The displacement of Gbagyi people
The Gbagyi are an ethnic group found in central and northern Nigeria in the states of Niger, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and the FCT with an estimated population of 15 million. Their language consists of two dialects belonging to the Niger-Congo family tree called Gbari.
Traditionally, Gbagyi people are mainly hunters and farmers. The Gbagyi tribe is also well known for their pottery.
The main reason I wanted to create this post is to help raise awareness about an event on Tumblr which still has negative ramifications to the Gbagyi to this day.
When the land which is now known as Abuja was chosen as the new capital it was soon discovered that there were several natives (who mainly belonged to the Gbagyi nation and several other ethnic groups) inhabiting said land and the exact amount of them was greatly underestimated. However, it was soon discovered that there were millions. The Nigerian military was sent to evict them from their ancestral lands on to settlements.
The Nigerian Gov owes nearly a billion USD in reparations to the Gbagyi and hasn’t paid back a dollar to this day.
Since the Gbagyi people are considered stateless peoples they are unable to reap the benefits of many programs, cannot run for any political office, apply for university and apply for several jobs. The only way to fix this is by having the Nigerian constitution changed.
If you are Gbagyi or are from another group native to the FCT and see any false information on this post please let me know asap.
