Case Study
Lagos, Nigeria
Nigerias Lagos is the second largest city in
Africa3, and the fastest growing Megacity in the
world. Its current population figure stands at
20 million and is expected to hit the 25million
mark by 2015. However, its rabid urbanisation
followed by an unplanned urban expansion as
well as the historical trajectory facing the city the
last decades, result in the formation of a chaotic
laboratory of urban/socioeconomic form which is
yet far from the model of a balanced and effective
polycentric development.
Figures1
Area (mq) 1,341.7
Population (million) 17,552,942
Density (sq mi) 13,000
Number of districts 16 Local Government Areas
Extra figures2
Population growth 6% per annum
Projected Population by 2025 25 million
Lagos States revenues
that is internally generated: over 70%
Nigerias skilled labour force 45%
Case Study cont'd
Lagos, Nigeria
Contrasting developments
With a population density varying from 4000 to 20.000
(people per sq km), Lagos is an urban agglomeration
composed by local and disconnected fragments,
which fail to interact in a reciprocal way and highly
depend on each areas eco-social profiles. The highest
densities are found in the mainlands low-income areas
(i.e. Shomolu23), in the tip of Lagos Island (Ikoyi) and
on Victoria Island4. Business districts with luxurious
high-glass towers as well as upper-class, spacious and
green housing estates occupy a lower percentage of
the metropolitan area; these scattered urban pockets
accommodate local elites and multinational companies
and act as the citys global nodes.
Thus, Lagos spatial structure hosts phenomena which
often hold a dualistic character: On one hand the
emerging wealth and increasing migration generate
new socio-spatial mixtures and on the other, the latter
encounter with a well established structure rooted
in kinship, ethnic homogeneity and communal land
tenure, rather than merely in economic segregation.
Informal growing
As a result of the above processes, citizens
participation is limited at specific levels and certainly
does not constitute an active part for the development
of a cohesive urban strategy. Moreover, the role of urban
professionals in Lagos remains marginal, while national
policies are focused on enhancing the citys global
profile, failing to incorporate everyday practices and the
life of the urban majority - which remains invisible on
paper5. The effects of this failure give rise to privately
organised initiatives and grassroots organisations,
dealing with community engagement, deteriorating
infrastructure, unemployment and environmental
problems. Given the fact that a 68% of the working
population in Lagos is accommodated by the informal
sector6 and urban growth is spread through informal
settlements, the potential of this hidden illegality may
be the solution to an effective polycentric evolution.
However, the dynamics of informality have recently
begun to be recognised by central governance
which organises ways of negotiation with local
governments on the provision of an inclusive living
environment, bottom-up approaches and participatory
governance. According to Babatunde Fashola7, these
Case Study cont'd
Lagos, Nigeria
should integrate small-scale solutions to large-scale
developmental imperatives, as education and skill
development centres, expansion of small businesses,
redistribution of facilities in the emerging new
centres and elimination of the mismatch between
population and infrastructure. Generally, the main
sectors to be addressed the following years by
the central government are: public transport and
healthcare provision, waste and water management,
unemployment and migration, security and
environmental mitigation and adaptation. Nevertheless,
the above initiatives are still in an experimental state
regarding the enhancement of local communities
capacities as well as the strengthening of participatory
governance and social sustainability.
Given that by the end of the twentieth century the
worlds 20 most populous cities have switched from
a Euro-American focus to a developing world bias
within only 20 years8, CITIES suggests that Lagos
Megacity is a unique case study. Lagos urbanisation
is a consequence of its economic potential. Nigeria is
blessed with vast human and natural resources: large
and fairly good agricultural land, extensive forests,
excellent fisheries, and a large labour force of about 150
million9. However, juxtaposed against the potentials
for economic growth and sustainable development
are deteriorating socio-economic conditions. The
State of Lagos claims that will continue to uphold its
cherished values of working for the common good
and collaborating with the Federal Government and
the private sector in mobilizing resources for the
management of its megacity challenges10. Yet, it must
be noted that this should be matched with substantial
discharge of social responsibility and political and
economic decentralisation, at an urban as much as at
a regional and international scale, in order to sustain a
long-term, urban development.
More info
1 After Cairo [Source: Wikipedia: Av. online at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos]
2 www.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos]
3 http://www.lagosstateppp.gov.ng/about_lagos_state_ppp/about_
lagos_overview.asp
4 The city of Lagos is a part of the Lagos State. In terms of
administration, Lagos is not a municipality and has therefore
no overall city administration. The Municipality of Lagos, which
covered Lagos Island, Ikoyi and Victoria Island as well as some
mainland territory, was managed by the Lagos City Council
(LCC), but it was disbanded in 1976 and divided into several
Local Government Areas (most notably Lagos Island LGA, Lagos
Mainland LGA and Eti-Osa LGA). The mainland beyond the
Municipality of Lagos, on the other hand, comprised several
separate towns and settlements such as Mushin, Ikeja and Agege.
[Source: Wikipedia: Av. online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos
& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos_State].
5 (Agbola 1997; Peil 1991). / (Makinde 2002; Uduku 1994; Peil 1991).
6 
7 Babatunde Fashola is the youngest Governor of Lagos State in the
History of Nigeria and a lawyer by profession. [Source: LSE Cities
public lecture: Lagos: Confronting Change in a Global Megacity,
by Babatunde Fashola, on Friday 19 November 2010, LSE Hong
Kong Theatre, Clement House, London-UK]
8 Adetokunbo, Oluwole - Ilesanmi (2010), Urban sustainability in
the context of Lagos mega-city, in Journal of Geography and
Regional Planning, Vol. 3(10), pp. 240-252, Av. online at http://www.
academicjournals.org/JGRP
9 Olokesusi, Femi (2011), LAGOS: THE CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES OF AN EMERGENT AFRICAN MEGA CITY,
Paper Presented at the NISER Seminar Series on 5 July, 2011, Av
online at http://niseronline.org/downloads/July2011NRSSpaper.pdf
10 Bamidele, Opeyemi (2008), Need for more Federal Government
Presence in State Capital : A case study of Lagos Megacity
Development, Av online: http://www.anan-ikeja-ng.org/The%20
Lagos%20Megacity.pdf