Exploring Abuja: Food, Friends, Nightlife & First Impressions
Before I returned to Ghana on August 17, 2011, I had never been to any other African country. By 2014, I had been to Nigeria several times but never to Abuja. SHAPE Africa 2014 took me to Nigeria’s capital for the first time. I knew Abuja was a planned and built capital for Africa’s most populous nation, and I was really curious to experience what that looked like, and meant. I didn’t descend on this Federal Capital Territory just for this conference, but also discover it, chill, network, build great memories, etc. The small, chaotic, beautiful moments that still make me smile years later, now. Like I do for most trips to places I have never been, I hit up my friends who are based there or from there. In my email I added, “I am coming to Abuja o! …. We for meet and yarn plenty o!” I stayed with my friend in Wuse 2 Central. Crazily, some bombings had happened in Abuja which had us “at attention!”. But we were put “at ease!”. We marched on to Nigeria’s capital through an Arik Air flight on Saturday, May 3, 2024. Earlier that year, I had also flown to New York using Arik Air. I leveraged that relationship I built with them to help get a more affordable ticket for the Nigeria trip. Seven of us from the Global Shapers Accra Hub made the journey. “#NEPA don carry light for #Abuja airport. Never Expect Power Always. Bot ecome back. Eno take long.” Welcome to Nigeria. Those first 48 hours before any formal programme kicked off were pure Abuja magic mixed with beautiful chaos. I took over six taxis in a single day. I sampled about seven different types of food. I also hung out with some old friends, many of whom I had met during my days in the US. There were a few I had met at WEFAfrica events in previous years, some through Google events in Nigeria and elsewhere, and some in Ghana. I made dozens of new ones. In a tweet I posted, I ended it with “3 points”. There was that moment when a loud blast echoed nearby. Someone casually remarked, “Oh, I heard a blast. Was that a bomb? Yes, it sounds like a bomb. Oh okay, nothing serious.” I tweeted it verbatim because that was Abuja – resilient and full of life even amid uncertainty. One time, I ran out of Naira and a woman simply helped with my taxi fare. Good Samaritan. These are the small gestures that needed to be etched in history through the internet. You know, I love to try the local food wherever I go. And this is an African city in my sub-region which might know my taste buds. We spent an evening in Angel’s house where we had great conversations and great meals. I really like the Chapman drink, which is inherently Nigerian. I had a couple during my Abuja stay. Some friends and I also went to Jevenik in Garki. I even brought back Danbu nama – spicy dried shredded meat that Lady P gave me. Some of the meat I had reminded me of the kilishi that Chioma introduced to me in Accra. I had tried to get waakye in Abuja but to no avail. At 2:34 a.m. one night, wide awake from the adrenaline, I typed: “Past 2:34am in #Abuja, #Nigeria. Life na short. My time for Abuja na shorter. Abuja ooo Abuja! I no fit shout. #234moments.” When I started traveling around the continent thanks to Google, wait, not like researching Africa using Google.com o, but actually physically moving from place to place, I started saying that my time in this African country is short ah! So I had to make the most out of my time there, especially by not sleeping a lot so I could do more. PartyCrew was still part and parcel of my life in 2014. Abuja was going to be full of partying ojah. In Abuja, I felt it was as safe as Accra so we explored properly. I was supposed to attend a much-talked-about Black and White party. It didn’t happen, so we pivoted. We first went to some Caribbean spot. It was cool, but surprisingly there was zero actual Caribbean music playing. I stuck to vodka and cranberry while taking in the vibe. There were plenty more chics around than I expected. I met Amanda, full of energy, and then Carisa – this sharp lady based in Stockholm doing some NGO work. She gave me all sorts of insightful tips on education initiatives across continents, but when I asked for her number… nothing doing. Still, the conversation alone was gold. Later we moved to Candy, and that place had far cooler music: proper Caribbean rhythms mixed with early 2000s Naija classics of which I recognized several songs. #MusicWeDeyFeel. After midnight at the Barcelona Hotel, instead of heading home like most people, a few of us decided the night was still young. The time in Abuja is short ah! We ended up at Sofa Lounge. It had great music, great atmosphere for great vibes, and they were not iffy about the kind of footwear. There, I linked up with this Ego chic, and we vibed plenty jare! The place we went on that Monday night can be “classified” as ”Abonsam Dwam”. It means hell’s fire. It is a place many revellers would not try to go to, but I am not your average party trooper. I dropped 1200 naira there but it was money well spent. More dirty dancing… hehe. I spent a good time dancing with Sharon. Her drink had finished, so I got her another, then helped with fare to get her home safely. I did not follow her home. Many might debate. ““#Abuja & #Lagos, which city has the finer keles?” I do not know enough to give a definite answer, though from what I have heard, Lagos is a better place to party than Abuja, even if it is not Detty December. Abuja did prove to be a well-planned city. Traffic seemed to flow, most of the roads we used were great and things seemed to be in the right places. It seemed a lot of people working in Abuja work for the FCT, or government sector organizations. The folks I met who worked in the government seemed to like and enjoy it, maybe based on the roles they have and how they were compensated. That is also saying something. “Abuja ooo Abuja!” The city has kept calling. I have not been able to visit again. One of these days, hopefully, I will visit again. All in all, Abuja was a blast, not a bomb at all. More than a decade later, I have been introducing some friends to other friends who are based in Abuja. This blog post serves as some memories and I hope you enjoyed me recounting my experiences as you build your own.
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