Problems of the Relocation Scheme in Pegi -Kuje Area of the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T) Abuja.

Problems of the Relocation Scheme in Pegi -Kuje Area of the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T) Abuja.

Michael Ajeni Obute
Department of Surveying & Geo-Informatics, Baze University, Abuja

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the problems of the relocation scheme at pegi in Kuje area council of the FCT, Nigeria. The study elicited data from 100 respondents who were selected from houses built by government and individuals. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire using cluster sampling technique to give equal representation of relocatees both in government constructed quarters and owner constructed quarters, where 50 questionnaires were administered  to each quarters to form a sample frame and statistically analysed to test for differences in the housing quality, access to public services, occupational structure and income level using Independent sample t test, custom table and chi-square, so as to ascertain the degree of accomplishment of the resettlement committee’s recommendation to the effect that the exercise should bring about improvement in the people’s living through provision of basic amenities in their new domain. It was observed that relocation of the people of Idu-Karmo to Pegi has influenced their occupations negatively and has caused a general decline in their income level and has also worsened their access to quality public services, but has brought about better  housing and also proximity to school and clinic but these public facilities are substandard . It was recommended among others, that government should engage affected persons in skills acquisition program and also grant them soft loans to boost their businesses alongside ensuring proper monitoring in order to build their human capacity and self-reliance. It is also imperative that government provides them with better health and educational facilities to utilize services at a subsidized rate which will prevent relocatees from plunging into poverty if they needed to rely solely on out of pocket financing to meet these needs.

Key Words: Relocation, Housing quality, problems, Access, Facilities, Basic amenities, Income level.

INTRODUCTION

The creation of new capital city for Nigeria brought about the planning of resettlement schemes in the Federal Capital city so as to allow a sober development and urban expansion. Resettlement in the federal capital territory (F.C.T) is part of a blue – print of planned implementation needed to achieve the loudable dream of the new federal capital city plan. The issue dates back to 1976 when a policy was engineered regarding the inhabitants of the existing villages within the federal capital territory. The initial plan and intention of the federal government was that everybody in the territory would be resettled outside the geographical boundaries of the federal capital territory and be paid compensation.

It however became crystal clear that to move every village and local inhabitants will involve a huge sum of money. Hence due to the enormous financial expenditure envisaged in the total resettlement of the entire existing total population outside the territory and the planning implication of living a vast habitable land unoccupied, an option either to stay within the F.C.T or to be resettled in the respective states of Niger, Nasarawa and Plateau from where the F.C.T was carved out, was given to the local inhabitants. This was done during civilian administration of the second republic (1979 – 83) when a review of the resettlement policy was called for. Consequently a presidential Ad – hoc committee was then set – up to look at the entire gamut of the resettlement exercise in the FCT.

The resettlement committee recommendation which were accepted by the federal government comprises among others, the following:

1. That all households living in the area for city development will have to be compulsorily moved out, paid compensation and resettled in areas of their choice whether inside or outside the Abuja federal capital territory. Resettlement should involve not just compensation for what the households have lost but should entail some degree of improvement in the people’s level of living through provision of basic amenities in their new area of domicile.
2. To determine the number of inhabitants who wish to move out voluntarily from the F.C.T.
3. To draw up a plan for the phasing of movement and resettlement in accordance with available funds, and to determine the extent of Federal Government assistance which will be necessary.
4. To determine the priorities of resettlement of inhabitants in peripheral towns and villages.

The Presidential Ad-hoc committee therefore, recommend, and the government accepted as a matter of policy, that resettlement programme in Abuja should be carried out with the aim of getting ‘the citizens completely relocated from the Federal Capital City Area with the least inconvenience and minimal disruption of their normal way of life, occupations and local administrative system’ Rufai, (1981 p.6).

Furthermore ‘the inhabitants affected should participate in selecting the site at which they should be resettled’ Atkinson, (1982:31).

The Presidential Ad-hoc committee report revealed that out of about 26,000 household heads in the territory about 5,412 opted to leave while the rest opted to remain from both priority and non-priority areas. The priority areas according to FCDA are areas required for the immediate capital city development while the non-priority areas include all the areas outside the zone needed for city construction. The capital city alone has been estimated to cover an area of about 256km square out of the 8,000km square of the entire capital territory. The city therefore would occupy 3% of the entire territory with a projected population of 3.2m people when completed. The rest of the territory outside the city periphery constituting about 7,744km square (97%) is designed as area for regional growth and development.

