Although it has been over 25years in the making, Abuja stands to represent a truly world class city, that has the potential of becoming one of the world's megacities.  I was delightfully surprised to see how far Abuja has progressed the last time I was there.  An orderly transportation system, good road networks, people actually obey traffic lights, the sprawling Abuja Skyline, and iconic buildings like the Ministry of Finance, NNPC Building, ECOWAS Building, The International Conference Centre and more new buildings of grand architectural magnitude, add to the ever-growing beauty of this city.

Not withstanding, there is ofcourse all the usuals, high crime, high standard of living, government opulence etc, associated with all big cities, but the point is, if Nigeria can build something at the level of Abuja standards, then I feel the whole of Nigeria should be like Abuja really.  This means that it can be done, and as Nigerians we should hope to see more cities becoming like abuja.  Lagos has since embarked on a transformation, being the economic heart of West Africa and former capital city, but Abuja truly represents what can be achieved in Nigeria as a whole.  

Abuja has driven in foreign investment, despite all other political and economic shortcomings, foreign investment, both from foreigners from abroad, and from Nigerians abroad is pouring back in to Abuja.  Below is an article from ThisDay Newspaper:

FCT Flags-off Abuja Wonder Tower
From Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, 10.19.2007

As part of  the Federal Government's vision of transforming the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, into one of the most attractive cities in the world,  construction work on a multi-billion Naira  'Abuja Wonder Towers’ was flagged-off yesterday by the FCT Minister,  Alhaji Aliyu Modibbo Umar.
Execution of the three-pronged 10-storey structure is expected to be completed within 18 months.Modibbo, while laying the foundation, assured that the Towers, when completed, would really be something wonderful to behold, “It will be a master-stroke of architectural excellence; a delightful addition to dot the already brimming Abuja skyline; a brilliant touch of effective space utilisation.”
He described the structure as a dream come true for the FCT administration, as it was in line with the capital objectives of government in ensuring that private sector operators within the territory re-invest their money in developing the city.“We want companies operating here to use their money to re-invest. I, therefore, commend the management of SCC Nigeria Limited for taking the initiative to re-invest in the federal capital territory by initiating this. The Tower is indeed,testimony to the potentials of FCT to be a modern city, competing with others around the world,” he said.

Abuja is no longer a purely Nigerian or African city,it is now an international city. Structures like theSCC Towers we are commencing today, are testimoniesthat Abuja is a world class city,” he said.He said the FCT Administration was investingheavily in making the environment convenient and suitable for private sector investment and assured that safety of lives and property was being tackled as top on the priority list.

The Towers is indeed,testimony to the potentials of FCT to be a moderncity, competing with others around the world, he said. “ Abuja is no loner a purely Nigerian or African city,it is now an international city. Structures like theSCC Towers we are commencing today, are testimoniesthat Abuja is a world class city.”The Minister said the FCT Administration was investingheavily in making the environment convenient suitablefor private sector investment, he assured that safetyof lives and property was being tackled as top on thepriority list. He, called on other developers to come up with theirown plans, assuring that government on its part wouldthem special approvals.He restated the commitment of the FCT administration to construct a boulevard stretching from the CentralBusiness Area to the Nnamdi Azikiwe InternationalAirport next year. Modibbo, who was accompanied by his Minister ofState, Senator James Akpanudoedehe, also called on SCCto invest in the boulevard.Chairman, Board of Directors of SCC Nigeria Limited,Chief Emmanuel Adiele,  while welcoming  dignitariesat the event, said  the contruction of SCC Towersmarks the beginning of another line of investmentbeing taken by the company in the development of thefederal capital territory. “SCC Nigeria Limited, in line with its commitment tosupport the federal government and the federal capitalterritory in the realization of the millenniumdevelopment goals (MDG), has made immense financialand infrastructure investments deliberately aimed atimproving the socio-economic well-being of theNigerian citizenry.”, he said According to him,  the SCC Towers comprises of three(3) units of 10-storey buildings of mixed land use ofresidential and commercial purposes  and is beingconstructed under the Accelerated DevelopmentProgramme, an initiative of the Public-PrivatePartnership unit of the federal capital territory.He said the project when completed will provide"tastefully finished luxury residential apartments,flats and suites; as well as exquisitely designedcorporate office suits and spaces, unique departmentaloutlets and stores, state-of-the-art conferencingfacilities and recreational facilities like swimmingpool, gymnasium and restaurants.”

