Abuja: Conceived as a garden city, Abuja was envisioned as a pristine capital where modern architecture would blend seamlessly into lush, rolling green hills. When the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was established in 1976, its master plan strictly mandated preserving at least one-third of the landmass as green zones.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, these spaces were designed as vital ecological buffers to absorb floodwaters, regulate rising urban heat, and safeguard the local environment. Yet, decades of weak regulatory enforcement, systemic land misuse, and political pressure have allowed concrete developments to erode these protected corridors. Similarly, years of rapid urbanization, illegal structures, and unchecked deforestation have eroded that founding vision, turning the once-vibrant ecological corridors into concrete stretches.
Recent research indicates that Abuja’s designated green areas have severely shrunk, dropping from a 42 percent green space ratio in the original master plan in 1990 to roughly 17.9 percent in 2023. This development has led to a public outcry by urban planners, civil society groups, and residents over what they described as ‘green genocide,’ where protected parks, utility corridors, and natural buffers were systematically paved over.
Laraba Rikko, a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Jos, described Abuja’s shift towards a concrete jungle as an ‘experiential crisis in urban planning.’ Acknowledging public skepticism regarding whether town planners even exist in the city, Rikko attributed the perception to a lack of visible planning impacts. She also pointed to unapproved building plans, weak enforcement, political interference, corruption, and a breakdown of professional ethics as core drivers of the decay.
Mrs. Zaliha’u Ahmed, former acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), noted that the Abuja Master Plan was originally designed around a ‘garden city’ concept, where nature and infrastructure coexist. Ahmed, a town planner, expressed deep concern over widespread felling of trees and illegal commercial activities taking over buffer zones. She warned that these departures threaten the city’s identity and core plan, urging professional bodies to sanction members who facilitate illegal approvals.
Similarly, Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), FCT Chapter, Mrs. Queen Phillips, argued that non-adherence to planning standards contributes to the steady disappearance of green areas in Abuja. Philips called for urgent action to halt the loss of green spaces in the FCT, through the enforcement of strict adherence to the Abuja Master Plan.
Lately, the FCT Administration under Minister Nyesom Wike has come under intense criticism, accusing it of converting designated green areas, parks, and natural drainage channels into residential or commercial developments. The criticism reached a new height when parts of the capital city, including some collector roads and major highways, experienced flash floods. Some critics specifically pointed at Wike as the enabler, accusing him of allocating green areas and waterways to his friends and cronies to build estates and other commercial structures.
Responding, the minister denied the claims and challenged the accusers to produce verifiable evidence and building approvals. He pointed out that flooding is a global issue driven by climate change that affects even developed nations. However, the minister agreed with Rikko on the man-made causes through illegal developments, unauthorized conversion of public green areas into commercial parks, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drainage manholes.
To address the challenge, the minister directed the FCT Department of Development Control to demolish all structures built on water channels across the territory. Wike, who gave the directive when he inspected some of the flood-affected areas in Maitama District, declared that ‘no big man or senator will be spared.’
Expressing outrage at how green areas across the territory have been taken over by car dealers, Wike announced a crackdown on unauthorized dealers operating in Abuja’s designated green areas. He added that a task force had been constituted to enforce the total removal crackdown.
To demonstrate his resolve to reverse the trend, the minister disclosed that the Director of Urban Planning was queried for granting approvals that allowed car dealers to convert designated green zones into auto sales lots. The minister further suspended a director in the FCDA for allegedly granting building approval on waterways illegally.
To support the minister’s efforts, Nigerian and Ethiopian youths have joined forces to tackle climate change, deforestation, and soil degradation in the FCT through a collaborative tree-planting exercise tagged, ‘Plant Africa Fraternity.’ Dr. Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, said that the planting of Ethiopian indigenous trees in Abuja was a symbol of friendship and common commitment to make Abuja green again.
Experts argue that transforming Abuja into a lush, eco-friendly haven requires a careful balance between strict urban planning to protect natural green corridors and grassroots community conservation. They believe Abuja can still become a model for sustainable cities in West Africa, provided it begins treating green infrastructure as an essential public utility rather than just a decorative feature.