Gwarinpa has played a very important part in my life. In fact, looking back now, I realise it has been foundational to almost everything about my time in Abuja, without me even noticing it.
When we first moved to Abuja, we stayed in Wuse 2, which was central. But almost all my friends were in Gwarinpa. Back then, traveling down Ahmadu Bello Way through developing areas like Mabushi and Kado felt like a real distance, even though traffic wasn't nearly what it is today. We were constantly making that drive to pick up friends, head into town to have fun, and drop them back off. That was our routine.
Then I left for university. By the time I returned, my parents had sold the Wuse 2 house and moved to a better, smaller place in Gwarinpa that fit their new stage of life with the kids gone. I didn't stay long enough then to experience it fully as home, but with family and friends all centered there, Gwarinpa remained the anchor.
When I finally returned about two years ago, Gwarinpa had transformed into a whole metro city of its own, with Karsana growing right alongside it. Karsana fascinates me most because of where it is heading, and I want to document that rapid transformation as it happens.
Living right in between them in Gwarinpa Extension, I can go months without heading into town because everything I need is right here. That is what brought me to The Gwarinpa Insider—a way to document a place that has shaped my past and is now building its future.
Thank you for reading. God bless, and I'll see you next Friday.
Gwarinpa has played a very important part in my life. In fact, when I look back now, I realise that Gwarinpa has been foundational to almost everything about my life in Abuja, without me even noticing it.
When we first moved to Abuja with my parents, we stayed in Wuse 2. So yes, Wuse 2 was central. But almost all my friends were in Gwarinpa. Back then, Wuse 2 to Gwarinpa felt like a distance. You had that long Ahmadu Bello Way, passing through Mabushi, Kado and all those areas that were still developing, before eventually getting into Gwarinpa. Today, that journey can feel like something else entirely, but back then, traffic wasn't nearly what it is in Abuja today, so it wasn't such a big deal.
We were always coming to Gwarinpa to visit friends.
Then we got into university, and because our driver would come to pick us up, we'd pick up all our friends along the way and drop them off. We were always going to Gwarinpa. It became that place where our friends lived. We'd go to Gwarinpa to pick them up, then come back into town to have fun. That was the routine.
Then I left for university.
By the time I came back, my dad had sold the house in Wuse 2 and moved to Gwarinpa. A smaller, better house, a better building for where they were at that point. The kids were no longer at home, so it made sense for them. And honestly, it was amazing.
I came back a couple of times after they got the house in Gwarinpa. I never really stayed long enough to experience Gwarinpa as home, but the friends who were already there meant I was still constantly moving around the place.
So Gwarinpa was a thing.
Family was there. Friends were there. Everyone seemed to be there.
Then I finally came back about two years ago.
And Gwarinpa had changed.
It wasn't just Gwarinpa anymore. It had become a whole metro city of its own. And then there was Karsana, which was growing right alongside it.
Karsana is actually one of the places that fascinates me the most right now. Whenever I move around Karsana, I am amazed, not necessarily by what it is today, but by what I can see it becoming.
And that is what is driving my interest.
I want to document it while it is happening.
That is why I am writing this newsletter.
I live just in between Gwarinpa and Karsana, in the area we usually call Gwarinpa Extension. And every day, I am in Gwarinpa.
I could stay for months without going into town and still feel completely satisfied because everything I need is here.
Everything is here.
And that is what brings me to The Gwarinpa Insider.
This is my way of documenting a place that has been part of my life for so long, and also documenting what it is becoming.
Thank you for reading.
God bless, and I'll see you next Friday.