WHEN the military in the 1970s created Abuja, they wanted a city that will represent the new Nigeria, which they hoped to nurture; a city devoid of the congestion of Lagos, the then capital of Nigeria; a city with good roads network, good and well planned housing schemes and settlements; a city that will be the seat of the Federal Government, while others remain the seat of other governments; a secured and protected and fortified city. Abuja was to be the paradise.

In order for Abuja to manifest, the Land Use Decree was promulgated, the civil service structure was adjusted, the Federal Government did all to see that Abuja came to stay, and they achieved it. Today Abuja is standing tall as a glorious manifestation of the good dreams of a few good Nigerians for Nigeria.

If the military could do it at that time, why can’t civilians build us more cities like Abuja? Why can’t we build such cities in every geo-political zone of Nigeria? If not, why not for the centenary celebrations memorabilia? One wonders when you hear comments like Nigeria cannot afford to build an ultra-modern seaport in the South East; that the South East cannot get an international airport, be it for cargo or passenger; that the national rail line cannot reach all state capitals of Nigeria; that we cannot build fertilizer plants, factories and refineries; that we are finding it difficult to manufacture cars and vehicles, and now we cannot fund the payment to lecturers for the education of our future generation, and we now prefer to throw sands in the air than till the land. I ask, where did we miss it all ? Is it that we now have leaders who lack the will, or we have become a people who take whatever is shoved down our throat?

In Nigeria, where money follows the seat of power, Abuja is the place to be. All the roads are smooth, with traffic lights, with all sorts of exotic cars to grace the roads, and as a result, most leaders in Abuja now think that the only way to help Nigerians create jobs is to punish them for desiring imported cars. In a short while, import tariffs on vehicles will be increased, in the name of encouraging local manufacturing of vehicles. Nigerians do not know how many vehicles these people will produce in a specified period, and there is no phased tariff increment to match an expected or agreed production targets. Importation of cars will be reduced or discouraged, Customs will be richer, businesses will die. Many of them will be pushed into buses and Keke Napep, yet buses are not allowed in Abuja while Keke is allowed because Southerners don’t ride Keke in Abuja, they owned most of the buses. The importers that would be hit most will be the struggling ones, mostly Ndigbo, no thanks to the fake life in Abuja. A life that is far from the reality under which most Nigerians live.

In Abuja, there is fairly regular power supply, so much so that some hotels rely on PHCN power to sell their rooms, yet there are no hotels with humble rates in Abuja. While N7,500 will get you a decent accommodation in a hotel across the nation, you won’t find such easily in Abuja. They charge high rates with poor services because “this is Abuja”.

The work force and small business people in Abuja come from villages or small towns around, like Nyanya, Lugbe, Kuje, Kubwa, Maraba and new Nyanya in Nasarawa State, while others come from even smaller settlements like Durumi, Kabusa, Mabushi, Garki Village and Mpape, to name a few. The link roads to these areas are perpetually under traffic grid lock during the day. The city therefore has developed gardens that are well and beautifully lit in the nights.They mostly sell drinks of all sorts, and just small chops. These are where the work force go to hang out while waiting for the traffic jam to their villages to thin out. These spots have become nesting grounds for immorality. Married persons walk in boldly with younger persons of opposite sex and their body language is simple: “This is Abuja”.

In Abuja, everybody is important because they know somebody who is important. It is either they are connected with top civil servants who these days are very rich people, or to some legislator who do not look at the price tags to buy whatever they fancy, or to the Presidency, or to one chief of Police, Customs, military or the other. On their phones they talk of billions of naira; the students are the poor ones who chase millions. Try taking them on by asking to visit their homes, their big Oga immediately calls and orders them to get ready to fly to Dubai, London or Lagos, depending on what time of the day. They are all mostly fake people.