The people who opted to leave the territory were dully compensated in accordance with the presidential Ad-hoc committee’s report while those that preferred to stay behind but whose areas of habitation falls within areas of immediate physical development are to be resettled elsewhere in the territory and compensated in accordance with the dictates of the land use degree (L.U.D) 1978.

Land Use Act in Nigeria: The Land Use Act (LUA) OF 1978 now cited as Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, CAP 15 LFN 2007, was promulgated. The Act sets the process of Land acquisition and compensation. Section 28 of the Act confers on the state Governors the power to revoke any right of occupancy for overriding public interests subject to the payment of compensation are contained in section 29. The bases for the assessment of compensation are as follows:

• Land for an amount equal to the rent, if any, paid by the occupier in the year of revocation.
• Building, Installations or other improvements thereon for the amount of the replacement cost of the building, Installations, or improvements that is to say, such a cost as may be assessed on the basis of the prescribed method of assessment as determined by the appropriate officer less any depreciation together with interest at the bank rate for delayed payment of compensation.
• Crops on land apart from any building, installations or improvements thereon for an amount equal to the value as prescribed and determined by the appropriate officer.

The Right Not To Be Displaced: The legal foundation of the right to protection from displacement is derived from Article 12: the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees that “everyone lawfully within the territory of a state shall within that territory have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence”. A similar guarantee exists in the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Right in Article 12 and 14. In recent years the legal foundation of the right not to be displaced has been the provisions of the Guiding Principles of International Displacement. Particularly important are the provisions of “Principle five”, which require states to prevent and avoid situations that may lead to displacement. Forced displacement is a direct violation of the Right to freedom of movement and choice of residence. Development-induced displacement is not comprehensively monitored in ECOWAS Member States. Infrastructure and Urban development projects have led to internal displacement. While estimates for the total number of West Africans displaced by large-scale development projects are not available, an estimated 234,600 people were displaced primarily by large dam projects in the region from the 1960s to the late 1990s, including two of the largest dams in the region, the Akossombo in Ghana and Kossou in Coted’Ivoire.

CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK FOR RELOCATION INDUCED BY DEVELOPMENT

STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Since 2003, the FCDA has demolished homes, schools, clinics, churches, mosques, and businesses without adequate consultation with communities, and without providing adequate notice, compensation, or adequate resettlement. The forced evictions have displaced hundreds of thousands of people from entire communities, with a spiraling effect on health, education, employment, and family cohesion. Some of the demolitions were accompanied by violence perpetrated by heavily armed security operatives against residents and business owners. This is according to COHRE Mission Report: (The Myth of the Abuja Master plan “Forced evictions as urban planning in Abuja” p. 37). The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions Social and Economic Rights Action Center, May, 2008.

It is in the light of the foregoing that the present study sets out to investigate the extent to which the socioeconomic conditions of the households affected by the Pegi resettlement scheme have changed, especially in view of the fact that one of the resettlement committee’s recommendations was that the exercise should bring about improvement in the people’s living standard via provision of basic amenities.

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to ascertain the degree of accomplishment in terms of a better living standard as projected in the resettlement committee’s recommendation that the exercise should bring about improvement in the people’s level of living through provision of basic amenities in their new area of domain.

The specific objectives are:

1. To ascertain if housing quality is significantly better at the place of resettlement than at the place of evacuation or vice versa.
2. To find out if access to public services is significantly better at the place of resettlement than at the place of evacuation or contrariwise.
3. To find out if the current occupational structure and income levels of the community members differ significantly from what was obtained at the place of evacuation.

Research Questions

The study seeks to find answers to the following research questions:

1. To what extent has the housing quality been better in the place of relocation compared to the place of evacuation?
2. To what extent has access to public services improved in the place of relocation relative to the place of evacuation?
3. To what extent has there been change in the occupational structure and income level since after the relocation of people from Idu-Karmo to Pegi?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

In pursuance of the objectives stated above the following hypothesis have been formulated and tested.

      Objective 1

1. H₀ : There is no significant difference between the place of evacuation and the place of relocation in terms of overall housing quality.

      Objective 2

2. H₀ : There is no significant difference between the place of evacuation and the place of relocation in terms of overall public services accessibility.

