Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria
.
It is
located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital
Territory
(FCT). Abuja is a planned
city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became
Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the
previous capital Lagos
. As
of the 2006 census, the Federal Capital Territory has a population
of 798,567.
Abuja's geography is defined by
Aso Rock, a
400-metre
monolith left by
water erosion. The
Presidential Complex,
National Assembly,
Supreme Court and much of the town
extend to the south of the rock. "Aso" means "victorious" in the
language of the (now displaced)
Asokoro
("the people of victory").
Abuja is known for being the best purpose-built city in Africa as
well as being one of the wealthiest and most expensive; however,
the population on the semi-developed edges of the city live in
shanty towns such as
Karu. Karu, originally planned to house the capital's
civil servants and lower income families, still has an unstable
electricity supply.
History
Nigerian National Assembly, Abuja.
In light of the ethnic and religious divisions of Nigeria, plans
had been devised since Nigeria's independence to have its capital
in a location deemed neutral to all parties. The location was
eventually designated in the centre of the country in the early
1970s as it signified neutrality and national unity.
Another impetus for
Abuja came because of Lagos' population
boom that made that city overcrowded and conditions squalid.
The logic
used was similar to how Brazil
planned its
capital BrasÃlia
.
Construction broke ground and was dedicated in the late 1970s, but
due to economic and political instability, the initial stages of
the city were not complete until the late 1980s.
The master plan for Abuja and the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
was developed by
International Planning
Associates (IPA), a consortium made up of three American firms:
Planning Research
Corporation;
Wallace,
McHarg, Roberts and Todd; and
Archisystems, a division of the
Hughes Organization. The master plan for
Abuja defined the general structure and major design elements of
the city that are visible in the city's current form. More detailed
design of the central areas of the capital, particularly its
monumental core, was accomplished by
Kenzo
Tange, a renowned Japanese architect, along with his team of
city planners at
Kenzo Tange and
Urtec company.
Most
countries relocated their embassies to Abuja
and many maintain their former embassies as consulates in Lagos, still the
commercial capital of Nigeria.
Abuja is
the headquarters of the Economic
Community of West African States
, or ECOWAS. It also has the regional
headquarters of
OPEC.
Abuja and the FCT have experienced huge population growth; it has
been reported that some areas around Abuja have been growing at 20
to 30% per year. Squatter settlements and towns have spread rapidly
in and outside the city limits. Tens of thousands of people have
been
evicted since former FCT Minister
Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai started a
demolition campaign in 2003.
The Phase 1 area of the city is divided into five (5) districts.
They are the
Central, the
Garki,
Wuse,
Maitama, and
Asokoro. There are also five
districts in Phase 2. They are
Kado,
Durumi,
Gudu,
Utako and
Jabi. And the Phase 3 districts are
Mabuchi,
Katampe,
Wuye and
Gwarimpa. There are also five
suburban districts, which are
Nyanya,
Karu,
Gwagwalada,
Kubwa, and
Jukwoyi. Along the Airport Road are
clusters of satellite settlements, namely
Lugbe,
Chika,
Kuchigworo and
Pyakassa. Other satellite
settlements are
Idu (the
main
industrial zone),
Mpape,
Karimu,
Gwagwa,
Dei-Dei (housing the
International Livestock market and also International Building
materials market).
Abuja International Airport
Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport
Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport
(IATA: ABV, ICAO: DNAA) is the main airport serving
Abuja and the surrounding capital region. It was named after
Nigeria's first President, Dr.
Nnamdi
Azikiwe. The airport has both international and domestic
terminals.
The Abuja Gateway Consortium signed a contract to manage the
airport for a period of 25 years on November 13, 2006 for an
estimated USD$101.1 million . The contract includes the
construction of an airport hotel, private car parks, shopping malls
and a
bonded warehouse, totalling
USD$50 million, during its first five years in addition to an
upfront payment of USD$10 million. Total investments will according
to the business plan amount to USD$371 million during the period of
the contract.
Central District Of Abuja
Skyline Of Abuja Central
District
Abuja's
Central District
(still under construction) is located between the foot of Aso Rock
and into the Three Arms Zone to the southern base of the ring road.