@KubeSolja
Great post

absolute rubbish project.

babasin:

absolute rubbish project.

What project is rubbish? Can you expatiate a little?

babasin:

absolute rubbish project.

Why can't we appreciate the few good things about Nigeria, rather than always rubbush her. Please justify this your response. Abuja is something nigeria should at least be proud of, and also look at objectively with the view that indeed, if it can be done in Abuja, it can be done in every other state in Nigeria. Are you saying the proposed towers are absolute rubish or celebrating Abuja as a world class city and symbol of hope 4 nigeria is rubbish? I don't understand.

Whenever anything bad happens in Nigeria or with Nigerians, we are quick to post it. So why can't we post something that for me, has personally touched me in a positive way? Whether you think the building of the towers is rubbish is besides the point. The fact is there are so many beautiful architectural buildings in Abuja and it is a beautiful city.

The fact that we envisage a grand iconic building dubbed 'Abuja Towers' fit for Abuja city and as an icon to be recognised worldwide as a nigerian destination, then why not? Malaysia have the Petronas Towers, Paris has the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysee, London has the London Eye, the Gherkin Building, Sydney - Australia has the opera house and sydney harbour, Egypt has the pyramids, Dubai has the Al-Jumeirah windsail hotel, come on man, for how long are we going to marvel at other iconic elements in other world cities? Just like these buildings and structures play a big part in the life of these cities, abuja can indeed play a big part in reshaping nigeria. It doesn't mean every other problem will disappear, but abuja is indeed a beautiful city and it is good to see foreign investors re-investing in abuja.

Beautiful Abuja,

A truly beautiful city, I really wonder why the whole of Nigeria cannot be like this? If it can be done in Abuja, it can be done everywhere.

;d ;d ;d

WOW! Is this really Nigeria?

OduduwaSon:

WOW! Is this really Nigeria?

This is Abuja - Nigeria

more pics

beautiful city

smile

Go and check where all the people in your picture lives; SLUMS in Kubwa, yanyan, lugbe.

The toilets in those building are a disaster.

Nigeria do not need fancy government building.

Nigerians need clean-water, electricity, school that functions, hospital that works, roads without pot-holes

Abuja stadium was built for N12billion; what is the use now?

This tower is absolute rubbish for Government to engage in.: MISSPLACED PRIORITY

Are you saying the proposed towers are absolute rubish or celebrating Abuja as a world class city and symbol of hope 4 nigeria is rubbish? I don't understand.

every Nigeria town/village/city should be hope for 4 nigeria! otherwise in another 10yrs; abuja will become another lagos; over populated etc

babasin:

Go and check where all the people in your picture lives; SLUMS in Kubwa, yanyan, lugbe.

The toilets in those building are a disaster.

Quite right, still that does not change the fact that Abuja is a beautiful city. Even US and UK cities have slums where people live amidsts inner city grandeurs and architectural marvel, but that does not mean we can't accept the fact that they are beautiful cities. we all saw America's poverty in the aftermath of Karina

babasin:

Nigeria do not need fancy government building.

Nigerians need clean-water, electricity, school that functions, hospital that works, roads without pot-holes

Ofcourse i agree with you totally that nigeria needs clean water, shools etc, but still, we can't take it away from Abuja that it is a beautiful city. That is the point and at the beginning of this thread, i clearly stated that I am not overlooking the shortcomings or problems, I am appreciating the beauty of a city in Nigeria as a symbol of hope that this development will eventually filter down so that everywhere in nigeria can be as nice, with proper drainage systems, good roads, running water, hospitals, and a sanitised order. Abuja is devdeloping at an astounding rate and even those places you quoted where all those people live are being built up, the expansion is slowly reaching there with roads being built and the slums making way for proper housing and structures. Are you saying because these problems exist we should stop building fancy buildings, even with foreign capital injection?

babasin:

Abuja stadium was built for N12billion; what is the use now?

