The first phase of the light rail and Abuja-Kaduna railway projects embarked upon by the Bala Mohammed administration, which is expected to ferry 700,000 passengers daily is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
Equally determined to make the satellite towns in Abuja experience real development, the minister re-established FCT Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA). This is with a view to making it an all inclusive city in line with the dreams of its founding fathers.
Even in the area of water supply, the administration just commissioned Tanks 1 and 6 with 40,000 cubic centimeters storage capacity.
I have reflected deeply on the personality called BalaAbdulkadir Mohammed and come to the conclusion that he is indeed an engaging personality, a stimulating intellectual of the finest tradition, whether in profundity and originality of thought or in verbal mannerisms or in social conduct.
In fact, few of his ministerial colleagues have been so steadfast in pursuit of a common cause; few have professed as much social commitment to the burning issues of our time. I make bold to declare that Bala Mohammed stands poles above his contemporaries in his vision of a modern Nigeria. Above all, he is a passionate believer in the workability of the Nigerian project. Judging from his admirable husbandry of both human and material resources at the FCTA and the manifest results achieved, he has already imprinted his name in gold on the canvass of history.
Garba wrote from Abuja