      Objective 3

3. H₀ : There is no significant difference between the place of evacuation and the place of relocation in terms of occupational structure and income level.

Justification of the Study

Despite the fact that government makes provision for a resettlement scheme in the case of most urban developments in the F.C.T that results in the demolition of shanties or unplanned structures. The objective of the scheme is mostly not met and victims have been subjected to worse environment, worse cost of living, adverse change in occupation as it hampers with their original source of livelihood and causes decline in their income level, inadequacy of social infrastructure.  It is important to have embarked on this research to ascertain the degree to which the objectives of the scheme have been met by identifying the problems of the scheme in Pegi-Kuje area of the F.C.T and to come up with recommendations on how to improve the situation of future resettlement ‘victims’.

GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUNDS OF STUDY AREA

Location : Pegi is loacated at Kuje Area council of the Federal Capital Territory which lies between latitude 8⁰ 48′ 42″N and longitude 7⁰ 14′ 27″E. Its relative location from the city centre lies on the south western part of the Federal Capital Territory which distance from the city hub is about 33km and about 11km from the major feeder road along that axis (i.e Airport Road)

Fig 2 : Map showing Kuje Area Council ( where Pegi is located) amongst other area councils of the FCT and its boundary with other neighbouring states.

METHODOLOGY

The method that was used to source information concerning the research was both primary and secondary sources of data.

Primary Source of Data

A reconnaissance survey of the new area of relocation was conducted and also obtaining the terms and conditions of the relocation scheme. Critical observations of the new houses built by government and houses developed by individuals who were allotted land by government were carried out. There was need for a focus group discussion with the inhabitants of the relocation area to understand and evaluate the challenges they are facing with the new scheme in terms of occupational change, change in income level, access to social amenities and other problems encountered after their relocation, so as to be able to provide possible solutions to future problems that may arise from a relocation scheme. Questionnaires were administered to selected housing units in the relocation area based on the sampling technique, to evaluate the degree of satisfaction and dissatisfaction the scheme has caused the relocatees. Questionnaires were also administered to schools both in the place of evacuation and the present place of relocation as well as one hospital each in the former and the present place as this would help in the evaluation of access to education and health. There was consultation of the management personnels i.e resettlement task force, land administration, planning and survey e.t.c involved in the resettlement exercise as this will give first-hand information on the number of households resettled in the new settlement, to also ascertain whether the project was monitored and evaluated and if there is provision for continuous maintenance of the project.

Secondary Source of Data

Literature related to the study such as journals, textbooks, topo maps, site layout, satellite imagery e.t.c was consulted to serve as a guide to give an insight on the study.

Sampling Technique and Sample Frame

The sample was taken using cluster sampling technique for sourcing information by administering questionnaire to heads of households in a fragmented settlement such as that of pegi resettlement scheme (i.e the houses built by government and those built by individuals compensated by government to build on allotted lands) as this will help give equal representation of the population in the sample. The official total number of households resettled in the Pegi resettlement scheme is given to be 5,000 families, and used a sample size of 100 households,  which was  administered to some selected households living in government built houses (i.e  some selected households  out of the 1000 housing units) and some selected  households of the houses developed by individuals on government allotted land. This sampling technique is unique and selected to suit the kind of settlement in which this research was conducted. A fragmented community of relocatees sharing virtually the same plight but most likely to have spatial variation as regards  access and quality of housing as some houses were developed by government and others by individuals. Another set of close ended questionnaire was administered to hospital and school management both at the place of evacuation and in the new place of relocation.

Analytical Technique

The analytical techniques used are embedded in the SPSS (Statistical package for social sciences) soft-ware by inputting values derived from the field through administering of questionnaires based on the given sampling technique earlier mentioned by applying various analytical techniques that are most appropriate depending on the parameters or variables to be evaluated. Custom tables (frequency distribution table showing percentages) as well as chi-square showing the level of significant difference between both place of evacuation and place of relocation. Factor analyses using Independent sample t test to test for mean differences, Standard Deviation, Standard Error of the Difference, 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference. This was used in testing for differences in the quality of all the variables needed to get results for the objective of the research between the place of evacuation and the place of relocation by the difference in the mean to ascertain where there is a higher quality. There was need to apply the PCA (Principal Component Analysis) to be able to form  an overall housing quality index and public services accessibility index, this was obtainable by adding up all the variables that determine housing quality as well as public services accessibility and multiplying them by their individual loadings according to the scores in the households. Filmer and Pritchett recommended using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to assign the indicator weights, the procedure that is used for the DHS (Demographic and Health Surveys) Wealth Index, whereby the overall component to be tested is added up and multiplied by their individual loadings according to the scores in individual household, the same procedure was also applied in carrying out the analysis of the findings of this research, especially in determining the overall difference in housing quality and difference in public services accessibility. DHS uses the SPSS factor analysis procedure which was also adopted in carrying out this research.

