Nightlife in Abuja’s biggest satellite town

Kubwa is unarguably the biggest satellite town in Nigeria’s Federal Capita; Territory and has continued to grow by the day, with new layouts being developed. Virtually every bank has presence in the area, to the extent that residents of Kubwa who do not have business to do in the city centre could stay for months without leaving the suburban district. 

The sprawling town expectedly boasts of many hotels and hospitality and leisure centres, otherwise called joints, where fun-seekers unwind.  

Daily Sun gathered that some visitors to Abuja, these days, prefer to lodge in hotels in any of the suburban districts like Kubwa, Gwagwalada, Nyanya and Karu or even settlements in neighbouring Nasarawa State, because facilities there are relatively more pocket-friendly.  

The increasing population of Kubwa residents also need relaxation, so nightlife has over the years continued to improve, too. Unlike about 10 years ago, when people living in the area had to travel about 30 kilometres in search of fun in the districts of Garki, Wuse, Maitama and Asokoro, the story is different today. 

Residents of Bwari, Dutse, Zuba, Dei Dei and, sometimes, Gwarimpa these days come to Kubwa to catch fun, particularly during the weekend when many of the lounges become beehives. Some of the notable entertainment spots in Kubwa, mainly lounges, are Sledge, Movida, Mart-View, Soul, Stamford, Macquee and Drake. There are also live band performances at Liberty Hotel, Soul Lounge & Suites as well as Ignobis Hotel, to mention but a few. 

Leading leisure spots 

A visit to Kubwa at the weekend showed that Soul and Movida lounges looked like places hosting religious crusades because of the large number of vehicles and people there.   

Movida, a middle-scale lounge near the popular Yellow Page, known for considerably cheap roasted fish, operates daily but gets busier on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In fact, last Friday at Movida was like one of the monthly last Friday vigils in any of the popular new-generation churches as a large crowd of people danced in the about 100mx50m open space till the wee hours of Saturday as the blast of Nigerian dancehall tunes from the speakers pierced through the night into the innocence of the early morning.  

It was a different ball game in the club, where the DJ capitalised on the ecstatic mood of clubbers to almost bring down the roof with his loudspeakers. Thick smoke emanated from different shisha pipes in the club as many relished the Arabian tobacco that is fast becoming a popular lifestyle in Nigeria.  

General manager of Movida Lounge, Mr. Sunny Onwuazu, told Daily Sun that the place would bubble till about 5am, but the large crowd left the place once it was 4am. It was as if the referee blew the final whistle bringing a match to a close; in their large numbers, the people trooped out of the premises and, as if from nowhere, many motorcycle surfaced to transport them.    

Onwuazu, who disclosed that the lounge was undergoing renovation, said that the whole place would change by May when they would have improved the total standard of the club by installing latest club equipment.  

Not much difference was witnessed at Soul Lounge’s D’Palace Nite Club. The club was virtually empty by 3am as many clubbers went home. 

However, the manager, Mr. Emmanuel Okon Ben, said the club bubbles on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, noting that strippers feature every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday: “It’s very special for guys and ladies. Many people also come because of the strippers that we showcase.”

Clubbers buy N1,500 or N3,000 entry vouchers, which enable them purchase drinks of their choice depending on the day of the week. 

It is also important to mention that Soul Lounge boasts of a big arena where people are treated to entertaining performances by an in-house live band. It recently introduced ‘celebrity day’ which featured Oritse Femi and Solid Star.  

For those looking for where to enjoy live highlife beats in Kubwa, there could try Ignobis Hotel or Liberty Hotel, but they would have a ‘swam of take away ladies’ to contend with. 

Proprietor of Sledge Hotel and Lounge, one of the hottest joints in Kubwa, Mr. Honore Hounkpatin told Daily Sun that cost of running business had been on the rise even as the current economic crunch did not help matter. 

He mentioned prohibitive cost of diesel as the heaviest since constant power was needed to make a relaxation centre comfortable at all times including the clubs. 

By and large, Kubwa is not lagging behind when it comes to happening hangouts in Abuja; and many more are being developed by the day.  

( Daily Sun)