Lagos

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Lagos (pron. IPA: [ˈleɪgɒs], or IPA: [ˈlɑːgəʊs] overseas) is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria and the second most populous in Africa after Cairo. The Lagos metropolitan area is currently the 17th most populated in the world. The former capital of Nigeria, Lagos is a huge metropolis which originated on islands such as Lagos Island, separated by creeks, fringing the south-west of Lagos Lagoon near its mouth, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From this beginning Lagos has spread on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation including Ikeja and Agege now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Lagos

Lagos was a Yoruba settlement of Awori people called Eko. The name is thought to stem from either Eko (Edo: "cassava farm") or Eko ("war camp"). The present day Lagos state has a higher percent of Awori, who migrated to the area from Isheri along the Ogun river. Throughout history, it was home to a number of warring tribes who had settled in the area. During its early history, it also saw periods of rule by the Kingdom of Benin.^[3]

Portuguese explorer Ruy de Sequeira visited the area in 1472, naming the area around the city Lago de Curamo; indeed the present name is Portuguese for "lakes". An alternate explanation is that Lagos was named for Lagos, Portugal - a maritime town which at the time was the main centre of the Portuguese expeditions down the African coast and whose own name is derived from the Celtic word Lacobriga.

From 1704-1851 it served as a major centre of the slave trade, ruled over by Yoruba kings called the Oba of Lagos (see linked article for list of past rulers). In 1841 Oba Akitoye ascended to the throne of Lagos and tried to ban slave trading. Lagos merchants, most notably Madam Tinubu, resisted the ban, deposed the king and installed his brother Oba Kosoko.

While exiled, Oba Akitoye met with the British, who had banned slave trading in 1807, and got their support to regain his throne. In 1851 he was reinstalled as the Oba of Lagos

Lagos was formally annexed as a British colony in 1861. This had the dual effect of crushing the slave trade and establishing British control over palm and other trades.^[4]

The remainder of modern-day Nigeria was seized in 1886, and when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established in 1914, Lagos was declared its capital. It continued to be the capital when Nigeria gained its independence from Britain in 1960.

Lagos experienced rapid growth throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a result of Nigeria's economic boom prior to the Biafran War.

Lagos was the capital of Nigeria from 1914 up to 1991; it was stripped of this title when the Federal Capital Territory was established at the purpose-built city of Abuja. However, most government functions (especially the head of state) stayed in Lagos for a time since Abuja was still under construction. In 1991, the head of state and other government functions finally moved to the newly built capital in a mass exodus.

[edit] Geography

The city of Lagos lies in south-western Nigeria, on the Atlantic coast in the Gulf of Guinea, west of the Niger River delta. On this stretch of the high-rainfall West African coast, rivers flowing to the sea form swampy lagoons like Lagos Lagooon behind long coastal sand spits or sand bars. Some rivers, like Badagry Creek flow parallel to the coast for some distance before finding an exit through the sand bars to the sea.

The three major urban islands of Lagos in Lagos Lagoon are Lagos Island, Ikoyi, and Victoria. These islands are separated from the mainland by the main channel draining the lagoon into the Atlantic, which forms Lagos Harbour. The islands are separated from each other by creeks of varying sizes and are connected to Lagos Island by bridges. However the smaller sections of some creeks have been built over or filled in so today in places there is scarcely any water dividing Lagos Island and Ikoyi, or Victoria Island and Maroko.

Lagos Island contains many of the largest markets in Lagos, its central business district, the central mosque, and the Oba's palace. Though largely derelict, Tinubu Square on Lagos Island is a site of historical importance; it was here that the Amalgamation ceremony that unified the North and South took place in 1914.

Ikoyi island, situated to the east of Lagos Island, houses the headquarters of the state government and all other government buildings. It also has many hotels, and one of Africa's largest golf courses. Originally a middle class neighborhood, in recent years, it has become a fashionable enclave for the upper middle class to the upper class.

