The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has harped on the need to promote the rights, amplify the voices, and preserve cultural heritage of Nigeria’s indigenous people, particularly the Original Inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Executive Director of CHRICED, Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, made the call during the 2025 United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples Media Symposium held at the University of Abuja on Friday.
The symposium, with the theme “Empowering Indigenous Voice: Promoting Indigenous Rights and Preserving Culture,” drew together traditional rulers, civil society leaders, development partners, media professionals, scholars, and youth activists.
Zikirullahi said, “Abuja is a paradox. It stands as a symbol of national unity, yet its original inhabitants remain on the fringes. Their lands have been taken, their traditions sidelined, and their stories excluded from the national conversation. But today, we say: no more.”
He further described the event as “more than symbolic,” calling it “a platform for truth-telling, for historical correction, and for collective action.”
Dr. Zikirullahi also expressed appreciation to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their unwavering support, describing their contribution as “not only financial, it is a statement of solidarity and a catalyst for transformation.”
He reminded stakeholders that Indigenous rights are central to any just society, saying, “Empowering Indigenous communities isn’t a favour, it is a constitutional and moral obligation. And preserving indigenous culture is not nostalgia.
“It is a strategy for sustainable development rooted in wisdom, resilience, and diversity.”
Chief Monday Nda Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the Gbagyi people, said, “Our people have been treated as strangers in our ancestral land. We have watched others benefit from our dispossession while we are denied basic rights and recognition. This must end.”