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION

This chapter consists of analysis of the data collected, as well as interpretation of the research findings. The data presentation, analysis and interpretation is divided into three major sections, reflecting the objectives of the study. The first section (a) focuses on housing quality, while the second section (b) dwells on access to public services. The last section (c) deals with occupational structure and income level.

• HOUSING QUALITY

An overall Quality of Housing Index (QHI) derived through PCA loadings and statistically analysed using independent sample t test to show the settlement with a better housing quality.

Table 1 shows that in terms of overall housing quality index, there is a mean difference of 4.7008 in favour of the place of resettlement. It shows further that housing quality at the new place is about 1.58 times better than at the old place (i.e 12.8146/8.1138).

Table 1: Descriptive statistics on overall housing quality index for the place of evacuation and the place of resettlement

The Standard deviation 1.93139 and 1.31412 shows that deviation  around the mean of housing quality of the  place of evacuation is higher than the deviation around the mean of housing quality of  the place of relocation. The data on the overall housing quality was also used to test hypothesis 1, which states that there is no significant difference between the place of evacuation and the place of relocation in terms of overall housing quality. In this regard an independent sample t test was conducted and the result is shown in Table 2

Table 2: Results of t-test for equality of the mean housing quality indices in respect of the place of evacuation and the place of resettlement.

Levene’s Test for Equality of Variance which states that if the significant level is greater than 0.10 you accept the null hypothesis of equal variances and reject the alternative and vice versa.

Since the significant level in this statistics is less than 0.10 you accept the alternative hypothesis which does not assume equal variances and reject the null hypothesis, this shows that the variances in the quality of housing are diverse in a lot of ways with the new place having a better quality of building materials, that was not present in the old place.

The Mean Difference shows that the housing quality of the new place is 1.58 times better than the old place.

Since, there were differences in the compositions of building materials in both sampled settlements. Therefore, there is need to look at the difference in the quality of materials and housing facilities used by household in both place of evacuation and place of relocation to determine whether the relocation has made housing condition better off or worse off. In this regard there is need to compare building materials such as wall material, roofing material, flooring material, as well as adequacy of housing facilities such as number of persons per sleeping room and number of persons per toilet in the place of evacuation and the place of relocation.

Table 3 shows the distribution of predominant wall materials used by individual household both in the place of evacuation and  place of relocation, as this would determine the settlement with a better housing quality.

The predominant wall material used by households in the place of evacuation were basically mud brick and cement brick, only a few had thatch and wood as their predominant wall material, where a little above half of the households had mud brick as their predominant wall material whose households constituted mostly of indigenous and non-indigenous Gbagyis and almost two-tenth of the households had cement brick as their predominant wall material whose households constituted mostly of non-indigenes. Only a few indigenous Gbagyis had thatch and wood as their predominant wall material, where 3% of the households had thatch as their predominant wall material and 5% of households had wood as their predominant wall material in the old place (Idu-Karmo). The predominant wall material of households in the new place is absolutely cement brick.  This shows that there is a better housing quality in the place of resettlement than the place of evacuation. The chi-square analyses gave a result of 87.77 at .000 sig. level showing that there is significant difference in the predominant wall material both in the place of evacuation and in the place of relocation.

Table 4 shows the distribution of predominant roofing material used by individual household both in the place of evacuation and the place of relocation, as this would determine the settlement with a better housing quality.

ACCESS TO PUBLIC SERVICES

In order to ascertain access to basic public services the indicators that would determine access were sampled, which constitute average percent of school going age children attending school both in the place of evacuation and the place of relocation, so as to know the factors limiting their access to education as a public service. The percent of adults with secondary education or higher is also an indicator of access to education/public services, so as to examine which settlement has higher number of adults with secondary education or higher.

