Lagos State Government (2009) Ministry of Information and Strategy

In terms of the urban economy, Lagos megacity is a city of many firsts in the country. In 2006 it contributed 30 percent to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), consumed more than 60 percent of its energy, collected 65 percent of its value added tax (VAT), and accounted for 90 percent of its foreign trade and 70 percent of its industrial investments. The three lighter terminals and two major ports at Apapa and Tin Can Island in Lagos, today generate 50 percent of Nigeria’s port revenue. Most corporates including manufacturing, financial, and insurance organisations in the country have their headquarters in Lagos. The city has since become an economic hub for West Africa, with the Murtala Mohammed International airport generating 82 percent of international airline departures within West Africa and between the sub-region and Europe.

Lagos is also a major educational centre, playing host to several tertiary institutions including the University of Lagos, the Lagos State University, the National Open University, the Pan-African University, the Yaba College of Technology, and the Lagos State Polytechnic. The city also hosts the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, the Lagos State College of Health Technology, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and its College of Medicine. In addition, there are other private polytechnics including the Grace City Polytechnic and Wolex Polytechnic.

The employment generated by the various socio-economic activities in the city continues to attract both domestic and international migrants to Lagos. Despite the movement of the federal capital to Abuja in 1986, metropolitan Lagos has remained the country’s dominant economic, social, and financial centre as well as the hub of national and international communications.

The peculiar location of Lagos is restrictive for accommodating its rapid and explosive population growth. This calls for efficient utilisation and management of the land and resources of the megacity.

Due to the pressure on land, extensive reclamation works have occurred in several parts of the metropolis including Victoria Island, Lekki Peninsula, Amuwo Odofin New Town, and Festac. Private developers who wish to own landed property in the metropolis have encroached on areas zoned as a conservation belt in the Lagos master plan. The continued pressure on land has resulted largely in unmet demand for efficient urban infrastructural services such as water, electricity, access roads, public transport, sanitation, drainage, and waste disposal.

The historical development of Lagos shows a city challenged by rapid urbanisation. Unfortunately both governance and policy responses have not been able to cope, plan, and manage the city’s development to achieve sustainable urbanisation. Due to a lack of strategic planning of urbanisation, the city has had to contend with the following challenges:

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  Uncontrolled urban sprawl
  
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  Inadequate and overburdened infrastructure
  
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  Housing shortage
  
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  Social and economic exclusion
  
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  Large informal sector arising from large in-migration of unskilled labour
  
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  High youth unemployment
  
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  Inadequate funding of urban development
  
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  Rising crime and insecurity
  
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  Cumbersome judicial processes resulting in delays and denial of justice
  
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  Low-level preparedness for disaster management.
  

Transforming Lagos