The Role of Suleja in the Creation and Development of the Federal

Capital Territory Abuja, 1976-2010

AWWAL MUHAMMAD ADAMU

&

PHILIP AFAHA

Introduction

More than any other community, Suleja, the former Abuja played a very crucial role in the creation and development of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Apart from conceding about 80 per cent of its land to the creation of the new nation’s capital in 1976, and being the community that hosted the administrators of the Federal Capital Territory at its nascent stage, from 1976 to the early 1980s, when offices and housing accommodation were conspicuously absent in the capital city and the territory as a whole, Suleja yet made the biggest sacrifice in 1979, when it relinquished its former name – Abuja (a name she was bearing since its foundation in 1828) to the naming of the new nation’s capital in 1979, and took the name Suleja. Indeed, one can argue that since the creation of the new nation’s capital, Abuja in 1976, Suleja has been playing the role of an un-official satellite town of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Similarly, the proximity and accessibility of Suleja to the capital city and the territory at large provided an excellent opportunity to a substantial number of both the middle and low income earners who could not secure accommodation in the capital city to seek and obtained it in Suleja and its environs. These and such related issues shall engage our attention in this chapter.

Geographical Description of Suleja and its Physical Features

According to J. C. Sciortino, Suleja (former Abuja) town “is surrounded on the East-South West and North East by Hills – and is open only to the North”¹. Indeed, Suleja (former Abuja) has been the headquarters of the Emirate, which bears the same name founded in 1828. Suleja lies on Latitude 9^o 31 North of the Equator and Longitude 7^o 58’ to the East, at about 488 meters above sea level.²

Generally speaking, Suleja town and the Emirate at large (comprising many areas now in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja) are believed to be located at the centre of the country.³ This factor of centrality is one of the most critical factors for relocating the capital of Nigeria from Lagos along the Atlantic to Abuja in the hinterland, which has affected Suleja in several ways.

Suleja is bounded in the North by Tafa Local Government Area, in the Northwest by Gurara Local Government Area, and in the South and Southeast by the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The land of Suleja is blessed with the gift of nature. It has very impressive features, such as hills and huge outcropping granite rocks found in both the town and its environs. Sciortino, the acting Resident, Abuja Division, writing in 1912 observed the general feature of Suleja and indeed other areas which were later excised to the new nation’s capital thus:

Throughout the Division irregular groups of Hills are met with – as in S.W. of Jiri – the Ushafa-Shere groups. The Pai-Kujeh – and Waku Hills. The Hills to the South East of the Division are part of the range which stretches in Keffi Division all along its Western Boundary.⁴

There are also rivers, falls and gorges and numerous streams in the wider Suleja (former Abuja) Emirate.⁵ Prominent among these rivers is the Gurara River/ Falls, about 36 km Northwest of Suleja⁶ (former Abuja). Other rivers, which are tributaries of the Gurara are River Tafa, River Iku, River Usuma⁷ now in the FCT, among others. There is the Mayanka falls (place of execution) in Suleja (former Abuja) town, where the first King of Abuja, Abubakar Jatau was said to have used in executing defaulters, especially murderers, through his chief executioner-the Hauni.⁸ There are some streams like Rafin Baban Toto, Rafin Magajiya, Rafin Wuchichiri, among others. These features no doubt attracted the Zage-Zagi to establish themselves in the area after they were banished by the Fulani jihadists from Zaria. These features also served as natural defense to the Zage-Zagi, against powerful states in the precolonial period, such as Zaria in the north, Lapai in the west, Keffi, Nasarawa and Lafia in the southeast, among others. The groups of hills, according to Abuja Chronicle, rise two thousand feet above sea level.⁹ This makes the area conducive for both human and animal habitation. In fact, the nature of the area impressed the British colonialists to make some comments. One colonial officer writing in the 1940s described the delightful nature of Suleja (former Abuja) area including the town thus; “in variety and splendor of scenery, and general interest and climate, Abuja Emirate (sic) has no rivals in the

Northern Province.”¹⁰ Yet another observation states:

The site of the town was admirably chosen in a well-watered amphitheater surrounded by hills and broken country well calculated to screen Abuja (Suleja) from attacks by its powerful neighbors on the north and west (Zaria and Lapai).¹¹

The northern frontiers of Suleja are open plains with shrubs and tree-like plants that are widely spread. But today, that feature has almost disappeared because of the population explosion the town has witnessed following the creation of the FCT in 1979. A proportion of this portion of the land is now being cleared and allocated for residential, commercial and other purposes.