Part of the indicators were also distance of school from house and distance of hospital from house, number of medical personnel and health workers, presence of an emergency ward, operating twenty-four hour health services, number of teachers with their qualification, teacher/student ratio, presence of equipped library in schools, presence of equipped laboratory in schools, which are part of the questions in the questionnaire administered to household. There was need know the overall public services accessibility in both settlements, hence there was need to form an overall Public Services Accessibility Index through the use of PCA (Principal Component Analysis) via adding up all the variables that determine access to public services and multiplying them by their individual loadings according to the scores in the households. All the variables that determine access to housing were analysed using Independent sample t test to ascertain mean difference in both places.

An overall Public Services Accessibility Index (PSAI) derived through PCA loadings and statistically analysed using independent sample t test to show the settlement with a better public services accessibility.

Table 6 shows that in terms of overall public services index, there is a mean difference of 42.74460 in favour of the place of evacuation. It shows further that public services accessibility at the place of evacuation is about 4.7 times better than at the place of relocation (54.4224/11.6778).

The Mean Difference shows that public services accessibility in the place of evacuation is 4.7 times better than in the place of relocation.

Table 8 shows that in terms of average percent of school going age children attending school, there is a mean difference of 1.61800 in favour of the place of evacuation. This means that the average percent of school going age children attending school is better at the old place.

Table 8: Descriptive statistics on average percent of school going age children attending school  for the place of evacuation and the place of resettlement

The Standard deviation 18.25167 and 29.40973 shows the deviation around the mean of school going age children attending school is higher in the place of evacuation than in the place of relocation.

This implies that school going age children attending school have better access to education in the place of evacuation than in the place of relocation

The Mean Difference shows that the average number of school going age children attending school is slightly higher in the old place than in the new place with a figure of 1.61800.

The Independent Samples T Test shows that there is significant mean difference in the average  percent of school going children going to school as a variable that constitute access to public service in the place of evacuation and place of resettlement.

Table 9: Results of t-test for equality of variance in the average percent of school going age children attending school as a variable that constitutes public services indices of the place of evacuation and the place of relocation.

Table 10: Descriptive statistics on percent of adults with secondary education or higher  for the place of evacuation and the place of resettlement

The Mean Difference shows that the average percent of adults with secondary education or higher are more in the new place with mean different of -5.46500.

The Independent Samples T Test shows that there is significant mean difference in the average percent of adults with secondary education or higher.

Table 11 : Descriptive statistics on average distance of hospital from house both in the place of evacuation and the place of relocation

The Mean Difference shows that the average distance of hospital from house is longer in the place of evacuation with mean different of 3.31.

The Independent Samples T Test shows that there is significant mean difference in the average distance of hospital from house in both samples.

Access to health as a component of public services was examined through response from questionnaire administered to one hospital/clinic each from the place of evacuation and the place of relocation which are Government General Hospital Gwarinpa, since it was the closest Government Hospital to Idu-Karmo been consulted by households of this residence prior to demolition and Government Community Clinic Pegi which is located in the place of relocation.

In terms of access to health, their place of evacuation gave them a better access to health as they had over 6 doctors without the presence of a single doctor in the place of relocation, 10 nurses in the place of evacuation without any in the place of relocation only a single midwife and two auxiliary nurses which is more or less a first aid centre. The most senior health personnel in the place of evacuation is a doctor while the most senior health personnel in the place of relocation  is a midwife, which is quite appalling.  This insinuates that the health welfare of these relocatees was not taken into cognizance, as what is made available is sub-standard as it does not have 24hours health services and emergency ward. 

• OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE AND INCOME LEVEL

In order to ascertain change in occupational structure and income level as a result of relocation there was the need to create occupation and income categories which is most likely to be among the categories where people of low socio-economic  and middle class status would fall into as the place of evacuation was a more or less a shanty. This was to analyse the change in occupation along-side with change in income level to be able to examine if the condition of the relocatees is better off or worse off. This was measured by creating a poverty base line for income level, since poverty is relative to region it was deemed fit that any person earning below 20,000 naira which is about the minimum wage of the Nigerian Government should be considered poor. Adults earning below 40,000 naira were referred to as low income earners as their earnings woud hardly sustain them and their family members. There was also need to know the number of persons that were unemployed before relocation and the number that are not employed after relocation. This is to ascertain the percent of unemployed formerly and currently, so as to determine the living standard over time.

