What if the life we dream about beyond this world could inspire the world we build in this one?
For Abduljaleel Sodangi, that idea is more than philosophy. It is a way of approaching life, creativity, and the spaces he is helping bring into existence.
“I want to build the paradise in the world that I seek in my afterlife,” he says. “Worst case scenario, you leave the world better than you met it. Best case scenario, you’re remembered for thousands of years.”
That perspective offers a glimpse into how Abduljaleel sees creativity. He is a designer and experience artist, but his curiosity stretches far beyond the boundaries of any single discipline.
He describes himself as someone fascinated by the depth of the universe and comfortable with knowing that he can never know everything. Instead of seeing that as a limitation, he sees it as an invitation to keep learning.
The more he discovers, the more interesting life becomes.
That curiosity has also meant making plenty of mistakes along the way.
For Abduljaleel, challenges are inevitable, and his response to them often depends on how familiar he is with what he is facing. When something is completely unfamiliar, the initial shock can take time to settle. But eventually, he finds himself searching for the silver lining.
And when he finds it, the weight of the experience changes.
It becomes less about what went wrong and more about what the experience revealed.
That philosophy feeds directly into his vision for the future.
Abduljaleel sees his creative journey moving towards the curation of cultural experiences and the development of products that help people become better versions of themselves. In a society he describes as filled with “untapped potential,” he believes the greatest resource is not necessarily what exists around us.
It is the people.
That belief is already taking physical form.
Among the projects currently taking shape is a resort in Uyo, being developed alongside designers, developers, and artisans. While details remain under wraps, Abduljaleel sees the project as more than a destination. He envisions it as a potential attraction for the city and a reflection of Akwa Ibom’s ambition to strengthen its position as a tourism destination within Africa and, eventually, the wider world.
In Abuja, another vision is taking shape: a rooftop destination in the heart of the city, designed to contribute to Abuja’s growing tourism and lifestyle ecosystem.
Both projects point towards the same philosophy — that spaces can do more than occupy land. They can shape how people experience a city, how they connect with one another, and how they see the possibilities around them.
Perhaps what makes Abduljaleel’s approach particularly interesting is the relationship between his technical discipline and his understanding of experience.
He is still, in his own words, a student of experience art — and much of that learning comes from his wife, a performer since childhood. Where his instinct may naturally lean towards structure, design, and technical execution, she has helped him appreciate the softer, more instinctive art of living.
It is a balance between designing the experience and actually experiencing life.
And that balance appears central to what Abduljaleel is building.
He is not simply interested in creating beautiful spaces or interesting products. He is interested in creating things that leave people changed in some way — experiences that add something to the world and, ideally, to the people who encounter them.
For someone so fascinated by the universe, perhaps the ambition is appropriately expansive.
To keep learning.
To keep building.
To create experiences that make life richer.
And ultimately, to leave the world with more possibility than he found in it.
Because for Abduljaleel Sodangi, creativity is not only about what you can make.
It is about the world you choose to leave behind.
Proudly powered by Creative Culture