As Nigeria marks 65 years of attaining its independence, natives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the auspices of the indigenous people of the territory, said the natives have no reason to celebrate the independence anniversary since they have been grossly marginalized, oppressed, and dehumanized by the Nigerian state.
Hajiya Farida Suleiman Odangi, a pioneer executive of the Coalition of Abuja Indigenous Association, who stated this on Wednesday, said it was unfortunate that successive governments have continued to marginalize the natives of the FCT in order to give other Nigerians comfort that they cannot get in their indigenous home states.
She said the government has continued to enrich some people through the ancestral land of the natives without considering the future of the indigenous people of the FCT.
She said it was quite worrisome that the identity of the original inhabitants has been forcefully taken away due to the continued oppression and marginalization by some individuals in government who have connived with some of the stakeholders of the FCT.
According to her, the FCT natives were tear-gassed during a peaceful protest while demanding for what constitutionally belonged to them.