Table 12 shows the occupational structure in both samples of the old and new place. Where a little above one-tenth of the respondents were in the public sector in the old place and there has been a downward drift to 7.7%  in the new place which explains that some resigned as they were mostly casual workers with the public service and with little earning. As a result of relocation there is a problem with proximity to place of work where they have to report early as either security personnel, cleaners or messengers. A little below half of the respondents where in the private sector in the old place either as drivers, house-keepers, gardeners to the urban rich, street hawkers etc but there has been a downward drift to 6.1%. A little above two-tenth of the respondents were engaged in  manufacturing and artisanal activities in the old place, who were either  automobile mechanics, bakery workers, factory workers, welders, panel-beaters, tailors etc but there has been a slight downward drift to a little below two-tenth of the respondents. 19.3% of respondents were traders in the old place but there has been an upward drift to 44.1%. There was no respondent with record of unemployment in the place of evacuation  but presently there has been an upward drift to much above two-tenth of the respondents which reflects significant increase in unemployment. This explains that apart from people lossing their jobs as a result of relocation, so many respondents were not of working age as at the time of relocation but were dependents.

Table 13 shows the difference in monthly income of the place of evacuation and place of relocation. In the place of evacuation only one percent of the respondents was earning below #20,000 but presently, four in every ten adults working earn below #20,000 which is an indication that a lot of persons are earning less than the stipulated minimum wage of the Nigrian Government. About four in every ten adults earn between #20,000 – #39,999 in the place of evacuation while 45% of respondents earn between that same range in the place of relocation. 52.2% of the respondents were earning between #40,000 – #59,999 at the place of evacuation but presently only 7.5% earn between that same amount.5.7% of respondents were earning between #60,000 – #79,999 but presently 4.2% of respondents earn between that same range of monthly income. There was no respondent receiving above #79,000 in the place of evacuation but presently there is about 1.7% of the respondents receiving above #79,999.

Table 13 above shows that in terms of monthly income, there is a mean difference of .834 in favour of the place of evacuation. This means that the average income of households is better in the place of evacuation.

Table 14: Descriptive statistics on monthly income for the place of evacuation and the place of relocation

The Mean Difference shows that the average monthly income of households is higher in the place of evacuation than in the place of relocation with a figure of .834

Table 15: Descriptive statistics on percent of adults earning below 40,000 naira for the place of evacuation and the place of resettlement

People of low income will have limitations not only with affordability of their economic needs but also social needs, like having access to education which is also the social needs of the urban poor. This public services are not always free, most times public services need to be paid for but at a subsidized rate which is still not affordable by the urban poor, hence having limitation to it as a result of low income.

Table 16 :Distribution of monthly Income of Household members by residential area

DISCUSSION ON FINDINGS

Most related literatures have carried out studies that border on land administration process, adequacy of compensation, livelihood resilience of relocatees, land policy concerns and many more but have not embarked on thorough investigations of the decency of housing scheme provided by the Nigerian Government in her Relocation Schemes and in furtherance establishing a linkage between relocation and change in occupational structure that brings about a set-back in income level due to job displacement for locals hence, plunging a large chunk of relocatees into poverty.

It was discovered that there is a better housing quality in the place of relocation than in the place of evacuation with a mean difference in housing quality index of 4.7 which implies that it is 1.58 times better than the old place (12.8146/8.1138). This does not mean that the housing quality in the place of relocation is better than the place evacuation in all sense, as all variables that determine housing quality index was subjected to test for quality of housing.

The predominant wall material used by households in the place of evacuation were basically mud brick, where a little above half of the households had mud brick as their predominant wall material and members of such households constituted mostly of indigenous and non-indigenous Gbagyis and almost two-tenth of the households had cement brick as their predominant wall material whose households constituted mostly of non-indigenes. Only a few indigenous Gbagyis had thatch and wood as their predominant wall material, where 3% of the households had thatch as their predominant wall material and 5% of households had wood as their predominant wall material in the place of evacuation (Idu-Karmo). The predominant wall material of households in the place of relocation is absolutely cement brick.  This shows that there is a better housing quality in the place of relocation than the place of evacuation.