The magnificent and remarkable Zuma Rock is also a feature situated in the vicinity of Suleja. The rock is estimated to be over 1,000 feet above sea level.¹² It is situated about five kilometers Northeast of Suleja town and about three kilometers away from the Federal Capital Territory at Zuba. This landmark nearly caused friction between the Niger State Government and the Federal Government with the introduction of the one hundred Naira notes in December, 1999, when the picture of the rock was inserted with the inscription Zuma Rock FCT, on the new one hundred Naira notes, appropriating the Zuma Rock to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the seat of the Federal Government. It was only with the intervention of the Niger State Government that this attempted seizure of the Zuma Rock by the Federal Government through the inscription on the one hundred naira notes that Zuma Rock FCT was changed to Zuma Rock. One would have thought that with the misnomer corrected, the name of Suleja would have been inserted, if the whole idea was to show the location of the rock.¹³

Suleja and its environs receive adequate rainfall annually. The rain used to be heavy during the months of July/ August, September, and October and sometimes up to the first week of November as experienced in the 2007 rainy season.¹⁴ The rain goes deep into the soil reaching a depth of 65-70 inches.¹⁵ This implies that the land is exceedingly fertile and suitable for various agricultural activities. The earlier inhabitants of Suleja and its environs including the later arrivals have been engaging in farming and other agricultural activities up to the present. The later arrivals have either borrowed or bought portions of land from the earlier arrivals.¹⁶

Another feature of the climate of the area is the dry season, which usually commences as soon as the rain stops in November and lasts up to March and April. During this period, the temperature used to be very high reaching about 38⁰ C in February and March, and a relative humidity of about 30 percent. By way of contrast, the wet season has lower temperatures and high relative humidity of about 60-70 per cent. The dry season winds are predominantly from the Northeast to the Southeast and the wet season from Southwest to Northeast.¹⁷

The climate of the area generally including Abuja town forms part of the transitional zone between the savannah grassland and the guinea savannah. It enjoys the privilege of the two features. In essence, it is neither a cold nor a hot climate.

It is worthy to note at this juncture that the Federal Capital Territory Abuja shares the same geographical condition, weather and climate with Suleja. The new nation’s capital is also centrally located and accessible from various parts of the country. It lies between latitude 25⁰ North-9⁰ 20’ and Longitude

6⁰ 45’ E and 7⁰ 39’ E. It has an area of 8,000 square kilometers. To the north and northwest, it is bounded by Kaduna and

Niger states respectively, to the East and Southeast by Nassarawa State, and to the Southwest by Kogi State, and to the west by Niger State. The climate of Abuja is characterized by a dry season from November to March, and a wet season from April to October. The average rainfall is 1,632mm, with the highest recorded in the months of July, August and September.¹⁸ The annual temperature ranges between 21⁰ c and 32⁰ c. The maximum temperature during the rainy season is lower due to the dense cloud cover.¹⁹ Thus, the two geographical and geo-strategic importance of Suleja made it attractive to the earliest inhabitants and to the Zage-Zagi and the recent influx of migrants following the creation of the Federal Capital Territory.

Prelude to the Creation of the Federal Capital Territory

In 1975, the Federal Military Government began the search in earnest for a new area to relocate the capital of Nigeria from Lagos along the Atlantic to a more favorable, neutral and centrally located area. The process culminated in the choice of a considerable portion of an area hitherto under the authority of the defunct Abuja Division/ Local government, now Suleja Local Government Area.

