OFFICIALLY, it is known as Apo Hill. But for the indigenous community whose forefathers lived in the area before the creation of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) - the Gbagyis of Garki Chiefdom - it is Garki Hill. And, for the natives, amidst other rocky hills that dot the landscape of the FCT, Garki Hill sticks out like a painful sore thumb. And the pain will not go away.

A frown appeared on the Palace Secretary, Lazarus Nyaholo's face as he glanced in the direction of Garki Hill, looming in the background, during an interview with The ICIR at the palace of the Sa'peyi - the Chief of Garki.

For the people of Garki Chiefdom, one of the major communities of original inhabitants in the FCT, the Garki Hill is not only a cultural and spiritual heritage, but the wide, expansive hill also spotlights the marginalisation and deprivation that had been the lot of the original-inhabitant population of Abuja, Nigeria's capital territory.

Over the years Garki Hill served as a final resting place for Garki chiefs - according to the natives, 16 Sa'peyis were buried on the hill. Also, in previous times, they took their children up the mountain during some major cultural events. The hill was a pilgrimage site for the natives.

But things are no longer the same.

Over the years Garki Hill served as a final resting place for Garki chiefs - according to the natives, 16 Sa'peyis were buried on the hill.




Separated from the roots

Nyaholo, palace secretary of the Garki Chiefdom, explained how the fortunes of the hill and the Garki indigenous community took a different turn following an action taken by the Nigerian government through the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (MFCTA), the ministry that oversees the FCT.

"Garki Chiefdom has had 17 chiefs out of which 16 were buried on that (Garki) hill. Annually we used to have some cultural events during which we take our young ones up the hill and tell them the history of the community. The hill is our cultural heritage. It is the abode of our ancestors because 16 kings are buried on top of that hill. Even as we speak when a king dies we will do ceremonies and take his body to the top of that hill for burial. But because the part of the hill from where we used to have access to the top of the hill has been allocated to Hot FM (a radio station) to mount its transmission equipment, we no longer have access to the hill. We can no longer climb up there because that area has been blocked by Hot FM," Nyaholo said.

The indigenous people were not consulted before the allocation was made. That is the case in all land allocations made by the FCT authorities, in line with the law which recognises the territory as 'no man's land'.

"We only noticed that construction work was going on on the hill and when we asked we were told that the government allocated the place to the radio station," Nyaholo added. The indigenes protested. It was an exercise in futility.

It is bad enough for the natives that the presence of Hot FM has made it impossible to access the hill. The situation is made more unbearable by the activities of the radio station.

"If you listen to Hot FM they will say they are broadcasting from Apo Hill because that hill happened to fall within the FCT demarcation of Apo District. But in actual fact it is not Apo Hill, it is Garki Hill," the palace scribe said, "Our heritage is being buried."

It is against the backdrop of the situation with Garki Hill that the FCT original inhabitants are now demanding compensation from the government and individual developers for the 'desecration and destruction of their heritage.

Shuaibu Espata, District Head of Ake community in Kuje Chiefdom, under the Kuje Area Council of the FCT, in an interview with The ICIR, said the natives are asking for compensation for the desecration and destruction of the graves of their forefathers and other departed family members when they are forced to vacate their ancestral lands to make room for development of the FCT.

"We are relocated from our ancestral lands, leaving the graves of our forefathers and family members behind and they will now be destroyed. The desecration and destruction of our graves is a big issue which deserves huge compensation but they don't pay any compensation for that. They don't consider the heritage that is destroyed," Espata said.

Serah Tukurah, an indigenous advocate, said the government should have taken note of "heritage sites" of original inhabitants in the conception of the FCT. The sites, if properly managed, could have served as tourist sites, attracting revenue for the government.

READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/cut-off-from-ancestors-fct-indigenes-want-compensation-for-desecrated-graves/

That's so sad, funny enough the Gbagyis are really rich considering the amount they get from the sales of their lands but yet they keep moving from one village or resettlement