When Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai became the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in July 2003 under the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, Abuja entered a period he termed urban reforms which became controversial because of widespread demolitions of buildings, homes, businesses and informal settlements.
El-Rufai said his administration was determined to restore the Abuja Master Plan and stop illegal land allocations and unauthorised developments. However, while his government pursued these objectives, many residents and property owners experienced painful losses, displacement and uncertainty about their future.
Behind the bulldozers were late legendary professional wrestling, Michael Okpala (Power Mike) who had invested his laboured savings after having toured different parts of the world in professional wrestling promotion ventures, his houses, lands and others was painfully seized and demolished by the FCT Minister.
A report by the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), published in collaboration with the Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC), documented forced evictions in Abuja between 2003 and 2007. The report estimated that more than 800,000 people were affected by the demolitions and displacement associated with the period. The government disputed the scale of the figures, and the report also examined the wider difficulties surrounding land allocation, resettlement and the implementation of the Abuja Master Plan.
Some people and properties that suffered in El Rufai's era are:
Ahmadu Ali, the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was among the prominent individuals whose property was affected during the El-Rufai administration. Reports state that his residence in Asokoro, Abuja, was demolished because it was considered to have been built over a water trunk line. The precise demolition date requires further confirmation.
Joseph Igwe, a businessman who was described in reports as a financier of the ruling party at the time, had approximately 1.2 hectares of land in Abuja's Central Area revoked. The land was reportedly designated for public purposes under the Abuja Master Plan, including a green park and railway corridor. This case involved the revocation of land rather than a clearly documented demolition of a building.
The demolition exercise also affected private property owners whose names did not receive the same level of national attention as those of prominent politicians. Reports and testimony presented during subsequent investigations described disputes over buildings, land allocations, notices of demolition and the financial losses suffered by owners.
Furthermore, the celebrated professional wrestler whose churnk of his wealth disappeared before his eyes without hope struggled to cope with the development but couldn't, he passes on. This development was also reiterated by award winning professional and amateur wrestler, Morris Atula. Chief Atula lamented that Power Mike, his blossom friend and father is supposed to still be on earth enjoying the fruit of his labour instead of passing untimely at 64.
