Abuja is a lie!

Nigeria is regarded by many of her citizens as a jungle; a nation that lacks basic infrastructure, social security and amenities. This stance can hardly be opposed when you look at the deplorable conditions of major cities in Nigeria. From Lagos to Port Harcourt, Kano to Enugu; Ibadan to Owerri, Kaduna to Calabar and many other cities in the country, you find an association of bad roads, dilapidated hospitals and schools, rickety buildings, cruel means of transportation, hyper inflation, weak security systems among others.



But haven't you ever wondered why many foreigners visit Nigeria and go all out heaping songs of praise on the country and how beautiful she is? Perhaps yes. I for one am one those who are severely angered by the deceit Nigeria serves her visitors. I look at Nigeria and I just picture a sepulchre well decorated and painted in rainbow on the outside. Nigeria is a slum, many think so and so do I. But where then does the beauty seen by these foreigners stem from?

Before you continue reading, you may want to pause a while and revert to the first paragraph where I mentioned some major cities in Nigeria. Isn't there a major omission? I guess you may have just noticed the absence of Abuja, the country's capital city on that list. Well, if cities could be arrested, I would have called for the arrest of Abuja for gross falsification. If you've ever been to Nigeria's capital city, I bet you'd agree no less.

As the first main assess point to the country, the Nigerian government in its smartness and I dare say mischief, have succeeded in deceiving a bulk of her visitors by building heaven in the mouth of hell. Some years ago, I was privileged to visit Abuja and honestly I was wowed by what I saw; in fact, I easily could have told anyone I had travelled to the United States for vacation. The decency and organization of the city is next to none. Bad roads are an illusion, houses are multi-billion naira mansions; security is top gear, social amenities at it's peak. Just a trip to Abuja and you feel you're at heaven's reception. But hey! Take an hour drive off the city and you feel like you were caught up in a dream of heaven.

Some years  ago, the then governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi was greeted by a praise singer in Abuja and guess what his response was? "Abuja is a lie!" But who will agree any less really? With the sloppy nature of the real Nigeria and the mass majority of her citizens struggling to survive, who then will see truth in Abuja? There's certainly no truth in that entity called Abuja. Abuja is a dream. She is gross deceit; a breathe of heaven in hell........ Abuja is a lie!

©2015 CHIDUBEM N.J