The predominant roofing material in the place of evacuation were basically zinc roof  and a few thatch roof  with only 1% of the households with aluminium roof, where much above four-fifth of the households had zinc roof and 13% had thatch roof in the place of evacuation. As a result of relocation there has been provision and use of  better roofing materials which has caused a decline in the use of zinc roof from 86% in the place of evacuation to 7% in the  place of relocation and has brought about a higher predominance in the use of aluminum roof by a little above four-fifth of the households in the  place of relocation compared to the place of evacuation which had only 1% of households using aluminium roof and has brought about an absence in the use of thatch roof in the place of relocation by households. Prior to the relocation there was absence in the use of corrugated aluminium roof by households but presently a little above one-tenth of the households in the place of relocation have corrugated aluminium roof as their roofing material. This reflects a better roofing material and as well a better housing quality in the place of relocation.

The predominant flooring materials were basically cemented floor and mud floor and a few ceramic tiles in the place of evacuation, where about two-tenth of the households had mud floor as their predominant floor material, about four-fifth had cemented floor as their predominant floor material and 4%  had ceramic tiles. As a result of the relocation there has been a better provision and use of flooring material, as this has brought about absence of the use of mud floor by the households and has caused a decline in the use of cemented floor from 78% in the place of evacuation, to 21% in the place of relocation. Prior to the relocation there was no household that used plastic tiles in the place of evacuation but presently 4% of the households use plastic tiles as their predominant flooring material. There has been an increase in the use of ceramic tiles from 4% of the households in the place of evacuation to 75% in the place of relocation. The drift of majority households from 78% cement floor in the place of evacuation to 75% ceramic tiles in the place of relocation is an indicator of a better flooring material which reflects better housing quality in Pegi ( place of relocation).

In terms of average number of persons per room, there is a mean difference of .01674 in favour of the place of evacuation. This means that the housing quality in terms of number of persons per room is better at the place of evacuation. This also implies that there is less vulnerability of contracting air-borne diseases in the individual household in the place of evacuation. It was observed that the allocation of number of sleeping rooms has no genuine criteria but based on lobby.

The average number of persons per toilet is better in the place of relocation with a mean difference of -.03645. Since household members sharing a particular toilet is less, hence making vulnerability to toilet infection less in the place of relocation and more in the place of evacuation.

In terms of the average percent of school going age children attending school, there is a mean difference of 1.62 in favour of the place of evacuation when compared to the place of relocation. This implies that there is a better access to education in the place of evacuation, since more children within school going age were in school.

A little above one-tenth of the households were in the public sector in the place of evacuation and there has been a downward drift to 7.4%  in the place of relocation which explains that some resigned as they were mostly casual workers with the public service and with little earning. As a result of relocation there is a problem with proximity to place of work where they have to report early as either security personnel, cleaners or messengers. A little below half of the households where in the private sector in the place of evacuation either as drivers, house-keepers, gardeners to the urban rich, street hawkers etc. but there has been a downward drift to 5.9%. A little above two-tenth of the households were engaged in  manufacturing and artisanal activities in the place of evacuation, who were either automobile mechanics, bakery workers, factory workers, welders, panel-beaters, tailors etc but there has been a slight downward drift to a little below two-tenth of the households. 19.4% of households were traders in the place of evacuation but there has been an upward drift to 42.4% . 1.9% of the households were unemployed in the place of evacuation but presently there has been an upward drift to much above two-tenth of the households which reflects significant increase in unemployment. This explains that apart from people lossing their jobs as a result of relocation, so many households were not of working age as at the time of relocation but were dependents.

There is difference in the monthly income of the place of evacuation and place of relocation. In the place of evacuation only one percent of the households was earning below #20,000 but presently, four in every ten adults working earn below #20,000 which is an indication that a lot of persons are earning less than the stipulated minimum wage of the Nigerian Government. About four in every ten adults earn between #20,000 – #39,999 in the place of evacuation while 45% of households earn between that same range. 52.2% of the households were earning between #40,000 – #59,999 at the place of evacuation but presently only 7.5% earn between that same amount.5.7% of households were earning between #60,000 – #79,999 but presently 4.2% of households earn between that same range of monthly income. There was no respondent receiving above #79,000 in the place of evacuation but presently there is about 1.7% of the households receiving above #79,999.

There is difference in the predominant roofing material used in both Government constructed quarters and owner constructed quarters. The roofing material used by the entire households for government constructed quarters is absolutely aluminium. In the owner constructed quarters, a little above six-tenth use aluminium roof while a little above two-tenth use corrugated aluminium and only 14% of households use zinc roof. This indicates that there is spatial difference in the quality of  roofing showing an overall average standard of roofing sheet used by government and variation in the type of roofing sheets in owner constructed quarters showing the difference in the financial strength of the households.

