Africa's cities are growing — and changing — rapidly. Without appropriate planning, they will become increasingly chaotic, inefficient and unsustainable. In many countries, planning legislation dates back to the colonial era. It is ill-equipped to deal with contemporary urban problems. A shortage of urban planning and management professionals trained to respond to urban complexity with progressive pro-poor approaches exacerbates urban dysfunction. Read more.
According to a survey carried out by the Financial Derivatives Company, prices in Lagos are rising largely due to increases in food prices, because of food supply shortfalls. Increases in prices make access to food difficult for the urban poor, so to tackle the problem of food supply, organizations are working to find out where the shortages come from, and who suffers from these breaks in food supply. To this end, Food Bank Nigeria organizes research to better understand its environment and to help design effective food relief program in various Nigerian cities, including Lagos. Read more or join the discussion.
Lagos is a small city with a large population. Lagos state is the smallest in Nigeria, with an area of 356,861 hectares of which 75,755 hectares are wetlands, yet it has over 5 percent of the national population, making it the most populous state in the nation. The city is overpopulated and still growing, with a growth rate of 8 percent. This issue causes congestion problems in various facets of city life, but most especially in transportation. Lagos is notorious for its heavy traffic, where a 30-minute journey can take two hours on a weekday. Congestion saps the population of energy, contributes to an unhealthy lifestyle, and generally makes for a less productive workforce. Read more or join the discussion.
I recently stumbled on this series of interviews I did more than five years ago (April 2008) in Lagos, commissioned for a book project that ended up taking a different shape. I interviewed about seven "Lagosians" - a high school student, a boat pilot, an ex-private security guard and musicstar-wannabe, an itinerant shoe-cleaner, a policeman, a street trader, and a white collar worker. Read more.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) represents one of the many successful south-south relationships in Africa, connecting 15 West African states to promote mobility, trade, and ultimately faster growth of the member nations. These states include Nigeria and Ivory Coast, who have taken their relationships one step further to establish stronger trade ties. Read more or join the discussion.
Education is crucial for a bright future, but Nigeria's 2012 unemployment rate was 23.9 percent. The nation's youth, both educated and uneducated, bears the brunt of this unemployment. The problem arises not only from lack of employment opportunities, but from lack of employable skills. Lagos has a large population but has managed to have the lowest level of unemployment amongst the nations' 36 states: 7.6 percent. The city has been able to attain this rate due to a number reasons: some might attribute it to the wealth of companies and industries, which is plausible. However, the contributions of the government and civil society organisations that encourage youth entrepreneurship, job placements, skills acquisition, and education schemes are an important piece of the puzzle. Read more or join the discussion.
The toxicity situation in Accra is very challenging to the health conditions of the city's population. This situation is aggravated by a high level of urbanization and a large population. These chemical substances are from e-waste, industrial and institutional waste-discharge, environmental, and household waste. In the landfills where electronic waste substances are disposed of, children, mostly boys between the ages of 11 and 18, take apart the electronic scrap, often with their bare hands, burn it, and sometime use stones to extract metal parts. These activities pose many health challenges to these young children and others in the city, like itchy eyes, lung and kidney infections. Read more or join the discussion.
"Welcome to Lagos" was a 2010 BBC documentary that introduced Vocal Slender to the world. Vocal – real name Eric Obuh – was a rapper by night, and a scavenger, at the Olusosun rubbish dump, by day. Read more.
Labour laws exist to protect employees from exploitation by their employers. Unfortunately, many companies and factories in Lagos do not adhere to these laws, leading to overworked, underpaid workers who perform in hostile, unhealthy, and dangerous work environments. In one recent case in Lagos, an employee lost his life while on duty in a Chinese-owned nylon manufacturing company with over 500 factory employees. This incident set off a series of worker protests against labour violations and unjust employment conduct. Read more or join the discussion.
The Makoko riverfront is an informal residential area that is Lagos' largest and most visible slum. It is located right beside the busiest highway in the state, which is the most used route to link the mainland to Lagos Island. Makoko village is mostly made up of fishermen and their families, and it is here that the famous floating school is being built. This informal community has been a bone of contention for the state government for three main reasons: it is unsanctioned, shanties have expanding beyond the established boundary, and some of the erected shanties are dangerously close to electric lines and poles. Read more or join the discussion.