What I Love and Hate about Abuja

This article won third prize in our writing competition and is by Dimaka Onyebuchi

 

Abuja, the Chief metropolis of Nigeria situated in the central part of the country is really a very young capital, and is the most planned and organized of all Nigeria cities. 

Today, Abuja is one of Africa’s main purpose-built capital cities at the heart of the nation and is viewed as neutral, both ethnically and religiously. In view of its location, it is where culture and religion meet. It replaced Lagos, the former capital city which is still the country’s most populous state. This has made Abuja one of the top ten most populous cities in Nigeria. 

Nevertheless, Abuja has witnessed a huge influx of people into the city which has led to the emergence of satellite municipalities such as Karu urban area, Suleja, Gwagwalada, Lugbe, Kuje and smaller settlements to which the planned city is sprawling towards. Nigerian government agencies are now headquartered in Abuja and most other foreign embassies have been relocated from Lagos to Abuja.

The city possesses certain criteria noted in its selection as the capital of Nigeria, which are centrality, a healthy climate, land availability and use, water supply, multi-access possibilities, security, existence of resources, drainage, good soil, physical planning, convenience and ethnic accord. It has an excellent road network, beautiful rolling terrain and modern Nigerian architecture.

One of the things I love about Abuja is its vehicle license plates which reads ‘Centre of Unity’, a constant reminder that Abuja was selected with a view to create a united city. We have the capacity and we can make it. The other things I love about Abuja are the beautiful landscapes, good, accessible road networks that has loop highways and broad avenues which exempt the city from the problems of enormous traffic jams, standardised infrastructural facilities. 

It is well planned and organised, well secured and peaceful for tourism and business investment. Unsurprisingly, Abuja has wide range of opportunities and is highly hospitable to a wide range of citizens and foreign guests, with good packaging which I think is its most appealing varieties. Another thing I love about Abuja is the strict driving laws that are enforced for security reasons, like the wearing of seat belts by the driver and front seat passenger, and failure to obey this law leads to significant inconveniences as the vehicle will be impounded and not released until the fine is paid.

But Abuja is not without its blemishes. One of the few things I hate about Abuja is the higher risk of dangerous accidents due to the higher speeds that cars travel, compounding this are the traffic signals which stop working during the frequent power blackouts and the propensity of drivers to ignore lanes and drive defensively for safety purposes. 

Other things I hate about Abuja are the high costs of living and high level of corruption.

 The expense of living in Abuja is alarming and outrageous. Feeding is expensive, Transportation is expensive, schooling is expensive, and health care is expensive. Worst of all is accommodation. Accommodation is so expensive. There are, however, high incidences of corruption in Abuja, and the city has turned into an avenue for the diversification of the steady inflow of illicit cash. As bad as things are, the government derives pleasure in diversifying the country’s wealth into acquiring properties in Abuja, and it has become a place where corrupt politicians offload excessive cash via property acquisition.

Obviously, Abuja is a beautiful city, a place of attraction. It is known for being one of the best purpose-built cities in Africa and it is spectacular. 

What I wish could be better in Abuja is to fight against corruption drastically, thereby reducing the high expense of living, reducing the risk of accidents and using the country’s wealth for the Indigent Nigerians. However Abuja as a developing city and the newest Nigerian city greatly needs massive industrial and real estate management attention to make the city better. 

Abuja is a city I would describe as a land flowing with milk and honey, and it’s a good place to dream and aspire for greatness. I have the power to make Abuja better. You have such power, we all have the power. So we can together make Abuja better.