By Daniel Tyokua
The Helpline Social Support Initiative has said over one hundred Federal Capital Territory Original Inhabitants women and youth mostly vulnerable will be trained in cultural preservation.
Briefing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the project manager, Arome Onoja said the training is in continuation of the NGO’s efforts since 2021 to revamp the Asumbo the dye pit of Ushafa and creating of awareness about the existence of OIs and preservation of other cultural sites.
He said the training supported by the MacArthur Foundation, through Resource Centre for Human Right and Civic Education will caught across all the nine original tribes across the six FCT Area Councils.
Onoja explained that the exercise will also advocate for the resettlement and adequate compensation of those whose land has been encroached upon or taking over by developers without adequate compensation and Create awareness of their presence as OIs whose voice are gradually going on extinction .
He called on other stakeholders to support the Initiative efforts in promoting the cultural heritage and culture.
“In our second phase of training, we are going to train 100 more of the vulnerable women and youth on cultural attire production this is to increase the cultural identity awareness of the OIs and create job opportunity through skill acquisition in art and craft.
“We advocate for the resettlement and adequate compensation of those whose land has been encroached upon or taking over by developers without adequate compensation.
Create awareness of their presence as OIs whose voice are gradually going on extinction .
“These among others are what the Helpline Social Support Initiative shall be engaged with for the next 18 months of the project”
Corroborating, the coordinator FCT Gwandara natives, Abubakar Yahuza decried the allegedly forcing out of the natives by the government in the name of development.
He said it was wrong for the original inhabitants to be relocated to areas different from their place of birth because of the Federal Capital without appropriate compensation.
