Demolition of 200 houses to make room for the presidential fleet is lacking sensitivity and dehumanizing- HURIWA

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, a civil rights advocacy group, has urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his administration’s intention to relocate 200 households in order to make room for the presidential fleet at a time when governments all over the world are getting smaller and less expensive.

In addition, HURIWA is requesting that the President’s office consider reducing the size of the presidential fleet and selling some of the planes or leasing them out for profit in order to raise money for the public coffers.

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The rights organisation lamented the extraordinarily large sums allocated to maintaining such a gigantic presidential fleet at a time when the majority of governments worldwide are running lean operations in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by Emmanuel Onwubiko, its national coordinator.

“The news that the Nigerian Air Force wants to further expand aviation facilities for the travelling comfort of just two families that make up the presidency, and that the Federal government plans to displace 200 families by demolishing 200 houses of people who may be staying in their ancestral homeland, truly sounds like a Hollywood movie idea.” There are very few places in the globe and in the twenty-first century where people have witnessed or heard of a government established to serve the people turning into a monarchy when, in reality, it is a democracy. Is the Nigerian Air Force just designed to cater to the transportation needs of the President and his Vice President?

“Why is the Air Force attempting to displace 200 families by just demolishing their homes in order to give the President access to a larger air fleet through unscrupulous means? This makes no sense at all. Furthermore, reading the carelessly worded media statement from a department head who questions whether the correct legal procedures have been followed—such as offering alternative settlements and compensation to those who will be displaced—has shown how government officials have a tendency to simply degrade citizens in an effort to curry favour with the powerful. To put it plainly, this is incredibly pitiful and cruel,” HURIWA remarked.

Recall that representatives of the Federal Capital Territory Administration notified Nigerians that 200 homes in the Nuwalege community near the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja were to be demolished to make room for the Presidential Fleet. This action was taken in response to a request from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

During a community and citizens’ engagement in the community on Tuesday, Mukhtar Galadima, the director of the Department of Development Control, revealed this.

“The Nigerian Air Force authority wrote to the honourable minister about their needs and desire to remove this village because it is part of the presidential fleet plots about a month ago,” he stated.

Because the FCT Administration is responsible for handling it, the minister wisely asked that they provide them permission to handle it. The Nigerian Air Force contacted the Department of Development Control about their desire, and we have to fulfil our obligation by engaging the community and its citizens. For this reason, we are here today to discuss with the community and inform them of our plans; it would be unjust to simply bring the machine and begin demolishing their homes.

“So, we went to see the chief at his palace and explained to him why we were coming here today.”

Galadima made a clue on the approximate number of homes that will be demolished, stating that between 150 and 200 homes that have additional commercial stores attached to them would be impacted.

In response to a question about pay, he stated, “We will talk with the Air Force because, clearly, conversations going on behind the doors suggest that compensation was given in some way, but we need to be sure that these were given and to whom.

We will carry out additional inquiries with the Nigerian Air Force and the FCT Administration, or the Department of Resettlement and Compensation, to determine whether and when compensation has been given.

Then, we will talk with our colleague in the Department of Resettlement and Compensation about whether they have ever received any compensation for their claims regarding the number of structures and individuals that this expansion project will effect.