sirfemoz: Have taken some time to go through comments of some people here, and I understood one thing, Nigerians are never proud/patriotic of what they have. If Nigerians visit foreign land, they will appreciate the beauty of that place. back here at home, we are talking jibberish. Abuja is the fastest growing capital city in Africa. Would you all rather prefer if you visit the capital of your country and it looks like a slum? The other day, it was the pictures of Uyo that was displayed here, we all applauded to that. Few days ago, it was pictures of Lagos, we all applauded to that, but to some, they didn't because they had a biased mind. Abuja is a well planned city, its not a must that everybody will live there. If your income do not measure up, there are some cities in Nigeria that you can live comfortably and happy. Appreciate your Government, nobody will be in the seat of government and be perfect. My fellow Nairalanders, no matter what you talk here on this forum, Abuja is still growing and moving on a fast lane. My advice to all who do not want to appreciate good things, "its either you join the moving train, or you stay back with you computer system and come up with a very constructive/educative argument. God Bless Federal Republic of Nigeria

sirfemoz: Have taken some time to go through comments of some people here, and I understood one thing, Nigerians are never proud/patriotic of what they have. If Nigerians visit foreign land, they will appreciate the beauty of that place. back here at home, we are talking jibberish. Abuja is the fastest growing capital city in Africa. Would you all rather prefer if you visit the capital of your country and it looks like a slum? The other day, it was the pictures of Uyo that was displayed here, we all applauded to that. Few days ago, it was pictures of Lagos, we all applauded to that, but to some, they didn't because they had a biased mind. Abuja is a well planned city, its not a must that everybody will live there. If your income do not measure up, there are some cities in Nigeria that you can live comfortably and happy. Appreciate your Government, nobody will be in the seat of government and be perfect. My fellow Nairalanders, no matter what you talk here on this forum, Abuja is still growing and moving on a fast lane. My advice to all who do not want to appreciate good things, "its either you join the moving train, or you stay back with you computer system and come up with a very constructive/educative argument. God Bless Federal Republic of Nigeria

braveheart2012: I agree with all those that call Abuja soulless. This is what happens when you build a capital in the middle of nowhere. It's obvious that few people are truly committed permanently to that place. It reminds me of a knock-off, lower-class Dubai.

matrixme:
Mister, firstly, you need to know that some of us are comfortable where we are, even if it is not Abuja or Lagos. Also, it's not all of us, like the government of Nigeria; that would say what is, where it isn't. How can you say a city is to accommodate only poor people and you are proud of that fact? I bet even New York has a lot of homeless people that are just citizens as the most expensive celebrity. The city is supposed to be a conglomerate of peoples, either rich or poor. Besides, people are at liberty to say their minds over what they see on the internet, as long as they are not trespassing their boundaries. Thank you

basilo101:
wrong comparison. Abuja is to nigeria wat washington DC is to USA. U cn compare new york wit lagos, former capitals n comercial nerve centers

bloggernaija: A soulless city. Just like Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom , Abuja lacks character and is nothing but an emblem of waste and corruption. A capital city that has no correlation to the plight of its people.no wonder it empties out on weekends and during public holiday.
While China , Korea ,Thailand ,Taiwan ,Singapore ,UAE,Indonesia,Malaysia ,chile ,even Ghana etc where busy gearing up and retooling for the 21st century, nigeria was busy building a mirage.a so called showpiece.
Even brasil stopped wasting money on brazilia (the capital from which the Abuja was copied) and concentrated on where the true wealth of the country was made , kept and people lived.camberra (another show piece capital)was not created at the expense of the other cities.
Let us just keep deceiving ourselves .
The thieves have built themselves a fort and have thrown away the keys

bloggernaija:
Tamar AbramsCommunications Strategist for Nonprofits
GET UPDATES FROM TAMAR ABRAMS
Like
57
Abuja, Nigeria: Happy to Leave
Posted: 08/29/11 03:08 PM ET
React
Important
Fascinating
Typical
Scary
Outrageous
Amazing
Infuriating
Beautiful
Follow
United Nations , Africa , Nigeria , Oil , West Africa , Abuja , Arlington Virginia , House On The Rock , Megachurch , Nairobi , Pentacostal , World News
SHARE THIS STORY

6
13
4

Get World Alerts
Sign Up
Submit this story
I'm writing from Nigeria -- not with an email that uses the word "barrister" and attempts to scam you out of thousands of your hard-earned dollars -- but rather as a visitor to this country that regularly turns up as a punch line on late night TV. It is not my favorite place to be, at least not in the capital city of Abjua where I am working for 10 days.

