THINGS REMEMBERED: The Changing Phase Of Abuja

There’s a version of Abuja that lives on. It’s not on Google Maps anymore.

It’s in Abuja where the Area 1 Junction felt like the centre of the universe. “I’m in Abuja” meant Wuse, Garki, Asokoro, or Maitama. If you said Kubwa or Nyanya, people would ask, “Is that still Abuja?” Now the city has stretched to Lugbe, Kuje, Bwari, and Airport Road. But that small, quiet Abuja is what one remembers most.

The City We Knew

Then, Abuja was slow. You could drive from Wuse to Garki in 15 minutes. AYA Roundabout was the meeting point for everything. “Meet me at AYA” meant something. Millennium Park was new, and Jabi Lake was just water and ducks, no mall.

Now, the Central Business District (CBD) has glass towers. Wuse 2 is full of coffee shops and lounges. We have Bolt, Uber, and food delivery at midnight. The city is bigger and better in many ways, but it’s louder too.

The Sounds And Smells

Then, it was D’banj and 2Face on taxi radios. NTA News at 9 pm. Hawkers were shouting “pure water” at traffic lights. Keke engines in Area 1.

Now it’s Spotify, podcasts and construction. But one still remembers rain on dry tar during harmattan, and suya smoke at night. ₦100 got you three sticks with extra yaji (local spice). Gala and La Casera after school tasted like freedom.

The People And The Feeling

The old Abuja felt like a big village. Corps members, civil servants and early settlers built the vibe. Weekends were house parties and roadside gigs.

Today’s Abuja is faster. Tech guys, creators, students and new families who never knew the old city. It’s ambitious.

The view of the city at night from the hills, the first time one crossed the bridge to Jabi and thought it was the biggest mall in the world, the feeling that we were building the city together.

Abuja now has more roads, more lights and more options. I’m grateful. But memory keeps the old version alive in stories, in songs, in the way we say “back then in Abuja” and smile.

Because some versions of homes you don’t outgrow. You just remember them.