On Abuja’s green city project

THERE is strong evidence that a clean and green city not only promotes a healthy and beautiful environment but also enhances the potentials of the given city as a major tourist destination by making it a more attractive place to live and work in.

Over the past decade, interest in city greening has revived as government and civic groups around the world have revitalised run-down city parks and  community open spaces, built green ways along rivers and planted gardens in vacant plots.

A city like Copenhagen in Denmark, already referred to as the European green capital due to the environmental actions it has taken, aims to be carbon-neutral by 2025.

Stockholm (Sweden) intends to be fossil-fuel free by 2050, with the vision being set and pursued since in the 70s. Vancouver in Canada mentioned in 2012 its desire to be the greenest city in the world by 2020.

In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, details of the much talked about “greater green city initiative” are now beginning to unravel with concrete plans being made by the FCT Administration to institutionalise this initiative.

Among the measures being introduced by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammd Musa Bello, to make Abuja very green and eco-friendly is to give special consideration to corporate institutions that wish to set up gardens, parks and other green areas in the FCT.

However, as laudable as this initiative is, it is not enough to just ask contractors to plant trees and leave them at the mercy of vandals. The minister is trying to introduce something similar to the City Guard of London to protect these infrastructure from destruction.

Surveillance cabins are being installed along the roads for monitoring purposes. The plan is to have the city guards equipped with bikes to patrol the distance in order to protect what has been planted from being destroyed.

There is no doubt that this strategy will go a long way to change the attitude of the people and make them more responsible and to respect the dignity of the FCT.

Abuja is one of the few cities that have master plans in the whole of Africa and must be made to become a tourist attraction to all African states.

• Danladi Akilu

Gudu District, Abuja