I bring to you another suburb, Gishiri. Okay, I hear someone
say…what a name? It sounds funny or so not tush, right? #lol. Okay, so that’s one
thing with Abuja surburbian names… so not urban #lool. One would expect that fro an area so close to town, in fact one which shares boundary with one of the high brow
areas (Maitama), there would be just a slight variation from the norm.
Gishiri is a densely populated settlement situated opposite Maitama
(Ministers Hill Axis). Its very close to Maitama Extension, just approximately
5mins drive to the heart of the city. It has only one central access road, just
opposite Nicon Junction (by the pedestrian bride) which residents also call
Gishiri Junction. I got to know about Gishiri suburb in 2014 from a former colleague
of mine, when I was looking for a shop for my business. He told me residential
and commercial accommodation were relatively cheap and that he was paying just
N50, 000.00 annually for his self-contained apartment…I was so amazed and sought to find out for my self.
The suburb is what I can describe as a settlement. It’s visibly
unplanned and a true example of what one could call a shanty. Buildings are scattered round everywhere with no visible plan. Majority of the resident of
this area are young men and women. It has a very active night life, in fact
life begins at night in Gishiri because during the day, a greater percentage of
residents go out to work and return in the evening. If you drive into Gishiri
at midnight, you will be greeted with loud sound of music blasting from
different corners of the area, especially a night bar/club called “LAS VEGAS”. Las
Vegas is the “Transcorp Hilton” of the area, meant for the “big boys and girls”
#lool. It has a bar, game/gamble spot, restaurant, barbing saloon, palm wine
joint, wine shop, confectionery corner, and general goods shop.
Residents enjoy a relatively steady power supply, even more
than most areas in the metropolis. Basic commodities are also very affordable at
the little market. I once bought the big lap of goat meat for just N1, 000. You
needed to see the giant lap (no exaggeration) for such ridiculously cheap price.
#lol. Most residences of Maitama Extension
come here to buy food stuff.
Gishiri has few suburbian facilities. It has a Police
Post right at the heart of the suburb, a public primary school, few private
nursery/primary schools, churches, mosques, orphanage homes, medical laboratory
centre, etc. There are also very good beauty shops and huge presence of
artisans and thriving entrepreneurs doing their very best to proffer solution
to every need. So even if you cannot live here, you can at least do business
here. A little night market is also gradually gaining momentum at the entrance
to the suburb and items sold here are relatively cheap. The roads are not so
good but motorable.
There’s however, incidences of petty crime within the suburbs
like fights, burglary, petty theft, but the police are doing a good job in
putting these issue under check though. It is not a quiet place and I do not
recommend the area for a young couple in need of a place to settle down a raise
a family. Young (single) professionals who are just starting out and trying to
find their feet can cope in this area. A lot of corper members stay here because
the accommodation is quite affordable.
A major selling point of this suburb is its proximity to the
city centre. You can easily find you way to any part of Abuja from this axis
and transportation within is also cheap. You can find you way into Gishiri via
bike/okada or keke napep for just N50.
No comments:
Post a Comment