It is like the city's spinal cord, dividing it into the northern
sector with Maitama and Wuse, and the southern sector with Garki
and Asokoro. While each district has its own clearly demarcated
commercial and residential sectors, the Central District is the
city's principal Business Zone, where practically all parastatals
and multinational corporations have their offices located. An
attractive area in the Central District is the region known as the
Three Arms Zone, so called because it houses the administrative
offices of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the
Federal Government. A few of the other sites worth seeing in the
area are the Federal Secretariats alongside Shehu Shagari Way, Aso
Hill, the Abuja Plant Nursery,
Eagle Square (which has important
historic significance,as it was in this grounds that the present
democratic dispensation had its origin in May 29, 1999) and the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier across the road facing it. The National
Mosque and National Church are located opposite each other on
either side of Independence Avenue. A well known government office
is the Ministry of Defence, popularly nicknamed "Ship House".
Garki District
CBN Headquarters in Abuja
The
Garki District is the area
in the southwest corner of the city, having the Central District to
the north and the Asokoro District to the east. The District is
subdivided into units called "Areas". Garki uses a distinctive
naming convention of "Area" to refer to parts of Garki. These are
designated as Areas 1 to 11. Garki II is used to differentiate the
area from Garki Area 2. Visitors may at first find this system of
names confusing.Garki is presently the principal business district
of Abuja. Numerous buildings of interest are located in this area.
Some of them include the General Post Office, Abuja International
Conference Center located along the busy Herbert Maculay Way, Nicon
Luxury Hotel (formally known as Abuja Sofitel Hotel and Le
Meridian), Agura Hotel and Old Federal Secretariat Complex
Buildings (Area 1).Area 2 is mainly used for residential purposes,
although a zoological garden as well as Garki Shopping Center are
located in Area 2. Several banks and other commercial offices are
located along Moshood Abiola Way in Area 7. The Headquarters of the
Nigerian Armed Forces, namely Army Headquarters, Airforce
Headquarters and Navy Headquarters are all located in the Garki
District.The tallest building in this district is the Radio House,
which houses the Federal Ministry of Information and
Communications, and the
Federal Radio Corporation
of Nigeria (FRCN). The
Nigerian Television Authority
(NTA) Stations and Corporate Headquarters are also based in Garki.
The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) which oversees and
runs the Administration of the Federal Capital Territory has its
offices in Garki.The Office of the Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja is located in Area 10. Other places of note
include the Arts and Culture Center and The Nigerian Police Mobile
Force Headquarters in Area 10. The Abuja Municipal Area Council,
which is the local Government administration has its headquarters
in Area 10. The new United States Embassy is also located in the
Garki district.
Wuse District
A typical house in Wuse District, a
Suburban Area of Abuja
Wuse District is the
northwestern part of the city, with the Maitama District to its
north and the Central District to its south. The District is
numbered Zones 1-8. The Wuse Market is Abuja's principal market
(Zone 5). The second most important Post Office in the city is
located here. This district also houses the Sheraton Hotel and
Towers (Zone 4), Ibro International hotel, the Foreign Affairs
Ministry Headquarters (Zone 1) and Nigerian Customs Services
Headquarters, Corporate Affairs Commission (Zone 5), Federal Road
Safety Commission (FRSC), National Agency For Food And Drugs
Administration (NAFDAC) (Zone 7), Wuse General Hospital, and the
Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation. Just as Garki District
has Garki II, Wuse has Wuse II. This is distinct from Wuse Zone
2.
Maitama District
National Communications Headquarters
,Abuja.
Maitama District is to the
north of the city, with the Wuse and Central Districts lying to its
southwest and southeast respectively. This area is home to the top
bracket sections of society and business, and has the reputation of
being very exclusive and very expensive. Interesting buildings
include the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, National Communications
Commission Headquarters (NCC), National Universities
Commission(NUC), Soil Conservation Complex, and Independent
National Electoral Commission(INEC). The British High Commission is
located along Aguiyi Ironsi Way, in Maitama. Also, the Maitama
District Hospital is another notable building in Maitama.Maitama
District is home to many of the European embassies in
Nigeria.
Asokoro District
Abuja Residential Duplex in Asokoro District.
Asokoro District, the
doyen of all the districts, houses all of the
state's lodges/guest houses. The ECOWAS secretariat is a focal
point of interest. Asokoro is located to the east of Garki district
and south of Central district. It is one of the most exclusive
districts of Abuja and houses virtually all of the federal cabinet
ministers; in addition, the Presidential Palace (Aso Rock) is
located in Asokoro district. By virtue of this fact, Asokoro is the
most secured area of the city.
Gwarimpa District
Gwarimpa is the last
district located in the Abuja Municipal Area Council. It contains
the largest single housing estate in Nigeria, called the Gwarimpa
Housing Estate. The Estate was built by the Administration of
General
Sani Abacha and is the largest
of its kind in Africa . It provides residence for the majority of
the civil servants in Federal Ministries and government
parastatals. The ECOWAS Court has an official
quarters for the President and Members of the Court in
Gwarimpa.
