In the 1970s, the Nigerian government decided to build a new capital in the centre of the country. This plan was meant to give Nigeria a new start in a place where there was no corruption. Construction of the capital began in the 1980s, but work went very slowly because money from oil had declined dramatically.

The city grew very slowly. The government moved to Abuja even more slowly. Officials didn’t want to leave lively Lagos, West Africa’s largest city. Abuja is 500 kilometres northeast of Lagos.