The regime of Late General Murtala Mohammed on coming onboard after General Gowon was ousted in a bloodless palace coup, set up a committee on the 9^th of August, 1975 and mandated it to consider the relocation of the Federal Capital of Nigeria out of the then capital, Lagos. The committee was headed by Justice Akinola Aguda with the following as members: Dr. Tai Solarin, Colonel Monsignor Pedro, Professor O.K. Ogan, Alhaji Musa Isma, Dr. Ayato Gandonu and Chief Owen Fiebai²⁰ who served as Secretary. Five terms of reference were given to the committee, among which was to recommend suitable alternative locations, having regard to the need for easy accessibility to and from every part of the Federation²¹, a feature which the Abuja area possessed.

It is interesting to note that among the members of the committee, two had been advocating for the relocation of the capital from Lagos to a more central location. These were: Dr. Tai Solarin and Dr. Ajatu Gandonu. In fact, the duo were said to have even suggested the Abuja area.²²

Thirty three (33) sites within the country were suggested by members of the public, in which the Abuja area and substantial parts of Suleja was included. In order to arrive at a suitable and acceptable site, the committee developed a formula for rating the suggested sites, with had 13 criteria which served as its guiding principles. These criteria are:

Table 1: The Criteria for selecting a new site for the FCT

Source: Report of the Committee on the Location of the Federal Capital of Nigeria, 1975, p. 47.

Looking at the table, the issues of centrality, health and climate, land availability and water resources carried more weight, and thus, gave the Abuja (Suleja) area the advantage to be selected, when compared to other suggested sites.

Barely 21 days to the expiration of the deadline given to it by the Federal Military Government, the Justice Aguda committee, submitted its report on the 10^th of December in favor of relocation, with such suggested places like the defunct Northwestern, Kaduna and Kwara States, and other cities such as Benin-City, Calabar, Jos, and the Abuja area.

Following the report and recommendations of the Aguda Committee, the military head of state General Murtala Muhammad made a formal announcement in a broadcast on the 3^rd of February, 1976, nearly six months after the Aguda committee was given the task of finding a new capital for the country. General Murtala announced the removal of the nation’s capital from Lagos to an area generally believed to be Murtala’s promise land in the geographical heartland of the country, which is about 1100 kms away from Lagos.

The next step taken by the Federal Military Government was the promulgation of Decree No. 6 of 1976 just a day after the formal declaration, on the 4^th of February, 1976, which established the instrument for the relocation of the Federal Capital from Lagos to the new area. The Act reads thus:

An Act to establish for Nigeria, a Federal Capital Territory and to provide for the constitution of a Federal Capital Development Authority for exercising the various powers set out in this Act, to execute other projects connected therewith, to provide for the laws applicable to that Territory and for appeals from the Upper Area Court and the law applicable thereto; and to provide for the delegation to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory of the executive powers vested in the President and those vested in him and the Governor of a state under the applicable laws.²³

The schedule for the decree also set the boundaries of the Federal Capital as follows:

Starting from the village called Izom on 7 degree E Longitude and 9 degree 15’ Latitude,  project a straight line westwards to a point just north of Lehu on the Kemi River; then project a line along 6 degree 47 and half’ E southwards passing close to the villages called Semasu, Zui and Bassa down to a place a little west of Ebagi in Kwara state; thence project a line along parallel 8 degree 27 and half’ N Latitude to Ahinza village 7 degree 6’ E (on the Kanama River); thence project a straight line to Buga village on 8 degree 30’ N Latitude and 7 degree 20’ E Longitude; thence draw a line northwards joining the villages of Odu, Karshi and Karu the line should proceed along the boundary between the North-West and Benue-Plateau States as far as Karu; thence the line should proceed along the boundary between North-Central and North-Western States up to a point just north of Bwari village; thence the line goes straight to Zuba village and thence straight to Izom.²⁴

With these Acts promulgated, the new Federal Capital Territory became firmly established. The decree thus vested the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) with the responsibility of planning and developing the capital city.

This marked the formal stage for seizing lands formerly under the communities neighboring the new Federal Capital Territory as well as the indigenous people of the new Abuja, in an un-relented effort to develop the territory. This seriously had and continues to have ad verse effects on those communities, particularly Suleja, amongst other neighbouring communities to the FCT and the indigenous populations now in the FCT.

