By Hudu Yakubu Abuja
A Non-governmental Organization base in Abuja Nigeria’s capital City, Helpline Social Support Initiative (HSSI), has unveiled a two-year project to strengthen the cultural rights of the Original Inhabitants (OIs) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
While Unveiling the project at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, HSSI Project Manager, Mr Onoja Arome, said that the move was to preserve the cultural heritage of the OIs.
Arome said that the project would be supported by the MacArthur Foundation, through the Resource Centre for Human Right and Civic Education (CHRICED).
He explained that the project was d signed to train 100 vulnerable women and youth on cultural attire production.
This, according to him, is to increase the cultural identity awareness of the OIs and create job opportunities through skill acquisition in art and craft.
He added that the project was also designed to advocate the resettlement and adequate compensation of OIs whose land has been encroached upon or taken over by developers without adequate compensation.
Mr Arome noted that, “It will also create awareness of their presence as OIs whose voices are gradually going on extinction.
“These among others are what the Helpline Social Support Initiative shall be engaged with for the next 18 months of the project,”.
Arome said that the 1973 decree that created the FCT came with a lot of consequences for the OIs.
He said that the OIs were forced to relinquish their ancestral land for the development of the nation’s capital.
He added that the development scattered the indigenous people, with many of them losing most of their economic trees and farm lands, thereby causing a high unemployment rate among the OIs.
“This was why the MacArthur Foundation stepped in, through CHRICED, and in 2021 supported HSSI to implement the first phase of the project,” he said.
The project manager said that the project recorded huge success with a total of 200 vulnerable women and youth trained and empowered to preserve their cultural identity.
He said that the beneficiaries were now making a living by producing cultural attire as entrepreneurs.
On awareness creation, the projects Manager added that 39 jingles were produced and aired in OIs local languages, while advocacy visits to the department of resettlement and compensation were carried out.
According to him, “Today, we make bold to reiterate that CHRICED has deemed it fit to continue on the project thereby supporting us again to continue with the second phase of the project.
“We hereby call on all stakeholders in this venture to empathise and sympathi pplse with the OIs and join us in this venture to create an incredible impact that will out-leave us and usher new generations to a life of ease in the FCT,” he said.