There is difference in the predominant flooring of both government constructed quarters and owner constructed quarters. The entire government constructed quarters has ceramic tiles as its flooring material while the owner constructed quarters has  half of its households using ceramic tiles. The owner constructed quarters has 42% of its households using cemented floor and 8% using plastic tiles.

The  average percent of school going age children attending school, there is a mean difference of 3.5 in favour of the owner constructed quarters. This means that the owner constructed quarters has higher percent of school going age children than government constructed quarters.

It was discovered that there are differences in occupational structure of household members in relation to their residential area. From the households there are 7.4% of household members in the government constructed quarters that work with the public service and 8.1% in the owner constructed quarters work with the public service.2.5% of households  in the government constructed quarters work with private sector while 10.1% of owner constructed quarters work with private sector services. 16.6% of households in government constructed quarters work with manufacturing/Artisanal activities while 22.3% in owner constructed quarters work with the same sector. About half of the entire households in the government constructed quarters engage in trade as their means of livelihood while 36.5% of households in the owner constructed quarters also engage in trade. The level of unemployment is 22.7% in the government constructed quarters and 23% in the owner constructed quarters.

It was also observed that there are differences in monthly income of government constructed quarters and owner constructed quarters. In the government constructed quarters there is a high number of households (almost have of the households) earning below #20,000 which implies that many are earning either lower than the minimum wage or a little above the minimum wage which is was #18,000 as at the time this research was executed. While those in the owner constructed quarters have less number of households earning below #20,000 with a figure of 33.9%. 41.3% earn between #20,000 – #39,999 in government constructed quarters and 48.7% in the owner constructed quarters. 7.1% of the households in the government constructed quarters  and 7.8% in the owner constructed quarters earn between # 40,000 – #59,999. 2.4% of the households in the government constructed quarters and 6.1% in the owner constructed quarters earn between #60,000 – #79,999. Only 3.5% of respondent in the owner constructed quarters earn above #79,999 and none of the households is earning above such amount in the government quarters. This implies that households in the owner constructed quarters have a better welfare and financial status than households in the government constructed quarters.

The average percent of adults earning below 40,000 naira, there is a mean difference of 6.2 . This means that the average percent of adults earning below 40,000 naira is lower in the owner constructed quarters than in the government constructed quarters. This indicates that the households in the owner constructed quarters are of higher socio-economic class.

RECOMMENDATION

It is not good enough to provide houses with better looks but lacking adequate housing facilities like having adequate number of toilets commensurate to the size of household, hence the FCT should provide adequate toilets in subsequent relocation, so as to provide a better housing without worsening the living condition of victims. There should be sensitization campaign to enlighten the relocatees on the hazard of using biomass fuel for cooking and encourage the use of fuel with less emission of Carbonmonoxide to mitigate the hazard posed on man and his environment.

There is need for an enlightenment campaign for children within school going age to be enrolled in school as it is being subsidized by government and part of the Millennium Development Goals. Educational facilities and teaching aids should be provided in government schools of area of relocation as well as employing more qualified teachers in proportionate ratio to pupils/students in order to enhance learning, stocking school libraries with modern literatures, and equipping laboratories in schools. The government should establish a general hospital that is of high standard to take care of the health needs of these relocatees, since social welfare has to be considered in the course of relocation, apart from economic needs, as the health service available is very substandard because it is only a small community clinic without a medical doctor but only one midwife and two auxiliary nurses, without 24hours services, and without emergency ward. Hence, making access to quality health services difficult as some people of higher socio-economic class have to consult the Nigeria Navy Medical Centre Pegi for health services that is quite expensive for low income earners.

The government should engage affected persons in skills acquisition program and also grant them soft loans to boost their businesses alongside ensuring proper monitoring in order to build their human capacity and self-reliance, as a great number of about two-tenth of the respondents are not employed and also four in every ten respondents earn below #20,000 presently, which is a situation that is quite appalling, and over time the youth might resort to crime in order to survive or earn a livelihood.

Private individuals who seek for sites to establish industries should be advised to go there as it would be a source of cheap labour for manufacturing industries. The change in occupational structure, leading to decline in income level that has been caused by relocation of these people by the government does not only have economic consequences on the relocatees but would have social consequences, part of which might be the spillover effect of crime in the urban center.

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