Newsmen under the aegis of Concerned FCT Journalists,yesterday rose to condemn what it described as jaundiced report by a section ofthe media in a report titled ‘’ Government has abandoned us, Karamajiji leperscry out’’.
In a press statement signed by Kalu NkataEmetu on behalf of the concerned journalists, the group condemned a report in oneof Nigeria’s dailies that alleged, among other things, that the road leading to theKarmajiji Lepers Centre and facilities at the Center are in deplorable statewith makeshift shelters serving as homes for the lepers, “unlike the YangojiAlheri special village in Kwali Area Council, where decent accommodation wereprovided for lepers by the former Minister of the FCT”.
It also said that an upsurge in the population of lepers amidstpoverty disease, lack of education and employment poses a serious challenge isa lie.
The statement in part reads:
‘’The members of“the Concerned FCT Journalists” read with shock the purported attack on themanagement of FCT Social Development Secretariat in a jaundiced, biased anddistorted feature article with the title “Government has abandoned us,Karmajiji lepers cry out”
Some of the allegations raised include:
‘’The road leading to the Karmajiji Lepers Centre and facilitiesat the Center are in deplorable state with makeshift shelters serving as homesfor the lepers, “unlike the Yangoji Alheri special village in Kwali AreaCouncil, where decent accommodation were provided for lepers by the formerMinister of the FCT”.
‘’An upsurge in the population of lepers amidst poverty disease,lack of education and employment poses a serious challenge.
Adam Umar in his publicationalso alleged that:
‘’Moral decadence, drug peddling and staff racketeering arethreatening the general administration of the Abuja Vocational RehabilitationCentre.
It said that hough convincing asthe write up looked, as a responsible strategy-focused group, the FCTConcerned Journalists moved with an earlier intention to support and escalatethe matter the more, only to realize that the two authors could not reach themanagement of the Secretariat to verify the information they had to give it thebalance it requires which a thorough-bred journalist will always scoutfor.
‘’Our searchlight instead unveiled aresponsible government organization pre-occupied with the responsibility ofproviding qualitative and optimum demographic dividends to the teemingpopulation of FCT that is not interested in dignifying the petitioners with aresponse, after wider consultations and critical evaluation of theunsubstantiated allegations contained in the publication and for the purpose ofclarity, the group without waiting for the management of FCT Social DevelopmentSecretariat decided to set the records straight and as follows:
‘’That the KarmajijiDisabled Settlement Centre located behind the National Military Cemetery alongthe Airport Road, Abuja, houses two groups of persons with disabilities: thevisually impaired (blind) and the physically challenged (crippled).
‘’That the settlement is meant to be a temporaryarrangement as agreed upon by the settler and the Abuja EnvironmentalProtection Board (AEPB), albeit unofficially but still verifiable. Based onthis gentleman arrangement, no solid or permanent structure was built hencemost of the structures are shanties.
‘’That therelocation of the destitute inmates was necessary for the following reasons:
That the present settlement was never meant to be a permanentarrangement, development isfast approaching, and settlement and demolition exercise may be carried outthere anytime and that the plots of land being occupied belong to individualsand corporate bodies some of whom have come forward with genuine and relevantdocuments authenticating them as the original owners who may have indicatedwillingness to commence development of their plots.
‘’ We are now better informed that the Managementof SDS and the FCT Administration under the leadership of Malam Musa Bello takevery seriously their responsibility and trust of the people to serve them withhonor, commitment and dedication to duty by providing them with criticalinfrastructures and welfare services within the available scarce resources ofthe government. While doing so, we are conscious of the fact that the peopleand other concerned stakeholders including the media, have the inalienableright and duty to express their views and misgivings about how the publicservice and the statecraft is being run.
The current inmates of Yangoji Leper Colony and KuchikaoVocational and Rehabilitation Centre, Bwari, were roaming amok and genuflectingall over the streets of Abuja in search of daily bread to keep hunger at baybefore the FCT Administration came to their rescue?
It submits that ‘’we all clamor fora better society, is it the right way to hold our leaders accountable? There isno society in the world that attains greatness when the governed exist inisolation. Collaboration is always the answer. Ask questions when you seem not tounderstand government programmes. In the same way, journalism must remain agentof development and growth and not the other way around.
