What is going to be the future of Lagos Island in the next two decades? Would that region of our nation still be livable then? We have a triple whammy here: flooding, rising sea level from climate change, and coastal erosion. In this piece, John Mc Keown examines the state of things, chronicling the challenges and how unregulated development is causing massive paralysis in Africa’s largest city.
When Lord Lugard ruled over Lagos, they allowed the waters to have their ways and Lagos was beautiful. But today, even Marina Street is not spared. The greatest pain for me remains the filling station in Marina, close to CMS. We have built everything and everywhere, distorting the natural course of things, instead of finding ways to expand to other cities through concerted policies.
This is the fact: Lagos is a center of excellence. A city where a boy comes with a nylon bag, and returns to Christmas with a Mercedes Benz in years. This is the line: “We need to look at our infrastructures — drainage systems, waste management facilities, housing structures … How resilient and adaptive are these infrastructures in the face of environmental pressures and when put side-by-side with our growing population?”
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But that will NOT save Lagos in 2050. What will save Lagos is opening other cities in Nigeria. Yes, a seaport in Ibom (Akwa Ibom), expanding River Niger in Onitsha, modernizing Kano airport, etc and using policies to decongest Lagos so that men and women will not be filling lagoons and oceans with sand to find space for buildings!
John wants Nigeria to save Lagos because his daughter, Niamh Sopuruchi Adeze, needs a livable city to grow. Nice photo
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