 | The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date. This site is not updated so external links may no longer function. Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. |
|
 Abuja
The contestant confidently announced his choice: "World Capitals for $1,000." The corresponding panel on the game board flipped over revealing the answer: Abuja. The three Jeopardy contestants stared blank-faced at the five-letter word until a buzzer finally indicated their time had expired. September 1999
The teeming port city of Lagos, like Karachi, Rio, Sydney and New York, is a commercial and cultural powerhouse that tended to have an inordinate influence on national affairs while it served as the country's political capital. During a brief interlude of democratically elected civilian leadership from 1979 to 1982, the Nigerian federal government selected a nondescript village known as Abuja, located at the geographical center of Nigeria, to serve as the new capital of sub-Saharan Africa's largest and most diverse country. The original decision to move the capital was made in 1976 by Gen. Martala Mohammed. Situated midway between Nigeria's arid and overwhelmingly Islamic North and its tropical, predominantly Christian South, the rocky, undulating and sparsely populated landscape was almost equally inconvenient to reach for all Nigerians. A team of American architects drew up the plans for the new capital, intentionally following the contours of the land so that Abuja's roads and neighborhoods would be less rectilinear and have more individual character than those of Islamabad or Brasilia. Construction began 18 years ago on a network of boulevards that, although still incomplete, hints at what the architects had in mind. The completion of a presidential villa, government office buildings, the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States and two international five-star hotels fueled Abuja's growth into the 1990s. But it took a team of military rulers--Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and his successor, the late Gen. Sani Abacha--to overcome the bureau-cratic inertia that kept most civil servants in Lagos until the second half of the 1990s. Following Gen. Abacha's death in the spring of 1998 and a smooth 10-month transition to a democratically elected civilian government, Nigeria's executive branch of gov-ernment completed the move to the new capital. It was soon joined by a freshly elected and boisterous 470-member bicameral legislature. Along with the usual complement of parastatal employees, lobbyists, construction workers and services contractors, they helped push the population of Abuja beyond the half-million point. Lively, robust, pulsating, dynamic, exciting and culturally enriching are some of the terms that don't come to mind when one gets to know Abuja. Most people go to Lagos for those qualities. But for all its chaotic growth in recent years, Abuja is more orderly, less congested, less crime-ridden and less polluted than Nigeria's Big Apple. There are few eyesores. Flowering bougainvillea and other exotic trees and shrubs conceal the high walls and razor wire that protect Abuja's many attractive office towers, apartment buildings and villas dotting the rolling landscape. The focal point of the capital remains Aso Rock, a granite monolith that towers over the sparkling green dome of Nigeria's new National Assembly building. As for entertainment, well, most expatriates can name fewer than a dozen restaurants and nightspots. They wax enthusiastic about Abuja's world-class, 18-hole golf course and then extol the virtues of a very costly satellite TV service before running out of things to say. But owing to its central location, Abuja is a convenient jumping-off point for visits to all other parts of Nigeria. A relatively good road system links most of Nigeria's major cities and towns, and most destinations have hotels or guesthouses adequate for the weary traveler. There are countless rewards for the visitor who takes the time to explore Nigeria's varied landscapes that cover an area the size of Texas and New Mexico combined or to become acquainted with the scores of diverse cultures within its population of 120 million. The U.S. Liaison Office in Abuja opened for business in 1993 with a staff of two direct-hire American officers. They converted a modest atrium-style house in a residential neighborhood into an office building. For more than one year, the office labored in the shadow of the U.S. Consulate General in Kaduna, an industrial trade center two hours north. But when the consulate closed its doors after decades of representing American interests in Northern Nigeria, two of its American staff positions and a dozen of its Foreign Service National employees helped swell the ranks of the U.S. Liaison Office. The staff acquired and refurbished an adjacent residence to provide much-needed office space. During the 1998-1999 transition from military to civilian rule, which began with Gen. Abacha's sudden death and ended with the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the U.S. Mission realized that most official business would henceforth be conducted in Abuja, not Lagos. The U.S. Embassy Office in Lagos reassigned its defense attaché and political counselor to Abuja, which was renamed the U.S. Embassy Office in Abuja. Work began in earnest on a third residence, dubbed the Interim Office Building. It will serve as the chancery after the office in Abuja becomes the U.S. Embassy and before a full-fledged chancery building--currently in the planning stages--is finished. Altogether, 54 American direct-hire employees, their dependents and contractors call Abuja home. More than half of them live in a compound of 14 town homes about five miles from the office compound. Most of them find working and living in Abuja to be both challenging and rewarding. Isolation, tropical health hazards, inadequate facilities and a high-profile workload combine to bring out their adaptability and resourcefulness. The Clinton administration's foreign affairs strategy for the year 2000 identifies Nigeria as one of four key countries along with Indonesia, Ukraine and Colombia. The end of military rule, the inauguration of President Obasanjo and the restoration of a democratically elected Senate and House of Representatives have provided Nigeria with what many consider to be its last best chance to achieve greatness. The Abacha regime had consolidated Nigeria's reputation as the world's most corrupt and impoverished oil-exporting country. Even if the new civilian leadership can establish a track record of good governance and responsible management of the economy, a $34 billion debt to foreign lenders severely limits its ability to rehabilitate the country's long-neglected schools, health facilities and security services, at least in the near term. To demonstrate its support for Nigerian efforts to consolidate democracy, three U.S. cabinet officials, including Secretary Albright, myriad sub-cabinet-level assessment teams and an 11-member congressional delegation visited Abuja in 1999. To make these visits trouble free, staff overcame shortages of information management staff, unreliable and expensive international phone service, an aging vehicle fleet and one of the most crowded office environments in the Foreign Service. Leisure time management at post also requires resourcefulness. For the post's 13 elementary-age children, activities at the American International School and a small embassy swimming pool fill their time. An active community liaison office organizes trips and outings during daylight hours when driving is safer than at night. Safety is a major preoccupation of the American community in Abuja since highway accidents occur frequently, power surges often cause household fires and malaria and typhoid are endemic. This rapid growth of America's embassy-in-waiting reflects the growing importance of Nigeria's new capital. The city is already the focal point of diplomatic activity in Africa's most populous nation. It is only a question of time before that five-letter word Abuja trips off the tongues of American game show contestants. |
|
n 1992, Nigeria followed the example of Pakistan,Brazil, Australia and the United States by officially relocating its seat of government to a newly designed capital.
