Abuja

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Abuja, Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria.
Phase I and II represents Abuja city on a map of FCT
Coordinates: 9°00′00″N Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{"°Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{"′Expression error: Unrecognised punctuation character "{"″Expression error: Unexpected >= operator / 9,
Territory Federal Capital Territory
Government
 - Minister Aliyu Modibbo Umar
Area
 - City 713 km²  (275.3 sq mi)
 - Land 713 km² (275.3 sq mi)
Population (2005)
 - City 405,000
 - Urban 814,000
 - Metro 1,400,000
  estimated
Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
Website: http://www.fct.gov.ng/

Abuja with an estimated population of 405,000 is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja is a "planned" city, it was mainly built in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991.

Aso Rock

Abuja's geography is defined by Aso Rock, a 400-metre monolith left by water erosion. The Presidential Complex, National Assembly, Supreme Court and much of the town extend to the south of the rock. "Aso" means "victorious" in the language of the (now displaced) Asokoro ("the people of victory").

Other sights include the Nigerian National Mosque and the National Ecumenical Centre cathedral. The city is served by the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, while Zuma Rock lies nearby. Abuja is known for being the best purpose built city in Africa as well as being one of the wealthiest and most expensive, however, the population on the semi-developed edges of the city are living in shanty towns such as Karu. Karu, built to house the capital's civil servants and lower income families, has no running water, sanitation or electricity.[1].

Contents

  • 1 History
  • 2 Districts
    • 2.1 Parks and open areas
  • 3 Weather and climate
  • 4 Vegetation
  • 5 Transportation
  • 6 2014 Commonwealth Games
  • 7 Places of Interest
    • 7.1 General landmarks
    • 7.2 Malls and shopping centers
  • 8 References
  • 9 External links

[edit] History

In light of the ethnic and religious divisions of Nigeria, plans had been devised since Nigeria's independence to have its capital in a location deemed neutral to all parties. The location was eventually designated in the centre of the country in the early 1970s as it signified neutrality and national unity. Another impetus for Abuja came because of Lagos's population boom, that made that city overcrowded and conditions squalid. The logic used was similar to Brazil building its capital Brasília.

Construction broke ground and was dedicated in the late 1970s, but due to economic and political instability, the city in its initial stages was not complete until the late 1980s.

The master plan for Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory was developed by IPA (International Planning Associates), a consortium made up of three American firms: PRC Corporation; Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd; and, Archisystems, which was a division of the Hughes Organization. The master plan for Abuja defined the general shape and major design elements of the city, however a refinement of this design was accomplished by Kenzo Tange, a renowned Japanese architect, along with his team of city planners at Kenzo Tange and Urtec company.

Most countries moved their embassies to Abuja and maintain their larger former embassies as consulates in the commercial capital, Lagos.

In addition to a major governmental centre, Abuja is the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS, as well as its Military arm, ECOMOG. It also has the regional headquarters of OPEC.

Abuja and the FCT have experienced a huge population growth; it has been reported that some areas around Abuja have been growing at 20 – 30%.[1] Squatter settlements and shanty towns have spread rapidly in and outside the city limits.[2][3] Tens of thousands of people have been evicted since FCT Minister Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai started a demolition campaign in 2003.[4]

[edit] Districts

5 Districts of Abuja

The city is divided into five (5) districts.

Districts

Suburban Districts

Central District

National Assembly building in Abuja

Abuja's Central District is located between the foot of Aso Rock and into the Three Arms Zone to the southern base of the ring road. It is like the city's spinal cord, dividing it into the northern sector with Maitama and Wuse, and the southern sector with Garki and Asokoro. While each district has its own clearly demarcated commercial and residential sectors, the Central District is the city's principal Business Zone, where practically all parastatals and multinational corporations have their offices located. An attractive area in the Central District is the region known as the Three Arms Zone, so called because it houses the administrative offices of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the Federal Government. A few of the other sites worth seeing in the area are the Federal Secretariats alongside Shehu Shagari way, Aso Hill, the Abuja Plant Nursery, Parade Square and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier across the road facing it. The Brigade of Guards organizes a twenty-four watch at the spot and they have a colourful ceremonial change of guard. The National Mosque and National Church are located opposite each other on either side of Independence Avenue. Buildings such as the National Assembly building in Abuja, Eagle Square, and Aso rock, the presidential villa, are situated in Abuja. Another well known government office is the Ministry of Defense popularly nicknamed ship house.

Garki District

The Garki District is the area in the southwest corner of the city, having the Central District to the north and the Asokoro District to the east. There are some interesting buildings, which include the General Post Office, Abuja International Conference Center, Abuja Sofitel Hotel, Agura Hotel, the Federal Secretariat Complex, Garki Shopping center, several bank buildings and other commercial offices. At present it is the principal business district of Abuja.

Wuse District

Wuse District is the northwestern part of the city, with the Maitama District to its north and the Central District to its south. The Wuse Market is Abuja's principal market. The second most important Post Office in the city is located here. This district also houses the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ibru International hotel, and the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation.

Maitama District

Maitama District is to the north of the city, with the Wuse and Central Districts lying to its southwest and southeast respectively. This area is home to the top bracket sections of society and business, and has the reputation of being very exclusive and also very expensive. Interesting buildings include the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, National Universities Commission, Soil Conservation Complex, and National Electoral Commission.

