Abuja

Abuja (/əˈbuːdʒə/) is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. Located in the central part of Nigeria. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos, though the latter remains the country's most populous city. The indigenous inhabitants of Abuja are the Gbagyi (Gawri) as the major language, Mada, Ganagana, Koro, Mada, etc. 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 city extend to the south of the rock. Zuma Rock, a 792-metre monolith, lies just north of the city on the road to Kaduna State.

At the 2006 census, the city of Abuja had a population of 776,298, making it one of the ten most populous cities in Nigeria. According to the United Nations, Abuja grew at the annual rate of 139.7% between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest growing city in the world. As of 2015, the city is still experiencing an annual growth of at least 35%, still retaining its position as the fastest growing city on the African continent and one of the fastest in the world. Abuja has witnessed a huge influx of people into the city; the growth has led to the emergence of satellite towns such as Karu Urban Area, Suleja, Gwagwalada, Lugbe, Kuje and smaller settlements to which the planned city is sprawling. The unofficial metropolitan area of Abuja has a population of well over three million and comprises the fourth largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, surpassed only by Lagos, Kano and Ibadan.

Abuja bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

The Abuja bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games was an unsuccessful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games by the city of Abuja, Nigeria. The bidding race was won by the Glasgow 2014 bid after a 47–24 vote by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly on 9 November 2007 in Sri Lanka.

Background

The former Nigerian leader General Yakubu Gowon was the head of the Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid team, he called for all Nigerians to support the games for the "glory of Nigeria". He suggested that Nigeria would be a prime location for the games because of its unity, serenity, topography and availability of standard sporting facilities. Abuja had recently hosted the All-Africa Games, The African regional version of the olympics, for which it constructed a world-class olympic stadium and games village. It was a hugely successful tournament with more than 7,000 athletes (and larger in size than any Commonwealth Games ever held). The 2014 Commonwealth Games would also be an integral part of national celebration plans for Nigeria's centenary.

Nigeria

The Federal Republic of Nigeria, commonly referred to as Nigeria ⁱ/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, is a federal constitutional republic in West Africa, bordering Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja is located. Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country.

Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia. The modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. It has since alternated between democratically-elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, until it achieved a stable democracy in 1999, with its 2011 presidential elections being viewed as the first to be conducted reasonably freely and fairly.

Nigeria (album)

Nigeria is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1962 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980. The tracks were also released in 1997 as part of The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Michael Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Just classic Green".

Track listing

Personnel

References

Nigeria (disambiguation)

Nigeria is a country in West Africa.

Nigeria or Nigerian may also refer to:

See also