Nigeria, May 15 -- Contextualising the Abuja Creative Landscape

Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), represents a critical frontier in Nigeria's creative economy. For decades, the city has been dismissed as an "artificially constructed" administrative zone, a perception rooted in its origin as a neutral territory carved out of the North-Central region. This state-led formation necessitated the displacement of indigenous communities into resettlement towns, a historical trauma that left many viewing the FCT as a city without an original cultural core.

However, having lived and worked in Abuja for over ten years, I have observed a profound transformation. The city is no longer a sterile bureaucratic enclave; it has matured into a d...