Hello, I'm staff member Mmi (^^)

Do you know what the capital of Nigeria is?

The first city that comes to mind is Lagos, but the capital is Abuja, located in the center of Nigeria.
Lagos was previously the capital, but in 1976 it was decided to move the capital, and in 1991 Abuja became the official capital.

In fact, there was a Japanese person who participated as an architect in this national project to relocate Nigeria's capital.
He prepared the Abuja Urban Centre Master Plan.

The Japanese architect in question was the late Kenzo Tange, who is famous for designing the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building!

Many people know of Tange, one of Japan's leading postwar architects, and a world-famous figure, but few know that he was active in Nigeria. (I didn't know this until recently.)

It's surprising that Japanese people were involved in a national project in Africa so long ago.

When you visit Abuja, Nigeria, you may find the city even more fascinating if you also consider that it was designed by a Japanese person (*^^*)

The actual "Nigeria New Capital City Plan" has been published on Tange's official website, so if you're interested, it might be interesting to compare it on Google Earth!

▶Nigeria New Capital City Master Plan