Brief History of Abuja | Africa hustle

The land now called Abuja was originally the south-western part of the ancient Habe (Hausa) kingdom of Zazzau (Zaria). It was populated for centuries by several semi-independent tribes. The largest of the tribes was Gbagyi (Gwari), followed by the Koro and a few other smaller tribes. In early 1800'′s when Zaria fell to Fulani invaders, Muhammed Makau, fled south with some followers and his brothers- Abu Ja and Kwaka. Abu Ja succeeded Makau in 1825.

The full name of the king was Abubakar, Abu was his nickname. By some accounts his fair complexion earned him the nickname Ja which means red or fair-skinned in Hausa. He became known as Abu-Ja meaning Abu the red or Abubakar the fair one. Other sources say that the Ja is a shortened form of lshaku Jatau, his father's name. King Abubakar founded the kingdom of Abuja.

Abuja became a major commercial center where goods were exchanged by long distance traders. The inhabitants successfully fought off the Fulani and were not conquered as the neighbouring lands were. In 1902, Abuja was occupied by the British colonial army The British reorganized the kingdoms and called them emirates which means kingdoms in Arabic. Until 1975, it remained a quiet part of Nigeria.

The problems associated with the capital being in Lagos, led to the search for a new capital that year. Abuja was selected from amongst 33 possible sites. The criteria used for selection included: centrality, health, climate, land availability and use, water supply, multi-access possibilities, security, existence of resources, drainage, good soil, physical planning convenience and ethnic accord.