Abuja neighbourhoods that never sleep

The night is to Garba Sammani, a hawker in Abuja, what the day is to people with regular jobs or businesses. On the Ademola Atetokunbo Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, where he sells cigarettes, sweets and even condoms, activities take place 24/7 and he seems to be enjoying it. “At this time, I don’t have to […]

The night is to Garba Sammani, a hawker in Abuja, what the day is to people with regular jobs or businesses. On the Ademola Atetokunbo Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, where he sells cigarettes, sweets and even condoms, activities take place 24/7 and he seems to be enjoying it.

“At this time, I don’t have to be looking over my shoulders every now and then, not knowing when taskforce men will descend on the scene. And I make a lot of money, more than what I used to make when I was hawking in the afternoon,” he said.

As Sammani was speaking with Weekly Trust, people could be seen looking for available spaces to park their vehicles, while others were leaving. It is not easy to determine what people go there to do at that particular time, but there are some eateries, night clubs, superstores, suya joints, and prostitutes all battling for customers.

And as people, mostly fun seekers mill around, shoppers move around with their shopping bags, and in-between these, illicit activities thrive. Night life in this area makes shopping easier for residents returning home after a hard day’s work; shoppers can buy almost everything they want with little or no difficulty and no matter what time of the day.

Moving from the popular Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent to some the Aminu Kano Crescent, the activities seem fairly identical even though they tend to be larger in the case of the former than the latter.

However, one of the significant differences between day time and night activities in Wuse 11 is the absence of heavy commercial activities. Banks and big shopping malls are shut to customers at these hours. Business activities are mostly road sided, with few shops providing the back up.

Food and recharge card vendors, lounges, clubs, eateries and relaxation spots hold sway mostly till the break of dawn.

Ibrahim Sale, a tea vendor, who runs shift with his colleague, said the area is non-stop in terms of commercial activities. “We are two running this business. We change shifts. I am here to run the afternoon shift for one week then my colleague runs the night. We do so through out. When I am done with this shift, we will exchange ahead of next week.

“In fact, the business here moves faster in the night because most of the fast food joints are closed at night, people that ordinarily would enter a fast food joint to eat, do sit and eat noodles here or drink tea with bread or egg, depending on choice. It is a very busy street,” (referring to Ademola Adetokunbo).

He added, “Some people come out from clubs to look for food here, some of our customers are the Commercial Sex Workers who buy noodles, tea, recharge cards and even contraceptives, like condoms.”

He said people do come from other parts of town because they know they are always there to sell, no matter how late into the night.

However, Ibrahim said they feel very safe as there is always police presence (on patrol) around the area, especially at night.

However, not all residents like the night activities in the areas. Abubakar Usman, a resident of Lobito Cresecent, Wuse 11 is one of them.

“I just moved into Wuse 11; I am actually occupying my uncle’s house. Sincerely, the street behind us is too busy for my liking, especially at nights. The discomfort and the security implication is what I am concerned about mostly. With such late night activities, criminals are bound to take advantage to commit their nefarious acts.

“It is a beautiful residential as well as business area in the afternoon, but at night, I don’t cherish living there. In fact, for residents whose homes are directly behind night clubs, the noise and sound of music alone can put you off. Despite my situation, I pity those living very close to night clubs.”

The same 24- hour activities goes on around the popular Gimbiya street in area 11, stretching through to the popular Garki 2 area where night is exactly as day as far as social and commercial activities are concerned. Although Area 11 is more of a residential area with few office spaces, Weekly Trust observes, activities get busier at night.

Markus, 28 who works as bar tender in one of the popular relaxation spot, Ibiza in Area 11, said hotels and relaxation spots abound around the area, thus making way for late night activities.

“In Area 11, fun seekers often get more than they can handle. There, local food vendors, drug peddlers also make brisk business at night. They carry them along side cigarettes, chocolates among other petty wares on trays. The whole area looks busy throughout the day and night, but more in the nights due to the nature of activities there.”

Mr. Caleb Mwanssat however said most of the late night crawlers are not residents of the area.

“They just come over to catch their fun, then go back to their homes and sleep while the residents here struggle to cope with the noisy nights. It is not their fault though. Even some of these girls come out to solicit for men as early as 7pm and this is a time that our children are still awake and could be on errands. God forbid, but this scenario can expose children to some kind of indecent exposures or behaviors.”

For Garki area, places like the popular Lagos Street and other parts of Garki 2 are typical of the ‘all day, all night’ activities. They are very busy neighborhoods regardless of what time of the day it is.

Food sellers, fun seekers, even some vulcanisers as well as some auto mechanics can be found there. Commercial Sex Workers, whose activities are mostly and typically at night, are also not left behind. If a person wants to shop for clothing, no matter the hour, some boutiques still operate that late.

Some residents expressed discomfort with the round- the- clock noise and its psychological implications. Some parents fear that their children are being exposed to so many unwanted behaviors.

Weekly Trust learnt that there used to be such spots and activities in the high brow district of Asokoro but highly connected residents of the area made sure that such activities are it was stopped.