While Nigeria is clearly an undeveloped country, here it attempts to hide behind flashiness. There are broad avenues that sweep past tall, modern buildings that would be at home in the States. But many of the cars on the roads are barely drivable, and there are few working stoplights. Battered green taxis ply their trade everywhere; they are cheap but dangerous -- most lacking seatbelts -- as they weave in and around other cars. Without crosswalks or stoplights, pedestrians appear to be in mortal danger every time they cross a road. Most of the large buildings bear the names of corporations or banks.

This is a nation made wealthy by the discovery of vast stores of oil, and it would appear by the buildings and roads that its citizens are sharing the wealth. Unlike Nairobi, for example, there are few slums and beggars evident. But, unlike the oil, much remains below the surface here.

The poorest residents of Abuja -- including many of the workers who staff the people who work in the tall buildings -- have been forcibly moved to the outskirts of town where many live without running water or electricity. You would see them if you gazed out the window of your car as you travel from the airport into the city center. The women with infants strapped to their backs balancing heavy bundles on their heads, the men sitting under trees looking at you with hollowed eyes.

Abuja is a planned city, designed by three American firms; while they may have gotten the infrastructure right, they forgot about the heart. And because everything dates back only to the 1970s, this is a place devoid of much history or charm.

There are speed bumps in the middle of major thoroughfares that invariably result in flat tires and disabled cars by the side of the road. The incessant honking of horns can be maddening. The oil wealth has brought with it inflated prices. We visit Amigo Market where the expats and wealthy shop and are horrified by the cost of food -- fresh fruit is prohibitively expensive and a small container of yogurt is almost $4. Outside the market young men hawk everything from bananas to pirated films on DVD. In a nation where some people are getting rich, everyone is desperate to make some money.

There's something sad about Abuja. I've traveled in other parts of Africa and Southeast Asia where I've seen great poverty but I always sensed a spirit of hope and strong community. I don't see that here. Abuja is a harsh place without much warmth. Sure, people say hello and appear to do what they are supposed to do but there is little extra effort expended. Perhaps it is simply soul-sapping to see the corruption and wealth that surround and confine them without providing sustenance to all.

And then five days into my visit, I spend a Sunday evening at a gospel-and-jazz service at Abuja's largest church, House on the Rock. It is Pentecostal and resembles a low-rent American megachurch. Cheap plastic chairs -- maybe 1000 of them -- fill the cavernous space facing a huge stage with disco lights and several Jumbotrons. My two colleagues and I are the only white faces, but congregants are welcoming. We are given seats of honor in the second row behind the preachers, and a clear view of the singers and band members who fill the stage.

There is no preaching, no sermon -- only heartfelt music. Amazing, soul-calming music. Trumpets, saxophones, drums of many kinds, guitars and bass. There are tribal drummers whose increasingly frenetic beats are a traditional call to worship and singers who sway and raise their hands and eyes to God as they exhort us to turn our lives over to Him. Congregants are on their feet, clapping and dancing and swaying to the music. One woman faints and is carried off. It is a beautiful evening, even when we are singled out by a preacher as new "converts" -- a Jew, a Quaker and a reformed Angolan Catholic -- and applauded as our faces appear on the giant screens. It doesn't matter. I am being transported into the soul of a place that I feared would hide that part of itself from me.

The next day there are power outages and those damned car horns and the knowledge that wealth is so unevenly distributed in this country that claims to be working against graft and corruption. But I hold tight to the evening that neither my religion nor my skin color nor my nationality kept me from becoming part of something uplifting and communal in Nigeria. I suppose there is hope hidden in the corners of everywhere.

And, on my last full day in Abuja, an explosion rocks the UN compound across the street from our hotel. Black smoke billows from the building where people labor each day to bring peace and development to this nation and others. Within hours, we're told, a suicide bomber with a radical Islamic sect drove his bomb-laden car into the building. It is Ramadan. I suppose the bomber didn't see the irony. Eighteen people are dead and scores are injured. The sirens that day seemed to go on forever. And, as I head to the airport for the first leg of my flight home, the driver says there are many people still trapped in the rubble of the building.

I am racing home, trying to stay ahead of Hurricane Irene which is predicted to lash my neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. I'm more than ready to face the destructiveness of nature; it is the cruelty of my fellow human beings that is far more frightening.