This tower is absolute rubbish for Government to engage in.: MISSPLACED PRIORITY

every Nigeria town/village/city should be hope for 4 nigeria! otherwise in another 10yrs; abuja will become another lagos; over populated etc

The stadium contratcs might have been inflated That is nigeria, i'm not denying that), but honestly, does that mean we shouldn't build a world standard sporting complex in our capital city? The use is we can use these structures to bid for hosting international sporting events, which in turn brings in cashflow, not all the time but when the opportunity appears we have the infrastructures. The west do the same thing, they have the best buildings, best sporting complexes, best hotels, roads, etc, fair enough, and they use this to their advantage to bid for hosting rights for international events which in turn brings money into the country.

The building of this tower that you are saying is rubbish was initiated by a private foreign investment company in nigeria. Doing this alone will provide employment opportunities to people.

And on your last point, again I agree totally, every nigerian village, city, town should be a hope 4 nigeria, and Abuja stands as that symbol of hope, so that in the next ten years we can see good roads, proper sanitation and drainage system, clean water, schools and hospitals in all our villages, cities and towns. Lagos did not have the planning abuja enjoys today, geographically, abuja is placed in such a way that as the city grows, this growth expantiates outwards and filters to adjacent states and so on, hence abuja's growth is nigeria's growth.

Despite all that, my point remains abuja is a beautiful city, undeniably, and we should appreciate it as a symbol of hope for nigeria.

Beautiful abuja

babasin:

Go and check where all the people in your picture lives; SLUMS in Kubwa, yanyan, lugbe.

The toilets in those building are a disaster.

Nigeria do not need fancy government building.

@babasin
out of all the pictures the dude posted, only one or two showed people in the pictures, the rest were all buildings, and indeed beautiful they are, but you were so quick to dismiss the whole thing without any concrete reasoning. I need to go to the other thread to find some answers, why are nigerians so abusive and insultative?

out of all the pictures the dude posted, only one or two showed people in the pictures

people work in those buidlings or are they empty buildings for abuja city fashion?

Those people working there go home to their SLUM every night; no NEPA, no water etc and you expect corruption to go away?



Think again

we are misplacing priorities!

@babasin

You are missing the point dude, the thread acknowledges the shortcomings, but from my understanding, the thread is celebrating the physical beauty of abuja as a nigerian city and a symbol of hope for all those people who work in those buildings. We all know of the corruption, whatever whatever, nairaland alone can testify to that, but still, that doesn't mean we can't have beautiful surroundings for God sake. Why are we so pessimistic and quick to dismiss everything as if nothing good can come out of naija.

but still, that doesn't mean we can't have beautiful surroundings for God sake. Why are we so pessimistic and quick to dismiss everything as if nothing good can come out of naija

Nigerians do not need 'Abuja tower' to have beautiful surroundings; let them clean-up those TELEPHONE wires, those over flowing drainages.

I am not against beautiful surrouding but against so fanciful building which add no REAL value to life of Nigerians.

fanciful building will come later; when we have booming middle income people

babasin:

Nigerians do not need 'Abuja tower' to have beautiful surroundings; let them clean-up those TELEPHONE wires, those over flowing drainages.

I am not against beautiful surrouding but against so fanciful building which add no REAL value to life of Nigerians.

fanciful building will come later; when we have booming middle income people

I don't understand you. The abuja towers is being initiated by a private foreign company investing in naija, so why shouldn't it go ahead? And it seems like you don't really know abuja, because it was planned in such a way that most telephone wires, electrics are mostly built underground. What you see is just street lights and traffic lights, no nitel telephone poles or nepa power lines, most are all underground. There is proper drainage systems and good roads, well planned city. The beautiful surroundings, is not being used by the majority of the masses, the parks etc. Becaue there's poverty doesn't mean there shouldn't be continued development, because you can't just stop and say I'm going to tackle all the other problems and then deal with infrastructure, it doesn't make sense. Beautiful cities, buildings and surroundings attract foreign investment, tourism, exposure, which in turn promotes growth, and no matter what you may think (all you people abroad who have not been to naija for years), things are changing and moving very fast, this can only be good for nigeria, and if abuja can instigate that growth and change and rapid development, then why not?

