Nigeria’s government officials travel the world asking for international investors, yet the local businesses that should keep the economy thriving, are not enabled.

The FCT ministry in a single day, terminated a business that has been in existence for over 14 years, to give rise to a business that was just registered in one month; whose operation is uncertain.

This should NOT be.

We paid all our ground rents. We hold a valid lease… we paid our ground rents in April, and in July the FCT minister revoked all park allocations. We were asked to go through a vetting process… we complied. We have not broken any laws or regulations. Our only crime is that we are law-abiding citizens. Nigeria tends to reward criminals

I WAS sitting at the airport, lost in thought, when Kate’s call rang. She had called to commiserate with me over the demolition of our business place by the Nyesom Wike-led FCT administration.

It’s exactly one week since we saw government agents march in with club-wielding thugs and police to destroy our businesses.

They pulled down trees from their roots, trampled on flowers, and tore through grasses with their bulldozer.

Our lives have not been the same after…

We have lost sleep. One of the ladies has been on admission and is being treated for anxiety disorder. She kept asking, “What did we do wrong? We are here legally. Why did they do this to us?”

Our itineraries have changed. We have gone from one meeting to another… from one press conference to another. We have spent money to fix a wrong we did not commit.

We paid all our ground rents. We hold a valid lease… we paid our ground rents in April, and in July the FCT minister revoked all park allocations. We were asked to go through a vetting process… we complied. We have not broken any laws or regulations. Our only crime is that we are law-abiding citizens. Nigeria tends to reward criminals.

Someone sat in his office and saw that we were WOMEN. Young women. The youngest of us is 28 years old. She operates the “paint and sip”. A brilliant recreational idea that has impacted communal bonding and mental wellness.

The FCT administration, in a reckless attempt at land grabbing, reallocated our business premises, to a company that was registered in one month. Abuja City Complex Limited. This same company was awarded 2,000 hectares of land in Lugbe to build the “Abuja City walk” project.

The details are disgraceful and sad.

Some people have five-to-six parks. We have this ONE only.

We built that place and saved it from being eroded.

Nigeria cannot reward us with such disdainful disregard. We will NOT accept this. We are a relevant part in the Nigerian project.

We ask to be duly compensated for the destruction of our premises and we want to remain in business.

We employed the services of Julius Berger to sink the natural rocks and build the canal. There will be no land to grab if we did not save that space. We created a natural environment, planted every tree and grasses….

The government gives national awards to people who work with government money. We built a healthy environment with our money; we took young men off the streets and gave them a new lease of life. We have made university graduates and master’s degree holders from humans who didn’t think they could amount to any good. We taught them the culture of work and made them believe in the good of service.

We have created direct employment for more than 70 persons and countless indirect jobs; with Vendors and Corporate partners. Our Friday salsa program was featured on Al Jazeera and CNN. Its relevance to mental health was celebrated during the International Mental Health Awareness Week. We created a positive for Nigeria. Our clients were largely cut from amongst the diplomatic community.

Nigeria’s government officials travel the world asking for international investors, yet the local businesses that should keep the economy thriving are not enabled.

The FCT ministry in a single day, terminated a business that has been in existence for over 14 years, to give rise to a business that was just registered in one month, whose operation is uncertain.

This should NOT be.

Nigeria cannot reward us with such disdainful disregard. We will NOT accept this. We are a relevant part of the Nigerian project.