Follow Tamar Abrams on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@Tamarabrams

bloggernaija: A soulless city. Just like Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom , Abuja lacks character and is nothing but an emblem of waste and corruption. A capital city that has no correlation to the plight of its people.no wonder it empties out on weekends and during public holiday.
While China , Korea ,Thailand ,Taiwan ,Singapore ,UAE,Indonesia,Malaysia ,chile ,even Ghana etc where busy gearing up and retooling for the 21st century, nigeria was busy building a mirage.a so called showpiece.
Even brasil stopped wasting money on brazilia (the capital from which the Abuja was copied) and concentrated on where the true wealth of the country was made , kept and people lived.camberra (another show piece capital)was not created at the expense of the other cities.
Let us just keep deceiving ourselves .
The thieves have built themselves a fort and have thrown away the keys

sirfemoz: Have taken some time to go through comments of some people here, and I understood one thing, Nigerians are never proud/patriotic of what they have. If Nigerians visit foreign land, they will appreciate the beauty of that place. back here at home, we are talking jibberish. Abuja is the fastest growing capital city in Africa. Would you all rather prefer if you visit the capital of your country and it looks like a slum? The other day, it was the pictures of Uyo that was displayed here, we all applauded to that. Few days ago, it was pictures of Lagos, we all applauded to that, but to some, they didn't because they had a biased mind. Abuja is a well planned city, its not a must that everybody will live there. If your income do not measure up, there are some cities in Nigeria that you can live comfortably and happy. Appreciate your Government, nobody will be in the seat of government and be perfect. My fellow Nairalanders, no matter what you talk here on this forum, Abuja is still growing and moving on a fast lane. My advice to all who do not want to appreciate good things, "its either you join the moving train, or you stay back with you computer system and come up with a very constructive/educative argument. God Bless Federal Republic of Nigeria

brown3: some time i wonder where those sand come from. Pls can any body tell me why we always have a sandy side in our road.?

Ishsoph:

Lol for u @ Chucky234. My office is actually air-tight(has a make-shift window design though), so I aint sticking my head out without breaking the damn glass which will triger off the fire alarm.

To confirm if I actually work here? As in for real! Do I need the validation of you or any nairalander to prove me right? I care less bro!

Rossikk: No, YOU read and comprehend. Abuja is a purpose built capital city. It is absurd to expect it to "reflect the squalor" of older cities which have been subjected to neglect by various state governments. Stop talking about "our politicians". Talk about YOUR state politicians. The federal govt built Abuja for Nigerians. If the cities in your state are decrepit, it is not the federal govt's fault, but your state govt. Is Uyo not in Nigeria? What about Owerri and Enugu? These are relatively clean, developed cities courtesy of their responsive state administrations. If Benin or Ibadan looks decrepit, don't blame it on "our politicians". Blame it on the politicians and leaders of those states specifically.

nne3870:
I laugh in gwari....
Kubwa my dear is better than what you call GRA in lagos not to mention the new karmo. May be you should revisit places you termed 'slums' again including nyanya, and you would be surprised at the transformation.

I love Abuja, haters quit hating

tdade: KUBWA? You are mega deluded! I've been to Kubwa before and I'd boldly compare it with oworo shoki in Lagos. If you ever go to a GRA in Lagos, you'd denounce Abuja instantly. Abuja: a capital city that is exclusively for the rich, that has been built on oil money from other parts of the county. I won't deny, its beautiful to behold but, its beauty is nothing compared to VI,Lekki,Ajah,Ikoyi,Ikeja Banana island, and even the uncompleted Eko Atlantic city-and these only account for half of Lagos. Besides, most people like you don't even live in Abuja. They only go there to work seeing as the place is too expensive for them, they live in the bordering states like Nasarawa etc.

nne3870:
I don't live under thee brigde the way you do in lagos. I was born in abuja, grew up there too.
Please go look for your fellow tout and discuss poverty with them.

Why do we have so many sadist littered on the forum this days?

nne3870:
I don't live under thee brigde the way you do in lagos. I was born in abuja, grew up there too.
Please go look for your fellow tout and discuss poverty with them.

Why do we have so many sadist littered on the forum this days?

tdade: touched a nerve, did i? If you notice, I actually commended the beauty of Abuja. Oh, is it that Kubwa area you live in? Me sadist? Who compared Kubwa to GRAs in Lagos?

Eko Ile: The fact that with so much oil money pumped into the waste basket called abuja, the so called beautiful pictures ended on the first page, its very obvious that there is nothing meaningful or worthwhile in that place. This thread remains a disgrace and gross embarrassment.

IkeNwanyiCalaba: what use is buildings and roads for the big oga and oga madam when 90 persent of nigerian is leave in poverty?

Eko Ile: The fact that with so much oil money pumped into the waste basket called abuja, the so called beautiful pictures ended on the first page, its very obvious that there is nothing meaningful or worthwhile in that place. This thread remains a disgrace and gross embarrassment.

tdade: Exactly my point! No housing scheme for the poor and middle-class. Its like there's a sign there that says if you're poor, f**k off! Even earning 300k doesn't make you 'rich'. That's the dichotomy between Lagos and Abuja. Lagos is for everyone. Even without oil money being pumped into it, it can stand on its own. Take away oil money from Abuja-the so called 'capital'- and it has nothing. Even with oil money sef, its still dry.