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Abuja

Capital of NigeriaAbuja lies at the geographic midpoint of Nigeria, far inland in its own Federal Capital Territory. The main government buildings stand south of Aso Rock, a huge rock shaped by water erosion.

Why it's the capital

Nigeria's capital used to be Lagos. Because the country has many ethnic and religious groups, leaders wanted a capital in a neutral place close to all regions, so a new city was planned in the centre. It replaced Lagos as the capital on 12 December 1991.

Fun facts

  1. The Presidential Palace is commonly referred to by the name of the rock it stands near: "Aso Rock".
  2. The National Mosque and the National Christian Centre stand opposite each other, on either side of Independence Avenue.
  3. Zuma Rock, a giant 725-metre monolith, rises just north of the city beside the expressway to Kaduna.

Finding it on the globe

Find the Y-shaped spot where the Niger and Benue rivers meet in the middle of Nigeria. Abuja is about 165 km north-east of that meeting point, close to the centre of the country.

Easy to mix up

Many players tap Lagos, Nigeria's most populous city, but Abuja replaced Lagos as the capital in 1991.

Sources: Wikipedia: Abuja, Wikipedia: Lokoja