Photobook On FCT Natives Launched In Abuja

A senior director with the United States National Geographic Society and communication scholar, Prof. Paul Nwulu, has unveiled a photobook titled: “On the Edges of the City,” a visual chronicle of the aborigines of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The public presentation in Abuja on Tuesday featured colourful pictorial documentation of FCT’s indigenous communities’ lives, culture, and struggles. Many were displaced following the 1970s decree of then-Head of State Gen. Murtala Mohammed, which relocated Nigeria’s capital to Abuja.

Nwulu, also the Executive Director of Tricom Productions, said the work was inspired by a desire to tell the story of communities often overlooked in the narrative of Abuja’s growth into a megacity.

“The indigenous people were farmers, hunters, pastoralists, and porters, but when Abuja was developed, they were naturally chased out of their fatherland,” he explained. “If we don’t tell this story, it will be like Abuja is no man’s land.”

The MacArthur Foundation supported the photobook, highlighting challenges faced by FCT aborigines, including forced displacement, demolitions, and lack of access to safe water.