Welcome to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, set at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory. Abuja is one of the few purpose-built capital cities in Africa, and it took over from Lagos as the capital on 12 December 1991. Its landscape is shaped by Aso Rock, a 400-metre monolith left behind by water erosion, with the seats of government spread out to its south. According to the United Nations, Abuja grew by almost 140 percent between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest-growing city in the world. Let us explore its great rocks, grand houses of worship and green spaces.
Aso Rock
Photo: Mark Fischer · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsLooking out over the city is Aso Rock, a vast outcrop of granite on the outskirts of Abuja. Its peak reaches 936 metres above sea level, rising 400 metres above the surrounding land, and it is one of the most striking features of the capital. Around it stand the Presidential Complex, the National Assembly and the Supreme Court. The word Aso means victorious in the language of the Asokoro people, whose name means the people of victory. In 2003, leaders of the Commonwealth meeting in Abuja issued the Aso Rock Declaration here.
Abuja National Mosque
Photo: Mark Fischer · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsOn Independence Avenue stands the Abuja National Mosque, the national mosque of Nigeria. It was built in 1984 and, outside congregational prayers, it welcomes non-Muslim visitors too. Beyond the prayer hall, the complex holds a library, a conference centre for six hundred people, the office of the Islamic Centre and homes for the imams and muezzins. Notice what lies just across the avenue: the National Christian Centre, so that the nation's two great houses of worship face each other.
National Christian Centre
Photo: Moises.on · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsFacing the National Mosque is the National Christian Centre, a non-denominational church sometimes called the National Church of Nigeria. Its design, by the Lagos firm Darchiwork Group, is a postmodern take on the Neo-Gothic style, with arches and a wide nave leading to the altar. Work began around 1989 but stalled for years, until a committee of the Christian Association of Nigeria pushed it to completion. It was dedicated on 2 October 2005, as Nigeria celebrated 45 years of independence. And here is the surprise: the altar at the centre of the church makes a full rotation every ten minutes.
Zuma Rock
Photo: Jeff Attaway · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAlong the road from Abuja to Kaduna, a gigantic dome of stone appears. This is Zuma Rock, a natural monolith of Precambrian age, rising to about 725 metres above sea level. It is sometimes called the gateway to Abuja, and it was long thought to lie within the Federal Capital Territory, though it actually stands in Madalla in Niger State. In times of war between neighbouring peoples, the Gbagyi people used it as a defensive retreat. If you have ever held a 100 naira note, you have seen it already, because the rock is pictured on it.
Millennium Park
Photo: Kritzolina · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStroll into Millennium Park in the Maitama district, the largest public park in Abuja. It was designed by the Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti and inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth the Second on 4 December 2003, when each Commonwealth head of state planted a palm. A river divides the park in two. One side is given over to nature, with terraces of Nigerian mountain vegetation, savanna and rainforest. The other is a formal Italian-style garden, where a path paved with white Roman travertine and lined with fountains links, in a single line of sight, a sacred cotton tree with the holy Aso Rock.
National Assembly Complex
Photo: Ovinuchi Prince Ejiohuo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsBefore you is the National Assembly Complex, home of Nigeria's highest law-making body and one of the great landmarks of Abuja. At its heart is the green-domed building known as the White House, built between 1996 and 1999. A later phase, completed in 2007, added two five-storey wings on either side of the dome, one for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives. The complex stands in the Three Arms Zone of the capital, surrounded by other seats of government, with Aso Rock rising nearby.
Lomakuume
