Abuja

Abuja is the federal capital of Nigeria, situated north of the Niger and Benue river confluence in the center of the country. Federal authorities selected this inland site in 1976 to build a planned national capital on neutral ground between the diverse cultural regions. Civil engineers began constructing trunk highways, drainage systems, and water supply reservoirs at the end of the 1970s.

The Federal Capital Development Authority directed the master plan, drafted by American planning group International Planning Associates. Construction teams built government offices throughout the Three Arms Zone during the 1980s to house federal executive, legislative, and judicial bodies. President Ibrahim Babangida issued the decree transferring the seat of government from Lagos to Abuja in December 1991. Residential sectors were laid out in phases, beginning with the districts of Garki and Wuse.

Abuja functions as the diplomatic headquarters of Nigeria and the commission seat of the Economic Community of West African States. Federal ministries, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and foreign embassies employ administrative workers across the Central Business District. Private sector enterprise centers on commercial building contracting, real estate management, hospitality services, and retail commerce. Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport handles regional and overseas passenger traffic, southwest of the city center. Commuter trains operate along the Abuja Rail Mass Transit network, which opened in the late 2010s.

The Nigerian National Mosque stands along Independence Avenue with four minarets and a central gold-plated dome. Across the central avenue, the National Christian Centre rises with concrete arches and stained-glass windows. Higher education began locally with the founding of the University of Abuja in the late 1980s, which operates academic faculties in Gwagwalada. Athletes compete at Moshood Abiola National Stadium, built for the All-Africa Games. Traditional open-air cookshops prepare suya, skewered strips of spiced beef or chicken barbecued over charcoal and dusted with ground peanut seasoning.