Another section of the Act, which ensured that the communities that were hitherto under the three mother states (Niger, Plateau and Kwara states) to the FCT no longer belong to those States contend that:

The area contained in the Capital Territory shall, as from the commencement of this Act, cease to be a portion of the States concerned and shall thenceforth be governed and administered by or under the control of the Government of the Federation to the exclusion of any other person or authority whatsoever and the ownership of the lands comprised in the Federal Capital Territory shall likewise vest absolutely in the Government of the Federation.²⁵

Follow ing this provision, ow nership, control and administration of the affected communities in the FCT was seized from the three states and vested in the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Therefore, large expanses of land were excised from the three states neighboring the new nation’s capital, which were Plateau, Kwara and Niger states respectively. Of the three, Niger State was the most affected, especially Suleja, Lapai, Gawu districts. Out of these three districts, Suleja was the most hit. Its land contribution far outstripped the contributions of the two other districts combined (Lapai and Gawu), the two other states inclusive. It was estimated that out of the contribution of the three districts in Niger State of 79.11 per cent, Suleja conservatively contributed 75 per cent of its land to the development of the Federal Capital Territory, while Gawu and Lapai made up the remaining 4 per cent. At the same time, out of the 845 villages in the FCT by 1976, 82.5 per cent of them belonged to Niger State, while 16.6 per cent and 3.9 per cent belonged to Plateau and Kw ara States

respectively.²⁶

Table 2: The three mother states to the Federal Capital Territory and the area of lands they contributed in percentage.

Source: Ola Balogun, The Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, A Geography of its Development, Ibadan University Press, 2001, p. 20.

From the above table, it is glaringly clear that Niger State and indeed Suleja district made the largest contribution of land as well as significant percentage of its population to the creation of the Federal Capital Territory.

With the Federal Military Government’s promulgation of the Decree No. 6 of 1976, which established the Federal Capital Territory, the Government in its bid to begin the FCT Project searched for an area where the capital city projects could be launched. Abuja, the headquarters of Abuja Local Government Area was automatically chosen, being the only community around the FCT earmarked site that qualified to act as a base from where the nascent capital could be developed. Abuja, the present Suleja was chosen because of its relative level of development compared to the other communities in the Capital Territory, such as Kuje, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Abaji, Zuba, etc.²⁷ Thus, Abuja played the dual role of the capital of Abuja Local Government Area and the temporary administrative office of the new Federal Capital. In essence, the old Abuja began to play the role of a host to the new Federal Capital administration which lasted for about five years. The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) Field Base Secretariat was thus temporarily located at the outskirt of the then Abuja (Present Suleja) town, in the area now called Kaduna Road, a settlement located on the Abuja/ Kaduna express road.  The construction of the FCDA Field Base began in 1979 and got completed in 1980.²⁸ This first administrative office was located in Suleja for a period of five years²⁹ planning on how to begin work in the site earmarked to be the capital city. Other offices that were established in Suleja were the Ministry of the FCT Administration Secretariat which was located in an area called Dawaki in Suleja.³⁰ Interestingly, the officials of this secretariat resided in Suleja where they planned, awarded contracts for their execution at the capital city. Abuja tow n also accommodated the team of scientists that worked with Professor Mabogunje for over two (2) years. Other high ranking officials of the FCDA such as Mr. Bassey, and Alhaji Abubakar Koko, who served as the first and second executive secretaries of the administrative secretariat respectively resided in Abuja town (present Suleja). It was also gathered that the first Minister of the FCT Mr. John Jatau Kadiya also had his residence and office in Suleja.³¹With the completion of first phase of office and accommodation buildings in the capital city, most of the staff of the FCDA moved out of Suleja. Therefore, the FCDA Field Base was left to be occupied by a unit of the Armed Forces,³² until the 30^th of October, 2007, when it was officially handed over to the Niger State Government and the Suleja Local Government Council by the former FCT Minister, Alhaji

