Mararaba/Nyanya: A tale of two slums

Mararaba and Nyanya are two ghettos situated on the northeastern gateway to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Although both communities have merged into one large urban slum, Nyanya is strictly part of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) while Mararaba falls within the jurisdiction of the government of Nasarawa State.

In spite of this difference in terms of administration, the common denominator for both enclaves is that their residents live in squalor and feel little or no government presence.

They are situated within seven kilometres drive from the Abuja city yet residents of these places live in such a horrible condition that could only be compared to living in a war ravaged and abandoned community.

The enclave is currently in a deplorable condition, as houses are literally sitting on filth and garbage, with deep gullies dotting the access roads.

Unfortunately, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Nasarawa State government appear to have completely abandoned the area as no form of social infrastructure development is going on in the place.

The popular Nyanya Market which is believed to have generated so much revenue for the FCTA in terms of taxes has not attracted a commensurate development to the area.

Even the Mobile Police (Mopol) quarters in Nyanya is surround by refuse dumps and the road leading to it virtually impassable due to gullies that have developed on the road, making it difficult for some residents to access the road.

The situation is usually worse whenever it rains because the whole area is always flooded, while some people who live on sloppy and swampy topographies run helter-skelter, grappling with running water flowing into their rooms and shops.

One of the residents, Mr. Adamu Shehu, told our correspondent that the people in the area were feeling like abandoned citizens. He wondered why the FCTA should turn a blind eye to the suffering of the people that make so much contribution to the government’s revenue profile.

“What the FCT government is doing to us is not good. Look at where we are living; is there any difference between this place and piggery? There is no difference my friend but the same FCTA imposed all manner of taxes on the residents of this ghetto.

“If you want to really appreciate the plights of the people living in this Nyanya, try and come here when it rains. In fact, you will conclude that this place is not habitable at all,” he lamented.

For those living in Mararaba suburb, the major problem of the area is also bad road network, as deep gullies and uncontrolled dumping of refuse by residents have made the whole community uninhabitable. Whether in dry or rainy season, the place is always damp and stinking because the poor sanitary habits of its residents and the absence of a co-ordinated refuse disposal system.

Since there is no government presence, many residents cut public roads indiscriminately and channel the waste water from their kitchen and sometimes toilets to the open drainage, thereby leaving the whole area with a foul, repulsive odour.

Some residents who spoke with Inside Abuja said they were torn between two worlds and accused the FCT and Nasarawa State Government of being totally insensitive to the welfare of the people.

Mrs. Stella Adams, who sells food items at Mararaba Market, decried the poor sanitary condition of the community as well as the deplorable state of roads in the area, saying that successive government of the state had neglected the people living in Marataba.

She further regretted that, in spite of the fact that Mararaba generates huge revenue into the coffers of Nasarawa State Government, no serious attention had been given to boost the socio-economic development of the area.

Inside Abuja investigations revealed that the trouble started when the FCTA embarked on demolition of illegal structure in Abuja and its satellite towns without adequately making alternative provisions for these families forced to leave Abuja.

The result was that those displaced from the city simply converged on Nyanya and Maraba, the nearest points where they could find affordable shelter and be able to commute daily to the city to keep their jobs.

An estate development consultant, Harold Obi, told Inside Abuja, that the uncontrolled development and squalor in Nyana and Mararaba could have been avoided if the FCTA and the Nasarawa State Government had had good foresight and planned the development of the area like modern satellite towns.

According to Obi, the situation was not irredeemable as both the FCTA and the Nasarawa State authorities could go back to the drawing board to develop a joint master plan for the two border communities

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