Abuja indeed has a way of making those who live there feel that they own Nigeria, and that the beat must go on, with the “no wahala mentality”. This is perhaps what causes them to come up with policies which do not impact the lives of the ordinary Nigerian positively. They wake up and find light so they think there is light in Nigeria. They write a note or make a phone call, and a relation is absorbed into the civil service, so they think there is no unemployment. They get onto the road, it is smooth, they think Nigeria has good roads; they find cheap taxis and assume Nigeria does not need buses; their students carry super handsets and Ipads, so they think what the farmer needs is mobile phones. Abuja is not Nigeria, if anything it is a representation of the fake life of the true Nigerian. Most Nigerian state capitals still have bad roads, power failures, lack of jobs, poverty, lack of money, and security as big issues.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/abuja-city-many-fakes/#sthash.5VnbgEmX.dpuf

Wat can we say. That is the mentality of a third world corrupt nation

Nice Piece.

Corruption has eaten up every part of Nigeria.

Abuuuujjjaaaaa !
I love the City , HoHa !

and the city is quite full of fun when U know somebody who knows sombody that knows somebody ...........

donroxy: ...and the city is quite full of fun when U know somebody who knows sombody that knows somebody ...........

Well said. That is what Abuja is built on.

nerodenero: WHEN the military in the 1970s created Abuja, they wanted a city that will represent the new Nigeria, which they hoped to nurture; a city devoid of the congestion of Lagos, the then capital of Nigeria; a city with good roads network, good and well planned housing schemes and settlements; a city that will be the seat of the Federal Government, while others remain the seat of other governments; a secured and protected and fortified city. Abuja was to be the paradise.

In order for Abuja to manifest, the Land Use Decree was promulgated, the civil service structure was adjusted, the Federal Government did all to see that Abuja came to stay, and they achieved it. Today Abuja is standing tall as a glorious manifestation of the good dreams of a few good Nigerians for Nigeria.

If the military could do it at that time, why can’t civilians build us more cities like Abuja? Why can’t we build such cities in every geo-political zone of Nigeria? If not, why not for the centenary celebrations memorabilia? One wonders when you hear comments like Nigeria cannot afford to build an ultra-modern seaport in the South East; that the South East cannot get an international airport, be it for cargo or passenger; that the national rail line cannot reach all state capitals of Nigeria; that we cannot build fertilizer plants, factories and refineries; that we are finding it difficult to manufacture cars and vehicles, and now we cannot fund the payment to lecturers for the education of our future generation, and we now prefer to throw sands in the air than till the land. I ask, where did we miss it all ? Is it that we now have leaders who lack the will, or we have become a people who take whatever is shoved down our throat?

In Nigeria, where money follows the seat of power, Abuja is the place to be. All the roads are smooth, with traffic lights, with all sorts of exotic cars to grace the roads, and as a result, most leaders in Abuja now think that the only way to help Nigerians create jobs is to punish them for desiring imported cars. In a short while, import tariffs on vehicles will be increased, in the name of encouraging local manufacturing of vehicles. Nigerians do not know how many vehicles these people will produce in a specified period, and there is no phased tariff increment to match an expected or agreed production targets. Importation of cars will be reduced or discouraged, Customs will be richer, businesses will die. Many of them will be pushed into buses and Keke Napep, yet buses are not allowed in Abuja while Keke is allowed because Southerners don’t ride Keke in Abuja, they owned most of the buses. The importers that would be hit most will be the struggling ones, mostly Ndigbo, no thanks to the fake life in Abuja. A life that is far from the reality under which most Nigerians live.

In Abuja, there is fairly regular power supply, so much so that some hotels rely on PHCN power to sell their rooms, yet there are no hotels with humble rates in Abuja. While N7,500 will get you a decent accommodation in a hotel across the nation, you won’t find such easily in Abuja. They charge high rates with poor services because “this is Abuja”.

The work force and small business people in Abuja come from villages or small towns around, like Nyanya, Lugbe, Kuje, Kubwa, Maraba and new Nyanya in Nasarawa State, while others come from even smaller settlements like Durumi, Kabusa, Mabushi, Garki Village and Mpape, to name a few. The link roads to these areas are perpetually under traffic grid lock during the day. The city therefore has developed gardens that are well and beautifully lit in the nights.They mostly sell drinks of all sorts, and just small chops. These are where the work force go to hang out while waiting for the traffic jam to their villages to thin out. These spots have become nesting grounds for immorality. Married persons walk in boldly with younger persons of opposite sex and their body language is simple: “This is Abuja”.