Aliyu Modibbo.³³

Other Government parastatals were also temporarily based in Suleja before they were later relocated to the Federal Capital Territory. These include The Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA) Abuja Channel 5, situated on top of the hill, east of the town, now called Suleja Club, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Apart from using land space for its offices, the FCDA secretariat also utilized the active services of some eminent personnel in Suleja. For example, the pioneer Secretary of Suleja Local Government Council, Alhaji Adamu Ladan Ibrahim, was appointed by the Niger State Cabinet office to serve as the first accounting officer of the FCDA. Alhaji Adamu Ladan Ibrahim was entrusted with huge sums of money for the construction of residence of the FCDA Executive Secretary, Guest Houses, office accommodations, and provision of furniture and the purchase of vehicles for the Secretariat.³⁴ In fact, history has judged him as a prudent administrator who optimally utilized the funds for the purpose meant. He was never found wanting³⁵ during his tenure as the first accounting officer of the FCDA.

Suleja became an attractive centre to several private sector organizations that came in to establish their businesses. These were; Dumex Construction Company, Steyr Motors, UTC, CFAO, SCOA, and FOTOTEK, among others. Apart from these, other business men and women began to come to the town and participate in the economic activities that were developing with the rise of rapid investment in the volume of commercial activities. Similarly, the period witnessed rapid increase in the population of Suleja due to large influx of people from various parts of the country in search of job opportunities especially when work began in the site of the new capital city. It should be noted that the steady growth of the FCT Abuja occurred in tandem with the increasing population of the city of Suleja and its environs. In the early 1970s, old Abuja had a total land area of 28,666 square miles with an estimated population of 144, 100, but when substantial parts of it was carved out for the creation of the FCT, the land mass shrank drastically to 2, 237 square miles with an estimated population of about 44,100 by 1976.³⁶ The findings of the committee report on the administration of the new Federal Capital Territory revealed that out of the total number of persons in the newly established FCT area which was put at 134, 2444 as at 1979, about 97, 505 were dispossessed from Suleja local government area.³⁷

However, with the commencement of the Abuja project in the early 1980s and the massive influx of people that followed, it was estimated that about 121,103 persons registered their presence in Suleja and its environs.³⁸But with the movement of the FCDA Secretariat and some other private organizations out of Suleja to the capital territory between 1987 and 1991 the population d ropped to 108, 561. H enceforth, the population continued to rise due to steady influx of people into Suleja. For example, betw een 1992 and 1996, the population rose to 154, 606. From 1997 to 2001 it also significantly increased to 207, 130.  According to Umar Shuaibu, there was a steady annual rate increase of 13.94 per cent for the period 1979 to 1995. This was the period when the aforementioned infrastructures like roads, hospitals/ dispensaries, schools, etc, began to be overstretched, becoming inadequate and dilapidated. With the release of the 2006 official census figures, the population of Suleja increased to 216,578. In fact, one can contest that the current figure is an underestimation, owing to the fact that immediately after the 2006 national headcount, the FCT administration embarked on the first wave of demolition, especially in the capital city, the effect of which was massive influx of people outside the city into Suleja. At the height of the demolition exercise, several vehicles laden with furniture and other properties were believed to have entered Suleja on daily basis. Despite the effect of the Abuja spill over on the infrastructure in Suleja it also contributed to its growth and expansion as an urban centre. Those that could not secure accommodation in the Suleja metropolis looked elsewhere in the other mushrooming communities, such as Chaza, Rafin-Sanyi, Gauraka, Gwazunu, among others.³⁹

Table 3: Population growth of Abuja/Suleja since the 1970s

Source: Compiled from Census figures of Suleja since the 1970s.

Apart from ceding its land for the development of the new Federal Capital, Suleja extended another hand of fellowship to the FCT barely three years later, when in 1979, it relinquished its name to the new nation’s capital.

The Naming of the Federal Capital Territory

However, the search for naming the new capital began in

1978,⁴⁰ almost two years after passing the Act establishing the Federal Capital Territory, and the promulgation of the Decree No. 6. The Board of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) set up a panel and gave it the mandate for naming the new Federal Capital. The panel was chaired by Justice Fiebai Owen. The panel received memoranda from the general public and also collated inputs from the dailies and scrutinized the different names they received. At the end, they selected three out of those names they collated and recommended to the Board of the FCDA for their consideration and decision. Amongst the names suggested were physical features such as the River Gurara which traverses the entire western part of the capital territory from north to south,⁴¹ and Abuja, the capital of the defunct Abuja Division.⁴² These names were forwarded to the Supreme Military Council.