Am really proud of Nigeria for this beautiful city

So,is not Oyinbo country that have good structure.I AM PROUD TO BE A NAIJA.BELEIVE ME OR NOT NAIJA IS ALSO BEAUTY.

@poster

Nice pix. I am indeed a lover of that city too. Its so peaceful!!! just give Abuja some few years and it will be better than Washington DC. I tell you. I cannot wait to move down there, will possibly give an arm or a leg to go. Am so fed up with Lagos, dirtiest city i have seen in my entire life, Accra that is just nearby is like heaven compared to lagos. Unruling people, dirtiest set of human beigns alive today live in Lagos. Well like our dear former minister of FCT El-Rufia said "if you are not gianfully employed then do not come to Abuja" if you read and make sense of the statement you would not suffer or have to go live in karo/kubuwa/yanya/bwari/dutse/suleja/gwagwalada. You would come prepared. Its a city for the rich/gainfully employed.

This high cost of leaving however is not peculiar to Abuja only, most capital cities are like that. Most people who work in Washington DC for instance, live in Bethseda, Baltimore, Virginia and the like, its expensive to live in DC too. Lodon is the same thing they live outside the city, hertfordshire, dartford,crayford, hays,romford, ilford, essex,etc just go to waterloo station one evening and see the distance some city workers cover everyday. So my peeps Abuja is not an exception. Go prepared and you would get a lovely house in Wuse 2, Asokoro, maitama, area 11 and co.

For those of you abroad thinking of relocating back home, you have heard me, work hard, save your money and get there as fast as you can. Its a city filled with a lot of opportunities (as per business, do not know about employment) there is room for much more. Forget Lagos, its saturated.

Yeah! one bad thing i noticed though, good road network but why are there sand/grasses in the middle of the roads. No proper finishing. You would hardly find sand on the roads in most developed cities, they could plant flowers or do something to those places i guess, JUlius Berger and the other contractors should be ashamed of their work. Nobody bothers to inspect the roads when they finish or are the inspectors blind i really wonder. If you know anyone in power there, please draw their attention to this.

Secondly, There is enough room to have four/six lanes of roads at least, why are they doing two dual carriage roads pls, dont they have foresights, thats why lagos traffick is so terrible, do they think the population in abuja will never increase these are my own negative observations about the town.

ABUJA FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The abuja towers is being initiated by a private foreign company investing in naija, so why shouldn't it go ahead?

Then no problem once Nigerian Govt KOBO is not included.

There is proper drainage systems and good roads, well planned city

Umm,  I did not see all these in Kubwa, Lugbe, Yanyan, Gbagualda.

So which abuja are you talking about? Just WUSE, MAITAMA, GARKI, APO?

This high cost of leaving however is not peculiar to Abuja only, most capital cities are like that. Most people who work in Washington DC for instance, live in Bethseda, Baltimore, Virginia and the like, its expensive to live in DC too

in those Baltimore; don't they have same facilities as in Washington? Good road, good drainage? NEPA etc?

I stand to be corrected. Is the other name for nigerians, complains?. I wanted to see the beauty of Nigerian cities. i started with lagos, it has nice buildings although alot need to be done to make it a world class, what amazed me is in the thread alot of naijas were complaining n complaining. so i came to this thread n Abuja is a city to beheld n talk about, but even here the complains dialogue is more than the photos uploaded. what is wrong with some of u guys. am not boasting but look at the beautiful pictures of nairobi. we as kenyans we have a share of many problems but shud that hinder us celebrating the little good things we have?, n even on that thread (on nairobi photos) some naijarians r still complaining, ?come on celebrate the beauty of african cities, dont b brainwashed ba wester media.

this is a thread dead, very few beautiful cites.sambody top add more

Before you say it. Yes we do have poor areas too in Abuja.

Abuja is a beautiful city, no doubt about it, been living in Abuja for years, cant imagine staying anywhere else in Nigeria!

babycool, just returned from Abuja. This was my first visit. Even though the people got on my nerves a bit (sorry), especially the men. I must say, I'm actually missing it a bit now that I'm back in London.