Weather and climate
The FCT experiences three weather conditions annually. This
includes a warm, humid
rainy season and
a blistering
dry season. In between the
two seasons, there is a brief interlude of
harmattan occasioned by the North East Trade Wind,
with the main feature of dust haze, intensified coldness and
dryness. The rainy season begins from April and ends in October,
when daytime temperatures reach 28-30 degrees and nighttime lows
hover around 22-23 degrees. In the dry season, daytime temperatures
can soar as high as 40 degrees and nighttime temperatures can dip
to 12 degrees, resulting in chilly evenings. Even the chilliest
nights can be followed by daytime temperatures well above 30
degrees. The high altitudes and undulating terrain of the FCT act
as moderating influence on the weather of the
territory.
Rainfall in the FCT reflects the territory's
location on the windward side of the Jos Plateau
and the zone of rising air masses. The
annual total rainfall is in the range of 1100 mm to
1600 mm.
Vegetation
The area now designated the Federal Capital Territory falls within
the
Guinean forest-savanna
mosaic zone of the West African sub-region. Patches of
rain forest, however, occur in the
Gwagwa plains, especially in the gullied train to the
south and the rugged south-eastern parts of the territory. These
areas of the FCT form one of the surviving occurrences of the
mature forest vegetation in Nigeria.
2014 Commonwealth Games
Abuja was
bidding head to head with Glasgow
, Scotland
to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
If successful Abuja would have become the first African city to
host the event.
However, Glasgow was declared
the winning city.Former Nigerian military ruler and now head
of Nigeria's bid team, General
Yakubu
Gowon, called for all Nigerians to support the games for the
"glory of Nigeria". He suggested Nigeria would be a prime location
for the games because of its unity, serenity, topography and
availability of standard sporting facilities. In 2003, Abuja hosted
the All-Africa Games, the African regional version of the
Olympics, for which it constructed an Olympic style
stadium and games village. It was a more or less successful
tournament with more than 7,000 athletes; however, many problems,
especially logistical ones, demonstrated that Nigeria was not quite
ready to host something as large as the Commonwealth Games.
Inside Abuja Stadium
The 2014 Commonwealth Games would have been an integral part of
national celebration plans for Nigeria's
centenary.
The Abuja bid received support from African commonwealth members as
well as Australia, in what would have been the largest multi-sport
event to be held thus far on the continent.
Abuja airport was planned to be modernised to cater for the
capacity of the influx due to the games. This was intended to
further boost their bid to host the games. A light rail transit
system was also to feature in the new Abuja getting ready for the
2014 Abuja Commonwealth games. The Abuja Masterplan, a city plan
including high rise buildings, artificial lakes, and tourist
resorts such as Heritage city, a huge roller coaster resort, will
be featured in Abuja by 2014. Few of these plans were, in the end,
deemed realistic.
Abuja Skyline
The Abuja skyline is made up of mostly mid-range and a few tall
buildings. Only recently have tall buildings begun to appear on the
city's skyline. Most of the buildings are modern in design,
reflecting that it is a new and modern city. Future plans have been
made for
skyscrapers, including the
Millennium Tower which is
currently under construction. When finished, this structure will
loom above the city at 170 vertical meters.
Image Gallery
Image:Abuja3.jpg|Abuja Office BuildingImage:Central bank
nigeria.jpg|Headquarters of the
Central Bank of Nigeria in
AbujaImage:Churchgate tower.jpg|Churchgate TowerImage:Abuja
overview.jpg|Overlooking AbujaImage:Abuja gate.jpg|Abuja City
GateImage:Federal sec.jpg|Federal Secretariat
BuildingsImage:Shiphouse Abuja.jpg| Ship House, Defense
HeadquartersImage:Space centre abuja.jpg|Abuja Space
CenterImage:Hilton hotel abuja.jpg|Transcorp Hilton
HotelImage:Abuja Millenium Park.JPG|Millennium ParkImage:Millenium
park abuja.jpg|Millennium Park
Abuja landmarks
Sister Cities
BrasÃlia, Brazil.
Detroit
, United States
.
Parks and open areas
Abuja is home to several parks and green areas with the largest one
being Millennium Park.
Millennium Park was designed by world
renowned architect Manfredi
Nicoletti and was officially opened by the United
Kingdom
's Queen Elizabeth
II.
See also
References
External links
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