After a careful consideration, the Supreme Military Council opted for the name Abuja which by then was the name of the present Suleja. But despite the fact that the military were at discretion of taking the name without adequately consulting the Abuja authorities, they however made a formal request to the Niger State Government to which the former Abuja belonged that the name (Abuja) be surrendered for naming the new capital of Nigeria. The Niger State Government in turn referred the issue to the Abuja Emirate council. Sequel to the State Government’s appeal, the incumbent Emir, the late Alhaji Sulemanu Barau, who was the sixth and last Emir of Abuja and also the first Emir of the new Suleja whose tenure witnessed the creation of the Federal Capital Territory, summoned the members of his cabinet to look into one of the critical issues in their history. It should be noted that the town and Emirate has been bearing the name Abuja since its foundation in 1828. Thus by 1979, Abuja was 150 years old. In attendance was the Emir himself, the elders of the town, the political class and some elites as well as the chiefs of the surrounding settlements. In its discussion, the Emir’s Council considered so many names suggested by the people who participated in the consultation. According to Shuaibu Bako, some of the names suggested were Alubwi⁴³a Gbagyi word, denoting war camp, as the Gbagyi considered Abuja a war camp. At the end of the series of debates, the Abuja Emirate Council arrived at a new name for the town in order to differentiate it with the new Abuja and to avoid confusion. As the event happened during the reign of Sulemanu Barau, the Emirate Council considered it appropriate to give the town the name of the Emir. Thus, the town took the name Suleja, which in essence is the combination of the first four letters of the name of the then incumbent Emir Sule, and ja, from the first two letters of the last name of the founder of the town/ Emirate, Jatau. During this period some people who did not know how the new name was arrived at, tried to corrupt it by given it some connotations such as, Sule-ja, i.e. Sule the red or the light-complexioned, Sulai-ja and Sule-ija, which are completely different from the real name – Suleja. Thus, the incumbent Emir, Sulemanu Barau, who was the sixth Emir of Abuja, became the last Emir of Abuja and the first Emir of the new Suleja. Emir Sulemanu Barau did not live long to see the effects of the creation of the FCT on Suleja. Shortly afterwards, he died in that same year, and was succeeded by Alhaji Ibrahim Dodo Musa, as the second Emir of Suleja.

Thus, by 1979, the name Abuja was ceded to the new capital city by the defunct Abuja Emirate Council/ Local Government through the Niger State Government, and the former Abuja came to bear Suleja as it is called today. Given the picture in a poetic form, the late General Mamman Vatsa had this to say;

Abuja was my town but the nation asked for her. I kept her and then gave the name to our nation. Suleja is now my town and Abuja our town. I once owned Abuja but now Abuja owns me.⁴⁴

Over the decades, the people of Suleja viewed the naming of the FCT using the name Abuja as just a way of immortalizing the founder and first Emir of Abuja Emirate – Abubakar Jatau, shortened to Abuja in reference to his light complexion.

However, despite this immense sacrifice of its land, population and name to the creation and development of the FCT, the inhabitants of Suleja expressed resentment in the absence of any reciprocal gesture commensurate to the immense sacrifice they have made to the new capital city since its establishment almost thirty six (36) years ago. The people of Suleja had cause to worry when Abuja celebrated three (3) decades (30 years) of its existence in 2006 without even a formal invitation extended to them. According to Umar Shuaibu in an article he wrote in the Daily Trust newspaper:

It is out of sheer ingratitude to the enormous contributions of the old Abuja that the Emir of Suleja (and the descendant of the founder of the town of Abuja whose name was given to the new capital) or any of the people that took part in the Abuja project who are still alive were not invited to grace the occasion.⁴⁵

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is glaringly clear that Suleja, the former Abuja has played a vital role in the creation and development of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. As we have observed, more than any other community neighboring the territory, such as Karu in the then Plateau state and Abaji in the then Kwara state, Suleja contributed about 80 per cent of its land to the creation of the FCT. Similarly, its relative level of development enabled it to play the role of a host during the birth and nursing of the new capital territory. At the time of naming the FCT, Suleja relinquished its age long name – Abuja to the new capital, and took a new name – Suleja, a name she is bearing to date.

