aikuda:

This is a well written piece.  Have you ever considered writing  professionally? maybe in your spare time, ofcourse. For once, I couldn't stop reading until the end. The grass is always greener on the other side. I live abroad, but everyday I miss home. I am sure with time you will understand the city, make friends, and maybe begin to call it home. Goodluck!

clemcykul:

Abuja is a mirage

Lagos or Kano is where the national cake actually lie. . ,  talk of port, enugu,calabar, there are wonderful states around , take a pick and start all over, u must not kpeme in Abuja

T.Wise:

There's really no place lyk home & I say dt cos av spent 5 yrs outside lag 2 oda states. Even with dynamix of Lagos, it still remains fun to leave in. Just get d ropes right & U'd luv it,  Eko o ni Baje! Ajo o le dabi ile.
@ Poster: Lagos is where U belong. Over Here, your mind is sharpened to think outside d box. Naturally. I mean with: "Road safety marshals, VIO, Lastma, Local Govt Tout, Kai, Yellow fever, check point Police, Mopol, armed robbers, window cleaner boys, beggars, street hawkers trying to scam you, okadas (the normal okada, the Aboki- speed demons) trailers with no brake, learner drivers, etc your creativity wd come alive and U r forced to Fire your Boss quickly!

I luv dis City!!!

T.Wise:

There's really no place lyk home & I say dt cos av spent 5 yrs outside lag 2 oda states. Even with dynamix of Lagos, it still remains fun to leave in. Just get d ropes right & U'd luv it,  Eko o ni Baje! Ajo o le dabi ile.
@ Poster: Lagos is where U belong. Over Here, your mind is sharpened to think outside d box. Naturally. I mean with: "Road safety marshals, VIO, Lastma, Local Govt Tout, Kai, Yellow fever, check point Police, Mopol, armed robbers, window cleaner boys, beggars, street hawkers trying to scam you, okadas (the normal okada, the Aboki- speed demons) trailers with no brake, learner drivers, [/b]etc your creativity wd come alive and U r forced to Fire your Boss quickly!

I luv dis City!!!

you are too much guy
Live in Lag and every other cities of the world will be a joker to you

Ultrame:

Oh Bobbs e! U wicked o! All these [b]'agencies' after one single guy on a daily basis?  No be small thing! LOL

@ OP, Beautiful post!

I live and work in Abuja myself and while i wont say it's all rosy, i still prefer the fresh air and laid back tempo in ABJ to the madness in Lagos anyday. (No offence Lagosians)  

One Love!

You cant even offend us or else we 'll kick you off NL

Chuks84:

I was born and bred in Lagos, had my primary, secondary and tertiary education in Lagos. I hated Lagos! The madness, everybody was in rush to go somewhere. The filth, refuse littering virtually every corner of the streets. The crime, Armed robbers robbing people in broad daylight. Agberos, the order of the day. The heavy traffic, oh! those hold ups, I spent nothing less than three hours getting to school everyday. The only thing that kept me there was family.

Immediately after the university, I set my sights on leaving Lag, folks tried convincing me to work my NYSC to Lagos. Lai lai! I had already set my sights on Abuja. Yes! Abuja, the seat of the nation, our glorious capital, our own little London, Nigeria's land of milk and honey. No hold ups, no rush rush, no Agberos, no one chance. I was to go, see and conquer. Or so i thought.

I arrived at Abuja on a fateful Sunday morning, breathed in the fresh air, felt the wind of change rushing over me. My first destination was my uncle's house in a city called Kuje. My uncle came to pick me up from the airport, as we drove I admired the sights, so many rocks, I felt as if I was on an excursion. We soon veered off the main road to an untarred road, we moved through the streets of a place that reminded me of my village. We finally stopped in front of a small bungalow, I was surrounded by the sounds of chickens. Dreading the answer, I couldn't help but ask: "Uncle is this Abuja?". It was. I couldn't understand, what of all the tales? The beauty of Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse, Garki. I went to the room provided for me, consoling myelf with the thought that every city has its slums.

The next day, I went to the NYSC camp in Kubwa, which was only slightly better than Kuje and I was greeted with madness. A multitude of to be corpers struggling to register, I was giving a card which declared me as No. 2,478 on the queue. I looked round wondering where the queue was, all I could see was people fighting to get into a particular canopy. Where were the cool guys? The Behind chics? The Ajebuta's? These fellas were hardened Ajekpako's, the girls there were even worse. I ended up sleeping on the field that day without completing my registration.

As the camp progressed, the scales slowly fell off my eyes. I learned of remote towns like Abaji, Kwali, Rubochi, Karshi, I got to understand that Abuja consisted of a few urban cities surrounded by undeveloped villages. Virtually everybody in the camp was a hustler who had heard tales of this city and had come to partake in the national cake. I was eventually posted to FCDA (Federal Capital Development Agency). En route to the office I learned my cab driver was a fresh graduant of NYSC who coincidentally served in FCDA, he complained to me that he was still being owed 2 months salary, saying FCDA was the worst place to serve. He was right. With a monthly salary of N5,000 per month which was paid in bulk every three months, I suffered, I was just surviving.  I discovered Abuja had its own share of hold ups that could rival Lagos anyday, particularly in the area of kubwa and Lugbe. I spent nothing less than two hours going to work everyday. Majority of the workers in Abuja didn't even come from the FCT, they came to work everyday from neighbouring states like Nassarawa and and Niger. Accomodation was devilishly expensive. I missed Lagos.

One year later. I am still in Abuja, I was lucky to be retained as a project staff, I earn a pittance of N16,000 monthly. I fight the daily madness of entering a bus to get to work, I spend 3 hrs. I fear entering cabs because of one-chance which is becoming rampant. I can't afford an apartment of my own. Just this weekend there was a bomb explosion in the city. Every day, I hear of the strides Fashola is making in Lagos. I see it with my eyes but I am not believing. The FCT is slowly becoming another Lagos. And Lagos is slowly evolving to my imagined FCT. I miss Lagos.

buzugee:

great article.  you should become a writer. LESSON LEARNED ? wetin you dey find for sokoto , e dey for shokoto

anyway so what is ONE CHANCE ? you say you fear to take cabs because of 'one chance '

banom:

@ Op,

Your problem is nothing but disappointment, what you met in Abuja obviously did not confirm with your original  prejudice about Abuja, I have lived in Abuja for over twenty years now, and  i do frequently visit other cities in Nigeria like , kano, Lagos, Portarcourt , Calaba, Enugu, Kaduna,  where we have our family business branches, and i must tell you, Abuja is  haven when compared to those cities,

What makes you enjoy any city is not if the city is the biblical Garden of Eden, but MONEY, with money you can have all your fantasies provided for you even in the most dense Jungle of Sahara desert, with a mere 16k salary you will obviously not see the real Abuja, but just take your time and plan your self, soon you will get used to the city, make enough money and Enjoy all your fantasies , WELCOME TO FCT, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND ORGANIZED CITY IN NIGERIA.

denony:

The lesson of your message is !
"be[b] contempted[/b] with what u have or where u are.
Nice one