Abuja

My first two weeks back in Nigeria were not spent in Nigeria. They were spent in Abuja - which functions as both the capital and the antithesis of Nigeria. Shiny, freshly painted buildings and perfectly manicured grounds stretch out in front of sidewalks and perfectly paved highways - all of which are not really found anywhere else in Nigeria. This is, in part, a result of its synthetic beginnings: In order to ease North-South tensions, a capital was created in the literal center of the country. Over the past thirty years, it has been constructed from scratch to be the showcase of Nigeria… and one of the most planned cities in the world. Seriously, they actually have an ‘Abuja Masterplan’… a definite contrast to the uncertainty and instability that characterizes normal life in Nigeria.

However, there’s currently more destruction than construction going on. Abuja’s controversial governor has ordered the demolition of all residences not in the residential zoning set out in the Abuja Masterplan - some of these built with actual permits granted by corrupt or confused officials, others built by (mostly low income) squatters. From what I understand the demolition process involves a warning in the form of a red X painted on your house then the bulldozers coming in around a month later - whether you have vacated or not!

Another characteristic that now sets Abuja apart is no motorcycles. The vehicles that make up the majority of traffic in the rest of Nigeria were banned from the city a few months ago. This hit the poor of Abuja from both sides - as motorcycle taxis were a source of income generation for some and the only source of affordable transport for others. Now the price of getting around the city has shot up to 3-5 times higher than before and you now see lots of people walking in the heat (but it is also said to be because it is now safer to do so without all the reckless motorcycle drivers around!). These trends are predicted to continue as all old bush taxis that pack as many people as they can in along their routes are replaced with a new uniform emerald green private taxi fleet and London-style buses.

Is this “development progress”? Does raising the quality of living in a top-down manner really work? Effectively? I find it difficult to process with objectivity. Is it not reasonable to build up a capital a nation can be proud of? After all, is not Washington DC unlike any other city in the US? Was it not built up when most Americans were struggling with living conditions dramatically lower than today’s? Will the resulting gentrification of the DC area be paralleled halfway around the world?

Unfortunately, two weeks didn’t provide any conclusive answers. (Will two years?!)

However, two weeks was enough time two have a lot of fun meeting all the other renewable energy nerds in Nigeria at the First International Renewable Energy Conference! For more details on that, check out: a summary on the new and improved CREN webpage.

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