Maitama District is home to many European embassies in Nigeria.

Asokoro District

Asokoro District, the doyen of all the district houses all the states lodges/guest houses and the famous ECOWAS secretariat is the focal point of interest. It is located to the east of Garki district and south of Central district. Asokoro district is home to ministers and political figures in Nigeria.

[edit] Parks and open areas

Millennium Park, Abuja

Abuja is home several parks and green areas with the largest one being Millennium park. Millennium Park was designed by world renowned architect Manfredi Nicoletti and was officially opened by her majesty Queen of England and head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II. It was opened on Thursday the 4th of November.

[edit] Weather and climate

The FCT experiences three weather conditions annually. This includes a warm, humid rainy season and a blistering dry season. In between the two seasons, there is a brief interlude of harmattan occasioned by the North East Trade Wind, with the main feature of dust haze, intensified coldness and dryness. The rainy season begins from April and ends in October, when daytime temperatures reach 28-30 degrees and nighttime lows hover around 22-23 degrees. In the dry season, daytime temperatures can soar as high as 40 degrees and nighttime temperatures can dip to 12 degrees, resulting in chilly evenings. The high altitudes and undulating terrain of the FCT act as moderating influence on the weather of the territory. Rainfall in the FCT reflects the territory's location on the windward side of the Jos Plateau and the zone of rising air masses. The annual total rainfall is in the range of 1100mm to 1600mm.

[edit] Vegetation

The area now designated the Federal Capital Territory falls within the Savannah Zone vegetation of the West African sub-region. Patches of rain forest, however, occur in the Gwagwa plains, especially in the gullied train to the south and the rugged south-eastern parts of the territory. These areas of the FCT form one of the surviving occurrences of the mature forest vegetation in Nigeria. The dominant vegetation of the Territory is, however, classified into three savannah types.

The Park or Grassy Savannah
This is about 53 percent (i.e. 4,231 square km) of the total area of the FCT. Vegetation occurs annually and tree species found include; Albizia, Zygia, Butyrospernum paradoxum, Anniellia, Oliveri and Parkia Clappertoniana.
The Savannah Woodland
This region covers 12.8 percent of 1,026 square km of the territory. It occurs mostly on the Gurara, Robo and Rubochi plains and surrounding hills. Common trees found in this region include; afzelia, africana anogeissus, leiocarpus, butyroscarpus paradoxim, daniella oliveri, khaya senegalensis, prosopis africana, uapaca togoensis, albizia, zygia, vitex doniant, bombox costatum and ptrecarpus erinaceus.
The Shrub Savannah
This class of vegetation occurs extensively in rough terrain close to hills and ridges in all parts of the territory. It covers about 12.9 percent or 1,031 square km of the land area. Tree species found in it include: antiaris africana, anthocleista nobils, ceiba pentandra, cola gigantean, celtis spp, Chorophora excels (iroko), khaya grandifolia (Benin Mahogany) terminalia superb (afara), triplochiton scleroxylon and dracacna arborea. Certain tree species normally associated with other parts of the rain forest in the south of Nigeria are also found in some of the forest patches, e.g. piptadeniatrum africanum (agboin), lophira alata (ekki) and terminalia ivorensis (idigbo).

Apart from the rain forest elements, some dominant tree species of the savannah wood lands yield high quality timber, e.g. Anogeissus leiocarpus, daneilla oliveri, khaya senegalensis and pterocarpus arenaceous.

[edit] Transportation

Abuja International Airport is the only airport in Abuja. The airport with an international and local terminal is under going serious upgrades in order to make it ready to host an event such as the Commonwealth games. Abuja also has a running and efficient BRT and green cab system. Construction is underway for an LRT system for the city.

[edit] 2014 Commonwealth Games

Abuja Commonwealth Games bid logo

Abuja is bidding head to head with Glasgow, Scotland to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014. If succesfull Abuja would become the first African city to host the event. Former Nigerian military ruler and now head of Nigeria's bid team, General Yakubu Gowon, called for all Nigerians to support the games for the "glory of Nigeria". He suggests Nigeria would be a prime location for the games because of its unity, serenity, topography and availability of standard sporting facilities. Abuja recently hosted the All-Africa Games, The African regional version of the olympics, for which it constructed an olympic style stadium and games village. It was a successful tournament with more than 7,000 athletes.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games would be an integral part of national celebration plans for Nigeria's centenary.

Abuja Commonwealth Games bid logo

The Abuja bid has received support from African commonwealth members as well as Australia, in what would be the largest multi-sport event to be held thus far on the continent.

Abuja airport will be modernized to cater for the capacity of the influx due to the games. This will further boost their bid to host the games. A light rail transit system is also to feature in the new Abuja getting ready for the 2014 Abuja Commonwealth games. The Abuja Masterplan, a city plan including high rise buildings, artificial lakes, and tourist resorts such as Heritage city, a huge roller coaster resort, will be featured in Abuja by 2014.

[edit] Places of Interest

[edit] General landmarks

Abuja City Gate
Ship House, Navy Headquarters
Headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria

[edit] Malls and shopping centers