Kuje a New Haven for Low Income Earners

By: Eseohe Ebhota and Latifat Popoola

Kuje was an obscure, out of the way suburb in the Federal Capital Territory that was only known for hosting one of the biggest prisons in the country just over a decade ago, but its story has changed tremendously as low income earners have now found it a relatively cheaper place to live.

The Area Council which is about 10km from the airport, and about 40km south of Abuja, has grown from a relatively small town to a big one due to the demolition exercise which saw squatter settlements along the airport road demolished, and also, due to its nearness to the city centre. The influx of people into Kuje has caused the town to metamorphose from a serene agricultural area to a town of multiple developmental challenges, and with the FCDA's recent demolition exercise on buildings along the proposed rail-line track, the residents are lamenting neglect from the area council.  As the mad rush to Kuje continues, congestion has also set in, over stretching the infrastructure. The biggest challenge is the one lane road, where going (motorcycles) and motorists jostle for space. Residents have also lamented lack of portable water, epileptic electricity supply and inadequate health facilities.

There is also poor drainage system and residents have resorted to open defecation because of lack of public toilets. They also dump their refuse in uncompleted buildings or at any open space, making the city poignantly dirty particularly around the markets.

A resident Yohanna David described Kuje town as a very busy place. “Kuje is well known for its food production. It has the capacity to survive on its own if amenities like roads and water can be provided in all the communities,” he added.

He stated that “the influx of people into the Area council has brought more development to the city unlike five years ago. Now there are more shops and there is hardly anything someone's looking for at Wuse market that he won't get here in Kuje,” he said.

Ikechukwu Uche, a shop owner who sells electronics, said when he opened his shop 10 years ago in Kuje, he didn't think the development of the town would be fast. He stated that residents who were unable to afford the exorbitant rent in the city centre came to Kuje to seek accommodation due to its reasonable rent cost. He further said when he first came to Kuje he could count the number of shops there but now the shops are too numerous to count, and if the council will properly manage and plan the town, it will really bring in more investors.

Barrister Shehu Garba, from Garba and Co Chambers told Sunday Trust that he sometimes got up to five clients a month coming in from town and looking for accommodation. He said Kuje is the most preferred choice for most people working in town because of its proximity and because of its affordable rent.

Barrister Garba also added that crime rate is not too high and if not for the challenge of poor roads, Kuje would be one of the best area councils in Abuja.

Another resident said she and her husband chose to move to Kuje because they needed a more affordable place for rent and also they needed where they could find good schools for their children and Kuje was just the right place.

Comparing the community now to what it was back then, an original inhabitant Mai Kasuwa Haske told Sunday Trust that it was very small and close-knitted and they were known for their hard work in farming. Kuje became known as “the food basket of the FCT,” because of the different food items they produced like yams, maize, guinea corn, beans, tomatoes and ground nuts. He said even people from Lokoja want to purchase from produce in large quantities.

“Some years ago, there were no roads. Houses were built mostly with mud, but now, because a lot of people are coming in to Kuje, there are now modern houses and there are access roads, although they are few in number”, he added.

Speaking to Sunday Trust on the history of his chiefdom, the paramount ruler, the Gomo of Kuje, Alhaji Haruna Tanko Jibrin said they (Gede people) had been there for centuries after they came from Kano and settled briefly in Doma around 750AD, before finally settling in the present location in 1804. He narrated the legendary journey of two brave brothers, Kafati and Kawakawa. While the former settled at the present Karshi in AMAC, the latter, who was younger forged ahead for a hunting expedition. The younger brother, being a brave hunter, left his elder brother's homestead after capturing a very big hairless buffalo, called Kuzazaje, which earned him recognition and fame and was later nicknamed Kujeje,  the wounded buffalo which was later abbreviated to Kuje, and he was given leadership in the area.

“That was how history played its role up till 2001 when I assumed the throne of my fore-fathers, and today I am the 16th Gomo of Kuje”, he said. 

Kuje is a relatively peaceful area and the traditional ruler said he had been able to achieve that through his district heads and village heads.

“I meet with them from time to time to ensure there is peaceful co-existence among the people living in their various communities. Anytime there is any conflict within their domain, they should be able to settle it among themselves amicably, and if it is beyond their control they can then come to the palace. So it goes from the hamlet heads, to the village heads, to the district heads. If the hamlet head cannot solve the issue, he tells the village head, and if it remains unsolved, he goes to the district head. It is when the district cannot handle it that he brings it to the palace of Gomo and we proffer solution to the matter, by trying to find the causes and resolving it amicably, as our major task is to maintain peace and order in the community,” he added.

The Gomo said whenever they notice new settlers or herdsmen in their midst, new leaders are usually appointed to oversee the affairs of their people so that if any crisis occurs, “we call on the leaders and we settle it amicably.

Speaking on the plight of the Kuje people, the Gomo stated that they had received repeated complaints from rural areas about lack of basic amenities.

“But you know the government we have at this level is the local government, so anytime we meet with the management of the Area Council, we play our role by advising it on what to do by including the communities lacking such amenities in his budget. There is a limit to what we can do,” he said, adding that during the Sallah celebration, they made a call to the government to provide amenities and improve on the development of the communities. He said the inaccessibility to markets due to bad roads is one of the major challenges faced by farmers.

“They find it difficult transporting their product to the market during market days in exchange for money. In the past, they trekked it under the scorching sun, and if these roads remain impassable there would be no means of transporting their goods to the market,” he said.

Speaking to Sunday Trust on the increase in the population in Kuje Area council, the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Area Council, Mr Emmanuel M. Magaji stated that the increase in population in the area was caused by the demolition exercise that was done some years back, and since the area is close to the Abuja city, Kuje has experienced high influx of people.

“And it became easier for people to move down here because of the high cost of rent in the city. Besides, the cost of living is considerably cheaper than the cost of living in the city,” he added. 

There are two major markets in Kuje; one which only works on market days (forest market), while the other (Kuje Market) is the major market. But they are not well planned, spacious and they lack other facilities befitting any modern market, and the parking space is small.

Kuje Area Council covers a land mass of over 1,800 square kilometres and boasts of one the most fertile lands in the country, with agriculture as the main stay of its 162 communities.  During the 2006 census, it had a population of over 420,000 people, but with the mad rush there now, the population would have tripled.