By Festus Fifen

The Helpline Social Support Initiative in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation is set to train over one hundred vulnerable Original Inhabitants of the Federal Capital Territory which are mostly women and youth in cultural preservation.

Briefing journalists in Abuja, the project manager, Arome Onoja said the training is in continuation of the NGO’s efforts since 2021 to revamp the Asumbo which is the dye pit of Ushafa and creation of awareness about the existence of Original Inhabitants and preservation of other cultural sites with the nation’s capital.

According to Arome, the training supported by the MacArthur Foundation, through Resource Centre for Human Right and Civic Education will cut across all the nine original tribes across the six Area Councils of the FCT.

Onoja explained that the exercise will also advocate for the resettlement and adequate compensation of those whose land has been encroached upon or taken over by developers without adequate compensation and Create awareness of their presence as original Inhabitants whose voice are gradually going into 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.

Source: Bentelevision