By Sadiq Abubakar, Abuja.
The Ona of Abaji and chairman of the FCT council of chiefs, His Royal Majesty (HRM) Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa, has called on the nine Indigenous tribes in the territory to be united so that they can be able to achieve their aims and objectives.
Alhaji Yunusa made the call at the 2022 FCT International day for the world Indigenous people with the theme “The role of indigenous women in the preservation and transmission of traditional knowledge” organized by the Coalition of Abuja Indigenous Association (CAIA) on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said it is when the nine indigenous groups come together to work as a team irrespective of tribe, religion, ethnicity, and political affiliations that they can be able to succeed in their struggle for emancipation.
“And it is on this premise that I am emphasizing the need for all the nine indigenous tribes that made the natives of the FCT come together and unite, which I believe doing so will make our struggle for emancipation through the government so easy,” he said.
The monarch also called on parents to ensure they send their wards to school, saying education is the key development of any society.
“I am emphasizing education, especially on the girl-child as most of our female children are not going to school, as we must spade a spade. Some parents who have formed the habit of sending their children to hawk must stop it,” he said.
He called on residents of the FCT to see security as everyone’s business while urging them to be security conscious and support the security agents to tackle security challenges in the FCT.
He commended the FCT commissioner for Public Complaint Commission (PCC). Hon Ezikel Dalhattu Musa and the coordinator of the coalition Alhaji Kamal Adamu Shuaibu for their efforts in organizing the event.
Also speaking, the coordinator of the CAIA, Alhaji Kamal Adamu Shuaibu, said the event is organized every year to showcase the culture and tradition of the nine indigenous people of the FCT.
He said the display of culture and tradition among the natives of the FCT was also an avenue for the upcoming generation to sustain the culture, saying the nine tribes are the original inhabitants of the territory.
“And that is why we are celebrating a day like this so that people will understand that we are one, even though everybody has its own diverse culture,” he said.
According to him, the nine indigenous tribes have various ways of their tradition, especially in the areas of costumes, attires, cooking, cultural display, and other cultures and traditions.
He, however, said despite that Abuja has become the center of Nigeria government, the nine indigenous tribes are the main natives of the FCT, which he said always prompted the natives to come together every year to showcase their culture and tradition so that the government will treat them equally like other Nigerians.
Our correspondent report that the event witnessed the presence of some top FCT stakeholders which included both APC and PDP chieftains as well as former council chairmen of the FCT including women groups across the nine indigenous tribes.
