A city in Transition: Vision, Reform, and Growth in Lagos, Nigeria. Michael O. Filani Cities Alliance United Cities and Local Governments Acknowledgements

Lagos, the seat of Nigeria’s government until 1986, remains the nation’s commercial capital, contributing more to its economic growth than any other city. With an estimated population of 10.58 million, the city is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria, the second-most populous and the fastest-growing city after Cairo in Africa, and currently ranked the seventh-fastest-growing city in the world (World Urbanization: Prospects: The 2009 Revision).

Until recently, Lagos, was generally written about in a negative light and frequently satirised. Cyprian Ekwensi, a Nigerian author, is known for his many stories that repeatedly portray negative images of Lagos. Among the themes covered in his writings are sex, violence, brutality, and intrigue, portraying the lives of prostitutes, shady politicians, businessmen, police officers, reporters, thieves, and others who witness the seamy side of life. The recommendation to relocate the political capital of the country from Lagos to Abuja in 1976 by the Justice Akinola Aguda Panel was due to the city’s traffic congestion, which could be attributed to bad governance that manifested in the little attention paid to land-use planning and the provisioning of essential infrastructure to accommodate the city’s exploding population growth. Today, things are different, and the city’s governance has begun to improve. There is now overwhelming evidence that new and positive happenings have begun to change this megacity, clearly manifest in beautiful new parks and improved functionality.

“The changing face of Lagos,” as it is often called today, is due to a series of transformations occasioned by a new style of governance adopted in 1999. Since Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999, the successive governors of Lagos state have initiated and pursued a knowledge-based approach (KBA) to critical reforms, which has manifested in a governance style that promotes sustainable development. These reforms span resource mobilisation, local government reform, innovative and inclusive approaches to spatial planning principles, transportation, provision of educational facilities and health-care delivery, and partnership building in development. Due to the remarkable achievements of these reforms, Lagos, once infamous for gross urban decay in the period 1967–1999, is being transformed into a modern, beautiful, functional 21^st-century city.

This report is the tangible output of a critical review of Lagos’s governance over the past decade and half, and the positive, visible transformations that have resulted. The review was undertaken to identify relevant innovations and their impacts on urban planning and management, provision of physical infrastructure, resource mobilisation, crime prevention, employment generation and taxation, and the various critical lessons learned in implementing reforms.

Lagos is a classic example of a modern city, having metamorphosed from a small farming and fishing village in the fifteenth century to a bourgeoning world-class megacity in 2010, when its population rose to over 10 million people. It has had to contend with the many challenges of rapid urbanisation for decades, but not until the past decade has its governance improved to the point that positive changes are now evident.

That such a populous, sprawling city could be transformed in the span of a few years might seem incredible, but the changes are real. The remaining chapters of this report seek to explore their causes and the potential of their sustainability.

CHAPTER TWO

Background to Lagos Megacity

Location and Natural Environment of Lagos

Lagos megacity, located on longitude 3⁰24’E and latitude 6⁰27’N, is naturally endowed and occupies two main islands separated by creeks in the Atlantic Ocean (figure 2.1). The land area of the city region is 154,540 hectares, with 209 square kilometres (km²) (19.6 percent) covered by water and mangrove swamps (figure 2.1).

Lagos experiences tropical rainforest climate typical of southern Nigeria, with two main seasons. The first is the wet season extending from April to November, with a brief dry spell in August. The second is the dry season from December to March, which is accompanied by harmattan dry winds that can be very severe between December and early February. The city experiences high temperatures and humidity throughout the year. The hottest month is March with a mean temperature of 29⁰ C and the coolest month is July.