{"id":2818,"date":"2022-01-28T05:49:50","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T05:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2818"},"modified":"2022-01-28T05:49:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T05:49:50","slug":"nigerias-lagos-witnessing-rapid-urban-development-locals-wary-over-dip-in-standards-of-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2818","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s Lagos Witnessing Rapid Urban Development; Locals Wary Over Dip In Standards Of Living"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/span>\u00a0Onome Amawhe<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

LAGOS, Nigeria \u2014\u00a0Lagos, one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing cities, is undergoing a dramatic urban makeover.<\/p>\n

Despite the city\u2019s reputation as one of the world\u2019s poster children for urban problems, there is a persistent desire to position Lagos as a smart megacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransformation is a long-term endeavor for a megacity the scale of Lagos,\u201d Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the reason why the city\u2019s urbanization needs clear and consistent leadership, continual reform and innovation, significant interaction with the city\u2019s private and corporate citizens, and massive investments.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a dash to revitalize Lagos, waterfront slums are being cleared, and luxury apartment towers are popping up. The construction of\u00a0Eko Atlantic City<\/a>, a wholly new urban zone built on ground reclaimed from the sea and\u00a0protected by an 8.5-kilometer sea wall<\/a>, is particularly noteworthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe development was conceived as a way to recapture all the land lost to coastal erosion during the previous 100 years, provide long-term protection, and eventually become a business hub for West Africa and Africa,\u201d\u00a0Ronald Chagoury Jr<\/a>, Vice Chairman, Eko Atlantic, told local media in 2018.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0PropertyPro.ng<\/a>, Nigeria\u2019s leading real estate property center platform, Eko Atlantic City is expected to create 250,000 new jobs and alleviate a housing shortfall caused by the city\u2019s growing population.<\/p>\n

\u201cEko Atlantic is not a solution for Lagos residents,\u201d\u00a0Olajumoke Juliet Idowu<\/a>\u00a0told Zenger. \u201cIt is rather a future haven for the ultra-rich, where they may live in a climate-change-free environment. As a result, they forget about those in need.<\/p>\n

According to Chagoury Jr, it\u2019s a reputation they\u2019ve been working to dispel. \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed that this would be a city for the middle class and that it will continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to estimates<\/a>, \u201cmiddle-to-high-income\u201d accommodation can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $40,000 per year.<\/p>\n

Estate Intel<\/a>, a Lagos-based real estate market research and data company, once noted that developers or agents aim for the highest possible price with a negotiation window, arguing that \u201csuch requirements result in a greater than normal disparity between asking and achievable prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florence Oluwawumi<\/a>\u00a0is a Lagos resident who herself has borne the brunt of high rent. She said: \u201cMany landlords in the city find it difficult to accept monthly rentals because of their significant financial obligations. While others are just taking advantage of the growing demand for housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emmaneddie Emmaneddie<\/a>, an estate agent, told Zenger that \u201chigh-income professionals can easily afford the premium-priced apartments. It is the new employees and mid-level employees that are priced out of the Lagos Island, where multinationals and digital start-ups are situated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s enhanced infrastructure, economy, and security are just a few of many dramatic developments ushering in a new era of prosperity. And although the state still faces numerous obstacles, it is critical to recognize progress so that it can be closely guarded and built upon,\u201d says Governor Sanwo-Olu.<\/p>\n

Fidelis Akpom, a resident in the city\u2019s mainland, believes that the mega projects in Lagos are a nightmare for the city\u2019s rapidly increasing working class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey aren\u2019t the type of urban planning required to address a growing population problem. The city hasn\u2019t created the infrastructure to match many of the city\u2019s growing demands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Chimgozirim Nwokoma, a Lagos-based IT expert, believes it is past the time to diversify and bring growth to Nigeria\u2019s other regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe magnitude of Lagos State\u2019s population is one of the key causes behind the state\u2019s massive infrastructure challenge. However, if citizens have equivalent possibilities, they are unlikely to migrate to large cities like Lagos,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In December 2019, The Lagos state government unveiled the\u00a0Lagos Innovation Master Plan,<\/a>\u00a0a four-planked special purpose vehicle to tackle the state\u2019s socioeconomic difficulties using creative and smart techniques.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Plan will deploy a technological mix to solve problems in the state,\u201d\u00a0Gbenga Omotosho,<\/a>\u00a0Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, told Zenger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ultimate objective is to foster a problem-solving culture and make Lagos a 21st Century Economy. Once concluded in 2030, high-speed internet will be delivered to homes, workplaces, and schools via fiber-optic infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Governor Sanwo-Olu says he believes his administration has the expertise. \u201cWhat we need to do is provide direction to ensure that it happens. And it\u2019s what we\u2019ve been doing: providing the vision to make it happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are diligent in the plans and policies we implement to ensure that both the public and private sectors can meet the specified goals or objectives for the city\u2019s development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLagos is Nigeria\u2019s top economic performer, and Africa\u2019s fifth-largest economy, with significant growth over the last ten years,\u201d Yemi Cardoso, co-chairman of the Lagos Economic Summit Group, told Zenger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will become increasingly easy to fulfill the stated objectives meant to build the city now that the government is diligent about the plans and policies it\u2019s putting in place to ensure that both the public and private sectors thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the massive potentials propelling Lagos\u2019 industrialization In the east of the city is two Free Trade Zones: the\u00a0Lagos Free Trade Zone<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Lekki Free Trade Zone<\/a>, both located in the city\u2019s Lekki Metropolis. Lekki Free Trade Zone is part of a significant new deep-sea project called the Lekki port. It is scheduled to open in 2022.<\/p>\n

Lagos Free Trade Zone (LFZ)<\/a>\u00a0is a private sector initiative built and administered by the Tolaram Group of Singapore. Already,\u00a0<\/a>16 companies have spent more than $150 million<\/a>\u00a0in the zone, resulting in the creation of nearly 1,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lagos Free Trade Zone\u2019s mission is to do business in a sustainable and ecologically responsible manner for the benefit of both Nigeria and its stakeholders,\u201d Dinesh Rathi, CEO of the\u00a0Tolaram Group<\/a>, told Zenger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe LFZ covers more than 350 hectares of land and is strategically located to service the entire country as well as the West African area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The adjacent Lekki Free Trade Zone is a mixed-development free zone that functions as a town with residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational facilities and is modeled after Chinese free zones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lekki Free Trade Zone was established as a spur for the development of Lagos\u2019 eastern region,\u201d Yonghua Ding, Managing Director of the Lekki Free Zone Development Company, told Zenger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe LFZ is also expected to provide three levels of benefits: first, creating jobs, second, generating technological know-how, and third, triggering raw material production.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lekki Free Trade Zone also houses the\u00a0Dangote integrated refinery<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0described as the world\u2019s largest refinery of its kind,<\/a>\u00a0petrochemical, and fertilizer complex. With an estimated capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, the refinery is said to have already gulped\u00a0at least $12 billion to build<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During a world press conference in Lagos, the President\/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, stated that the refinery is a lifetime project. He said that he is backing it up with his whole resources to ensure it is completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am giving it my all because I am aware that many people, usually governments, have attempted to deliver on refineries in the past. They weren\u2019t able to. So, we\u2019re investing our own money and effort to ensure that it is delivered because once it takes off, the capacity built will be very useful for the new Petroleum Industry Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Zenger News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Onome Amawhe LAGOS, Nigeria \u2014\u00a0Lagos, one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing cities, is undergoing a dramatic urban makeover. Despite<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-express","category-zenger-zone"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2818"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2820,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions\/2820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}