By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko

When in 1992, the then self -styled military president of Nigeria, four stars General, the gap-toothed Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, effectively transferred the nation’s political capital from Lagos to Abuja, the expectation of a lot of Nigerians is that given the centrality of the geolocation of the Federal Capital Territory, the planners of this new city would work a lot more to ensure equal opportunities for all genres of Nigerians.

So many years after this physical transfer was done, Abuja has carved a niche for itself as one of the most expensive places on the surface of the earth to live especially for one particular genre of the citizenry: poor and deprived children abandoned to cruel fate on the harsh, sunny, and hunger biting streets of Abuja metropolitan city. Whilst thousands of these street children starve to near-death, the minister of the FCT is expending billions of dollars building flyovers and highways whereas these children are left to rot on the streets of Abuja without any consideration for their future which is even a big threat to our national security as we will see towards the end of this piece.

Abuja also represents the typical Igbo cosmology that says that “A person who is right inside the ocean but soap has entered his eyes”, or we can take it a notch further by equating Abuja to a banquet in which only very few privileged citizens are admitted whilst the bulk of the population are starving to the point of near-death whilst a small percentage of the citizens admitted to the elitist banquet are dining, wining and are even going to special lavatory called VOMITORUM whereby each one of them who eats to stupor, can simply go into the lavatory to vomit out some of the edibles in their tummies so as to create rooms for more of the newly arrived foods. If you doubt this statement, just take a drive around the Abuja streets and then spend some few hours in the 5 star hotels that dot Abuja. You will see hungry kids in their thousands on the streets and you will see few elites who sleep in these expensive hotels whereby they pay over N1 million per suite per night. Some politicians pay as much as one year upfront for hotel rooms where they quarter their mistresses made up of male and female prostitutes who earn in dollars.

The above-mentioned scenario can simply be deciphered just by driving around Maitama, Wuse two, Asokoro and the three arms zone or central business district. What you will see on each of the stops at the streetlights, are hundreds of children who look emaciated, unkempt, hungry and are clearly in need of foods, shelter and parental care. I see these kids daily and I’m pained that I lack the economic strength to reduce their unfathomable suffering.

The irony is that the majority of these children abandoned by the nation to the harsh realities of the dangerous streets are drawn from the North of Nigeria. The North have more states. The North have more senators and representatives in the lower legislative chambers in Abuja and therefore should get more budgetary allocations especially in the area of constituency projects which basically include empowerment and other economic enhancing and sustainability initiatives.

A reason offered for the high numbers of Northern Nigerian children roaming the streets of Abuja is traced to the practice of almajiri or pupillage in the practice of one of Nigeria’s two dominant religions. But I ask, why are only neglected, heavily marginalised, hunger inflicted children are left to roam the streets of Abuja in destitution? The troubling side of this unfortunate social problem is that little girls are also found roaming the streets of Abuja begging for money to survive in a city flowing with milk, honey and dollars for only very few politicians holding sway as cabinet ministers, directors of agencies of government and legislators at the National Assembly. So why are over 60, 000 kids starving and roaming about the streets in Abuja in absolute destitution whereas some individuals own houses in Abuja numbering in their hundreds?

An average director in any of the Federal ministries or agencies in Abuja owns over 24 houses in highbrow areas whereby each of these houses costs between N200 million to N500 million. So, why are Nigerian children left to starve on the streets? To even think that the politician overseeing Abuja said he would remove these kids from the streets by force but provided no remedies for the hunger, destitution, lack of education, lack of skills that afflict these children and many more others too weak physically to roaming about the traffic stops in Abuja? This us gross irresponsibility and insensitivity.

I will lift the newspaper report in which the Abuja minister described these kids as the wretched of the earth who should be thrown away to God knows where. After that reportage, I will return to lift some references from the confiscation of houses amassed by corrupt politically exposed persons as effected by the courts on the initiatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. These two scenarios and ironies would then present to us the harsh realities of starving children amidst plenty.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration last year’s July said it has launched a major crackdown to rid Abuja and its satellite towns of street beggars, scavengers, illegal traders, and other miscreants.

The exercise, tagged Operation Sweep Abuja, was disclosed on Wednesday in a statement released by Mr Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Olayinka stated that the operation was carried out in accordance with the directive of Wike to rid Abuja and its satellite towns of all forms of nuisance, including the “one chance” syndicate.

One chance refers to a form of robbery where criminals pose as transport operators to lure unsuspecting passengers into their vehicles with the intent to rob them of their valuables.

He explained that the move was in line with the Abuja Environmental Protection Act and other relevant laws.

He said, “Our nation’s capital should be a secure symbol of pride and beauty, not a site for street beggars and scavengers, most of whom are agents of criminal elements.

“To achieve this, a Joint Task Force, comprising security agencies and relevant FCT Secretariats, Departments and Agencies, has been deployed to apprehend any persons found begging, scavenging, loitering or engaging in other acts inimical to the security and well-being of the residents.

Then the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede last year’s October disclosed that under his leadership, the Commission has made unprecedented progress in the fight against economic and financial crimes in the last two years by recovering over N566 billion alongside other currencies and assets.

He made this disclosure in Abuja on Thursday, October 23, 2025, while addressing journalists at the corporate headquarters of the Commission as part of activities marking his second anniversary in office.

Olukoyede, who was appointed on October 18, 2023, and confirmed by the Senate the following day, said the period has witnessed significant reforms and record-breaking achievements across all operational fronts of the Commission.

The EFCC’s boss who spoke through the Director of Public Affairs of the Commission, Commander of the EFCC, CE Wilson Uwujaren said between October 2023 and September 2025, the Commission received over 19,000 petitions, conducted 29,240 investigations, filed 10,525 cases in court, and secured 7,503 convictions.

He disclosed that within the same period, the Commission recovered ₦566,319,820,343.40, $411,566,192.32, £71,306.25, €182,877.10, and other foreign currencies from proceeds of financial and economic crimes.

Olukoyede also announced the recovery of 1,502 non-monetary assets, comprising 402 properties in 2023, 975 in 2024, and 125 so far in 2025.

“Among these recovered assets are two notable landmarks: the final forfeiture of 753 units of duplexes in Lokogoma, Abuja, and the forfeiture of Nok University, now the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State,” he said.

The question to pose to our political leaders right from the top to the heads of the agencies of government is: how come there are a lot of money being stolen and diverted to private pockets whereas thousands of children of Nigeria roam about hungry in Abuja streets?

The conclusion is to ask for an effective remedy: government must get these children back to schools on scholarship and deliberate efforts should be made to teach them skills and vocational skills in addition to academic development so we don’t continue breeding hungry, starving and angry citizens.

These hungry kids are watching the elite cruise about in exotic cars. These kids see their mates cruise around in exotic automobiles bought for them by their privileged parents and they know that their contemporaries whose privileged parents are working as functionaries in government, send these children to expensive schools abroad and in Abuja whereas these other kids roam about hungry.

These kids are feeling a deep sense of deprivation and if nothing is done quickly to train, educate and economically empower them, they would become the terrorists of tomorrow and they would become the deadliest of the terrorists because they are groomed in urban areas in a climate of starvation amidst plenty.

I would finally say that “A stitch in time, saves nine”. Equal opportunities must become a reality for all citizens here and not just a theory we read in law books.

*EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO is the founder of HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA and was NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.