In Abuja, everybody is important because they know somebody who is important. It is either they are connected with top civil servants who these days are very rich people, or to some legislator who do not look at the price tags to buy whatever they fancy, or to the Presidency, or to one chief of Police, Customs, military or the other. On their phones they talk of billions of naira; the students are the poor ones who chase millions. Try taking them on by asking to visit their homes, their big Oga immediately calls and orders them to get ready to fly to Dubai, London or Lagos, depending on what time of the day. They are all mostly fake people.

Abuja indeed has a way of making those who live there feel that they own Nigeria, and that the beat must go on, with the “no wahala mentality”. This is perhaps what causes them to come up with policies which do not impact the lives of the ordinary Nigerian positively. They wake up and find light so they think there is light in Nigeria. They write a note or make a phone call, and a relation is absorbed into the civil service, so they think there is no unemployment. They get onto the road, it is smooth, they think Nigeria has good roads; they find cheap taxis and assume Nigeria does not need buses; their students carry super handsets and Ipads, so they think what the farmer needs is mobile phones. Abuja is not Nigeria, if anything it is a representation of the fake life of the true Nigerian. Most Nigerian state capitals still have bad roads, power failures, lack of jobs, poverty, lack of money, and security as big issues.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/abuja-city-many-fakes/#sthash.5VnbgEmX.dpuf

What a load of garbled RUBBISH.

I've no clue what this idio.t is complaining about. He simply seems to hate Abuja because it is a Nigerian city.

Self hating moro.n. If it was this same Abuja he saw in Ghana now, you would see how he would be full of praises for it, and condemning Nigeria for not having the same.

ROSSIKE:
What a load of garbled RUBBISH.

I've no clue what this idio.t is complaining about. He simply seems to hate Abuja because it is a Nigerian city.

Self hating moro.n full of spite. If it was this same Abuja he saw in Ghana now, you would see how he would be full of praises for it, and condemning Nigeria for not having the same.

The gist flew over your head...

Like everybody who has been there profess,
ABUJA HAS NO SOUL.
it is the symbol of waste that will continue to hang on the neck of every nigerian including those unborn.
Every monument to waste is a monument to a

Power station not built
Water works not built
Railways
Aqueducts
Dams
Bridges
Ports
Steel mills
Afforestation
Refineries
Plantations
Roads,
Gas processing plants
Roads.
Fibre optic internet networks
Hospitals
Schools
Etc
Basically what the South Koreans ,Indonesians ,Malaysians , Taiwanese ,Singapore and other asian tigers were building while we were squandering money on Abuja ,and in Abuja ,on rubbish and nonsense.

These critical infrastructure are what you regard as the true wealth of a place .
Not mansions and palaces.
Camberra is the capital of Australia .
It was created as the administrative capital and that is what it still is .
The population is 360,000 and it was created to support the wealth creating regions like Sydney ,Adelaide and Melbourne etc.
It is not a wasteful and competing consumer of very limited resources.

The reason the capital was moved (thank God) had more to do with the agitation of the SW, SW based media and the relative enlightenment of Lagos when compared to other states.
In short, the government would not have been able to get away with what they are doing in Abuja when the capital was still Lagos .
I remember that there was always one protest/civil disobedience or the other in Lagos, back in those days.
It also did not take long before the government of the day was overthrown.
That is why, despite all the propaganda,
All that is present in nigeria right now was built back then.
In fact, it is very hard to point at any new addition ever since.


ABUJA IS DEAF AND DUMB.
OUR VERY OWN DYSTOPIA.

plaindealer:

The gist flew over your head...

The hell it did!!

bloggernaija: Like everybody who has been there profess,
ABUJA has no soul.

Better than that evil spirit that is possessing and occupying Lagos

ROSSIKE:
What a load of garbled RUBBISH.

I've no clue what this idio.t is complaining about. He simply seems to hate Abuja because it is a Nigerian city.

Self hating moro.n. If it was this same Abuja he saw in Ghana now, you would see how he would be full of praises for it, and condemning Nigeria for not having the same.

