A new photobook, titled “On the Edges of the City: A Story in Photographs,” has shed light on the lives, history, and struggles of Abuja’s original indigenous people — communities that have been displaced and largely forgotten as the city transformed into Nigeria’s modern capital.
The photobook was curated by Paul Nwulu, the CEO of Tricom Productions and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
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Mr Nwulu, a professor and senior director of Storytelling at the National Geographic Society in the United States, said the idea for the project emerged during MacArthur Foundation’s 35th anniversary.
The Foundation sought a unique storytelling initiative, and we came up with a visual chronicle of the Abuja indigenous people, he said.
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“Over the years, as Abuja has grown into a big city, those communities have been largely displaced, disenfranchised, and marginalised. Nobody knows their story anymore,” Mr Nwulu said.
From December 2024 to March 2025, Tricom Production sent at least 20 photographers to visit various indigenous settlements in and around Abuja, engaging with residents, listening to their stories, and documenting their lives. Over 8,000 images were captured during the four months, but only 250 made it into the final photobook.
The launch also features a public exhibition showcasing some of the selected photographs.
Mr Nwulu recalled that the project was born out of a conversation between him and the Nigerian Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, in Benin City. They discussed the concept of “indigenous communities” in Nigeria and wondered: Does Abuja have original inhabitants?
Many Nigerians view Abuja as a modern, planned city — a place of business opportunities and government activity. But long before it was chosen as the Federal Capital Territory in 1976, the area was home to thriving indigenous communities.
The photobook project documents and showcases the history, culture, and heritage of these communities, starting a visual archive that Mr Nwulu hopes will inspire similar initiatives, including documentaries and films.
The project shows that indigenous inhabitants of Abuja include the Amwamwa, Bassa, Egbira, Gade, Ganagana, and most prominently, the Gbagyi people, often regarded as the traditional owners of Abuja.
According to the book, Gbagyi are predominantly farmers, cultivating yams, maize, rice, millet, cassava, and guinea corn. Men also hunt, while women engage in crafts such as pottery and weaving the traditional tie-and-dye cloth known as Ajeside.
Their communal lifestyle is rooted in patrilineal kinship, with authority vested in the eldest male of an extended family. Homes are typically arranged in circular compounds with shared courtyards, a setup that fosters mutual support and preserves cultural traditions.
Food plays an important role in Gbagyi identity. A traditional meal, Zhepo, made from corn flour and served with garden egg soup, peppers, fish, and locust beans, is a symbol of hospitality.
Since Abuja’s designation as the capital, indigenous communities have faced forced evictions and displacement to make way for urban development. Many have been relocated to informal settlements on the city’s outskirts, sometimes without compensation.
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Citing a report by the Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, the book highlights how these displacements have deepened poverty, homelessness, and insecurity among the original inhabitants.
Mr Nwulu recalls visiting the Gishiri community, where homes had just been demolished to clear land for a new road. “We were able to capture the despair among the residents as they tried to salvage what they could from their belongings.”
Despite their challenges, the book captures that indigenous communities in the FCT sustain themselves through farming, fishing, pottery, weaving, and small-scale trade. Agricultural produce — maize, yams, and vegetables — is often sold in local markets to supplement their income.
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