Endnotes

1. NAK: SNP-7/4711/1912, Nassarawa Province, Abuja Division Assessment Report, by the Acting Resident, J. C. Sciortino to the Chief Secretary to Government, Zungeru, p. 2.
2. , Bala, The Impact of Rapid Population Growth on Suleja, M. Sc. URP Thesis, ABU Zaria, 1984, p. 25.
3. Hassan and Shuaibu, A Chronicle of Abuja, Ibadan-Nigeria, 1962, p.

VIII.

4. NAK: SNP-7/4711/1912, cit.
5. Suleja Emirate today comprises of three (3) local government areas, which are Suleja, Wuse and Gawu Babangida local government areas.
6. Suleja Local Government, Program for the Official Installation of His Highness, the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Ibrahim Dodo Musa.
7. NAK: SNP-7/4711/192, op. cit.
8. Information gathered from Alhaji Shuaibu Barde.
9. Hassan and Shuaibu, A Chronicle of Abuja, Ibadan University Press, Nigeria, 1952.
10. Culled from Shuaibu Bako, The Historical Development of Abuja Town, 1850-1979, Unpublished M. A. Thesis, Department of History, BUK, 1989.
12. Hassan and Shuaibu, A Chronicle…, op. cit., p. 82.
13. A. Adamu, The Transformation of Suleja and its Environs, 19752007: A Historical Perspective, M. A. Thesis, Department of History, University of Abuja, 2010, p. 30.
14. Ibid, p.31.
17. Shuaibu Bako, op. cit., p.26.
18. Umar, The Impact of Abuja on the Physical Development of Suleja, Unpublished M. Sc. Thesis, URP, 1997, p. 1.
20. Aguda, Report of the Committee on the Location of the Federal Capital of Nigeria, Lagos, 1975, p. iii.
21. For details of the terms of reference, see A. Aguda above.
22. G. Benna, “The Federal Capital: The Debate and the Planning”,in Tekena Tamuno and Atanda, J. A., (eds), Panel on Nigeria since Independence, History project, Nigeria since Independence: The 1^st 25 years, vol. iv, Nigeria, 1989, p. 250.
23. Federal Capital Territory Act, 4^th February, 1976.
24. Supplement to Official Gazette Extraordinary, No 7, Vol. 63, 5^th February, 1976, p. A21.
25. The Federal Capital Territory Act, p. 5566.
26. I. Abumere, “Resettlement Then and Now”, in M. S. U. Kalgo,Olatubosun Ayileka, (eds), The Review of Abuja Master Plan, Proceedings of the International Workshop for the Review of the Abuja Master Plan, held at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, 29 November to 2 December, 1999, Fountain Publishers, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2001, p. 36.
27. Oral information collected from Alhaji Bala Jos.
28. Abuja: The New Federal of Nigeria, Research and ManagementInformation Service Division, FCDA, in collaboration with Dr. S. I. Abumere, 1985, p. 109.
29. Oral information relayed by Alhaji Ladan Ibrahim.
32. Oral information gathered from Alhaji Bala Jos.
33. A. Adamu, The Transformation of…, op. cit., p. 100.
34. Information from Alhaji Umaru Shuaibu.
36. Suleja, Niger State: A Pamplet published by the Ministry ofInformation, Niger State, undated.
37. A. Aliyu et al, Report on the Establishment of a unified system of Administration for the Federal Capital Territory, Department of Research and Consultancy, Institute of Administration, ABU Zaria, Nigeria, 1979, p. 10.
38. Information gathered from Alhaji Bala Jos.
39. A. Adamu, The Transformation of…, op. cit., p. 102.
40. Abuja: The New Federal…, op. cit., p. 33.
43. Bako, The Historical Development…, op. cit.
44. Anonymous material.
45. Umar, Abuja One of Many Headaches of Suleja II, Daily Trust, Wednesday, December, 2007, p. 3.