Patriotism is good my friend. But you must be careful not to become the type referred to by Samuel Johnson as scoundrels.
Insincere9gerian is already there. You are inching closer by the day.

Aigbofa:

Patriotism is good my friend. But you must be careful not to become the type referred to by Samuel Johnson as scoundrels.

Because it is not in the SW or mismanaged by any of your protheives, abi?

Jealousy no go kill una!

There is no way Lagos can match Abuja. Keep dreaming and parying that Eko no go baaje!

Bishop Magic:

Because it is not in the SW or mismanaged by any of your protheives, abi?

Jealousy no go kill una!

There is no way Lagos can match Abuja. Keep dreaming and parying that Eko no go baaje!

The writer made an observation about Abuja, the least you can do is refute his claims. Calling him an id.iot is just crass.

Aigbofa:
Calling him an idiot is just crass.

I live and work in Abuja. I am original from Lagos and I can tell you sincerely that I can not stay in Lagos no more than 2 or 3 days.
Abuja is a working city and it is by far the number one most liveable city in Nigeria only Calabar and Uyo come a distant second and third respectively.

bloggernaija:

it is the symbol of waste that will continue to hang on the neck of every nigerian including those unborn.

where were you when they were pumping money into Lagos at the detriment of other regions?

Hypocrite.

You Lagosians are like the typical old hag who moans about her husband leaving her for a young bride.

Get over it!

In my opinion Abuja is the best thing we have in Nigeria.

Why? Because there is no omo-nile on ground. The indegenes are also the best people we have in Nigeria; highly accommodating even to a fault.
This is the only city any young man or lady can come and make something of their lives without worrying about fitting in.
Road Networks are excellent, land is available and relatively cheap within the outskirts. A young couple can have a home within five years of planning. Food is cheap and getting around is a breeze. Crime is virtually non-existing compared to other states and security is top notch. You could close work on a friday by 8pm , hit the bars till 11pm , then switch to a club till 3am and be on your bed by 5 and wake up without a damn hangover.
Come to think of it, since I moved here I have never had a hangover

ROSSIKE:
What a load of garbled RUBBISH.

I've no clue what this idio.t is complaining about. He simply seems to hate Abuja because it is a Nigerian city.

Self hating moro.n. If it was this same Abuja he saw in Ghana now, you would see how he would be full of praises for it, and condemning Nigeria for not having the same.

Dude, why are U so everly damned serious over trivial issues to the extent of lambasting fellow forumites @ will !!


Na wa ooo, IDT U 've ever laugh before !

Bishop Magic:

Because it is not in the SW or mismanaged by any of your protheives, abi?

Jealousy no go kill una!

There is no way Lagos can match Abuja. Keep dreaming and parying that Eko no go baaje!

What a dunce. Abuja is no man's land and no particular group of people can lay claim to making it what it is.

omenka: What a dunce. Abuja is no man's land and no particular group of people can lay claim to making it what it is.

Mumu, you just quoted me without understanding what I wrote.
Obviously the haters are naturally the ever complaining whining yorubas.

ROSSIKE:

The hell it did!!

It was the writer's observation regarding characters and lifestyle in side the city of Abuja and not the city itself physically.

The fact that we are patriotic doesn't we can not observe and express our observations. In fact, why not dispute his observation with yours instead of the names and tantrums?

You sometimes get carried away with this patriotic thing...

You guys should quit this ethnic bigotry.There is no need comparing Lagos with Abuja.I have stayed in both places and to an extent I know how the places are.For some,Lagos state remains the best place to live while others would prefer Abuja.Earning large makes Abuja interesting,that is a fact!What matters is staying in place where one derives joy and pleasure.Inasmuch as I agree with some of the points in the article,some are highly contestable.That is it!Everybody can't sleep and face the same place,that is the reason we are different.

So true

Bishop Magic:

Better than that evil spirit that is possessing and occupying Lagos

lwkmd

lol

nigeria is a waste.... and i see no hope it would change anytime soon.

fake the story of the fct

omenka: What a dunce. Abuja is no man's land and no particular group of people can lay claim to making it what it is.

NO MAN'S LAND ? Noted

Can't contribute,never been to Abuja before. Hustle around Lagos,and its environment.