Check out what Nigerian writer Stanley Nwabia wrote in reply to the aforementioned article:
The real question is, can a city ever be termed as being 'completed' or 'finished'? Talk less of a 35 year old Abuja built from scratch by Nigerians-a city without any colonial heritage unlike the coastal, unplanned and exploitative West African cities that the British left behind as at independence.
Alex Preston
Abuja built on 'stolen' land?
Are the Gwaris not Nigerians, located and residing in the hinterland of Nigeria? Surely there may still be issues but to the best of my knowledge majority of the original settlers of Abuja were compensated and resettled.
In spite of all this, the Gwaris (as Nigerians) still have unlimited access to Abuja city and have not being discriminated against or treated to any form of APARTHEID unlike what the BBC's home country did to indigenes of her conquered territories.
As for the BBC going further to paint Abuja (and Nigerians) in a derogatory manner, I'd like to know what their motives are. Is the BBC trying to instigate the Gwaris against the Nigerian government?
Like we don't already have enough problems with Boko Haram, Niger-Delta Militants…and ASUU.
Nigeria should in fact be commended for being one of the first black African countries to build a modern landlocked city from scratch. If it's that easy to build a new African city take a trip to Yamoussoukro, the imaginary capital of Ivory Coast, conceived almost same period as Abuja.
Abuja is not yet heaven; it is in fact a massive construction site with scary infrastructural challenges caused by population explosion. But unlike the lies told by BBC's Alex Preston, Abuja does have many MANY finished inhabited world-class structures…with many more nearing completion.
This piece does not in anyway exonerate Nigeria's past or present crop of leaders for their failings in many areas of Nigerian socio-economic life. Truth be told, most of Nigeria's leadership since independence (especially military rulers) have behaved like chronic idiots over the years. But in fairness to them, they created Abuja and put it on the map as one of Africa's fastest growing international cities.
The only 'idiot' I'm concerned about today is BBC's Alex Preston. My opinion of him is that of a typical western journalist keen on impressing an ignorant western audience with perverted and biased news reports from 'the Dark continent'.
Abuja remains a work in progress; SHE'S JUST 35 YEARS OLD for crying out loud.
How old is BBC's London?
Even the Sheikdom of DUBAI was formally established in 1833.
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