Original inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called for urgent measures to protect their cultural identity, ancestral lands and indigenous heritage amid the rapid expansion and urbanisation of Abuja.
According to a report by The Guardian, the call was made at the 2026 United Nations World Indigenous Peoples Day celebration organised by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), in partnership with the University of Abuja and FCT Original Inhabitant Organisations, with support from the MacArthur Foundation.
The event, held at the University of Abuja, was themed “Celebrating Indigenous Midwives: Preserving Abuja Original Inhabitants Identity in a Changing World,” in line with the United Nations theme, “Honouring Indigenous Midwives: Safeguarding Life and Well-being.”
Speaking at the event, the Agabe of Ugbada-Gwargwada Chiefdom in Kuje Area Council, Alhaji Hussaini Agabi, called for greater political participation by indigenous communities and urged area council chairmen, senators and members of the House of Representatives to engage more directly with issues affecting Original Inhabitants.
The Executive Director of CHRICED, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, said the celebration was an opportunity to affirm the identity, heritage, dignity and rights of Abuja’s Original Inhabitants.
He stressed the need to protect their languages, customs, land rights and indigenous knowledge, warning that Abuja’s rapid development should not lead to the disappearance of the identity of its indigenous people.
“Development must never come at the cost of identity,” Zikirullahi said.
He also announced plans for the establishment of the Abuja Original Inhabitants Heritage Centre, which is expected to preserve indigenous history, cultural memory and knowledge for future generations.
Representing the Africa Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Dr Kole Shettima, the foundation’s Deputy Director, Dr Amina Salihu, expressed support for the proposed Heritage Centre and called on other stakeholders to contribute to the initiative.
Also speaking, the representative of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Otaki Alanana, expressed concern over the decline in traditional clothing and practices, urging Original Inhabitants and traditional rulers to support efforts to document and preserve their cultural heritage.
The stakeholders stressed that preserving Abuja’s indigenous identity requires greater recognition and protection of the rights, culture, ancestral lands and traditional knowledge of the Original Inhabitants as the FCT continues to develop.
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