What do Nigeria and Australia have in common?

One of few things I like telling people that Australia and Nigeria have in common (there aren’t many!) is that we both have planned capital cities. By that I mean both our countries, at some point in their history decided to build, basically from scratch, a capital city, in the middle of nowhere it would seem. So, often people will think the capital of Australia is Sydney but it is in fact Canberra. Similarly, the capital of Nigeria is in fact Abuja, not Lagos. The only other country belonging to this prestigious group (that I know of) is Brazil (capital Brasilia). Unless of course someone could tell me another example.

So, although the circumstances were unfortunate (I’ve explained in another post), I can now say I’ve been to Abuja. And yes, Abuja was indeed very much like Canberra. Spacious, wide streets, low traffic volume, just generally more chilled and well…… not like the Nigeria I am used to! In fact there are many things Abuja has that most other places in Nigeria don’t – working street lights, low rubbish factor, open spaces, groomed streetscapes. It also is missing some things like low budget housing and hawkers (well not as many anyway). The affluence there is very apparent. Lots of new and luxury cars and big houses. There are lots of large, raised roads, underpasses, and open spaces for future development. A lot of the workers in the city actually live in satellite towns that are some distance from the main centre of Abuja (maybe 10-15 mins drive).

At its heart it seems to currently be a civil service city, though from what I saw some industries and other businesses are springing up. I saw more construction sites in Abuja than I have in the rest of my travels in Nigeria put together. Plus the embassies are slowly relocating there (from Lagos) and you’ll see the headquarters of many international organizations (such as UN agencies etc.) there, contributing to the higher foreigner (white guy) count (for some reason most of the expats seem to be jogging whenever I see them). All of this and more has contributed to the cost of living in Abuja being a little higher than the rest of the country, though as never experienced that fully as I was hosted for my short stay by one very kind acquaintance of my boss. I haven’t yet experienced the nightlife or social scene there, but I hope to return in December and will see what it’s like then.