Abuja

(Jeff Attaway，Flickr)

City Introduction

Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, is also known as the Federal Capital Territory. Located at the side of Gurara River as a tributary of Central Niger River, Abuja is at the junction of Niger State, Kaduna State, Plateau State and Kewarra state, about 500 km from the former capital of Lagos, and is the country's geographical center. Its downtown is divided into the two parts to strengthen the linkage of the federal government to all the regions and the peoples; additionally, resolve the issues generated from Lagos’s excessive expansion of scale. In 1975, Muhammad Military Government proposals to build a new capital. In October 1979, Shagari civilian government officially approved the blueprint of the new capital, Abuja, and then the first phase of construction was started. In December 1991, the federal government was officially moved from Lagos to Abuja. Not until about in 1996 did the major sectors of the government gradually complete the relocation. The central area is for government agencies, and there are shops and entertainment facilities in the cultural and educational areas and residential areas. There is the airport and expressways leading to the capitals of all the states. The city has an area of over 920,000 square kilometers.

History and Culture

Abuja has a population of about 2 million. The city was divided into two parts to strengthen the the links between the federal government and various regions and ethnic groups, and this also reduced the excessive expansion of Lagos. In 1975, the Mohammed military government came up with the idea of building a new capital. In October 1979, the official government of Shagali officially approved the design blueprint of the new capital Abuja and began the first phase of construction. In December 1991, the capital was officially moved to the city from Lagos. By 1996 or so, the relocation work was basically completed.

Natural Environment

Located in the southwest edge of the Central Plateau, it is a tropical savannas hilly zone and sparsely populated, with fresh air and nice scenery. Its terrain is high in the north and low in the south. Along the coast there is a 80-kilometers-wide strip-shaped plain; its southern part is featured with low mountains and hills, of which the most is at the elevation of 200-500 meters; in the middle there is the Niger-Benue valley; its northern Hausaland highland accounts for more than one quarter of the national area, with an average elevation of 900 m; its eastern border is mountainous, and its northwest and northeast parts are respectively Kosei Sokoto Basin and Chad Lake West Basin. There are many rivers, of which the Niger River and its tributary Benue River are the main rivers. The Niger River is 1,400 kilometers long in its territory.

Climate

It enjoys the tropical monsoon climate, with hot and rainy days. Throughout the year the seasons are divided into dry and rainy seasons, with the annual average temperature of 26 ~ 27°C.