Victoria Island, situated to the south of Lagos Island, is a wealthy enclave that is one of the homes to Nigeria's ruling elite and the country's wealthiest. It also boasts a sizable commercial district including Nigeria's largest malls and movie theatres. A large proportion of Nigeria's expatriate community lives there.

Across the main channel of the lagoon from Lagos Island, a smaller island called Iddo Island lay close to the mainland, and today is connected to the mainland like a peninsula. Three large bridges join Lagos Island to the mainland: Eko Bridge and Carter Bridge which start from Iddo Island, and the Third Mainland Bridge which by-passes congested mainland suburbs through the lagoon.

Most of the population of Lagos lives on the mainland, which is the site of industry and known for its music and nightlife, notably in areas around Yaba and Surulere, as well as the National Stadium Complex. Mainland districts include Ebute-Meta, Surulere, Yaba (Lagos) (site of the University of Lagos), Mushin, Maryland, Isolo, Ikotun and Ikeja, site of Murtala Mohammed International Airport and the capital of Lagos State.

[edit] Climate

The climate in Lagos is similar to that of the rest of southern Nigeria. There are two rainy seasons, with the heaviest rains falling from April to July and a weaker rainy season in October and November. There is a brief relatively dry spell in August and September and a longer dry season from December to March. Monthly rainfall between May and July averages over 300 mm (12 in), while in August and September it is down to 75 mm (3 inches) and in January as low as 35 mm (1.5 inches). The main dry season is accompanied by harmattan winds from the Sahara Desert, which between December and early February can be quite strong. The average temperature in January is 27°C (79°F) and for July it is 25°C (77°F). On average the hottest month is March; with a mean temperature of 29°C (84°F); while July is the coolest month.^[5]

[edit] Administration and demographics

In terms of administration, Lagos is not a municipality and has therefore no overall city administration. The Municipality of Lagos, which covered Lagos Island, Ikoyi and Victoria Island as well as some mainland territory, was managed by the Lagos City Council (LCC), but it was disbanded in 1976 and divided into several Local Government Areas (most notably Lagos Island LGA, Lagos Mainland LGA and Eti-Osa LGA). The mainland beyond the Municipality of Lagos, on the other hand, comprised several separate towns and settlements such as Mushin, Ikeja and Agege. In the wake of the 1970s Nigerian oil boom, Lagos experienced a population explosion, untamed economic growth, and unmitigated rural migration. This caused the outlying towns and settlements to develop rapidly, thus forming the greater Lagos metropolis seen today. The history of Lagos is still evidenced in the layout of the LGAs which display the unique identities of the cultures that established them.

Today, the word Lagos most often refers to the urban area, called "Metropolitan Lagos" in Nigeria, which includes both the islands of the former Municipality of Lagos and the mainland suburbs. All of these are part of Lagos State, which now comprises 20 LGAs. Lagos State is responsible for utilities including roads and transportation, power, water, health, and education.

Metropolitan Lagos (a statistical division, and not an administrative unit) extends over 16 of the 20 LGAs of Lagos State, and contains 88% of the population of Lagos State, and includes semi-rural areas.

Lagos was the former capital city of Nigeria but it has since been replaced by Abuja. Abuja officially gained its status as the capital of Nigeria on 12 December 1991, although the decision to move the federal capital had been made in decree no. 6 of 1976.

Lagos is also home to the High Court of the Lagos State Judiciary, housed in an old colonial building on Lagos Island.^[6]

Lagos has received increasing attention in urban studies since the 1990s due to architect Rem Koolhaas's study of the city. His observations have challenged previous assertions in the urban theory literature about what it means to be a modern city. He has shown that even though Lagos lacks infrastructure and origanization, it functions. Recently Koolhaas became interested in the infrastructure built during the 1970s in Lagos, designed and executed by Yugoslav engineering company Energoprojekt, based in Belgrade.

[edit] Census data for Lagos

According to the preliminary results of the 2006 census, there are 7,937,932 inhabitants in Metropolitan Lagos.^[2] This figure is lower than what had been anticipated and has created a controversy in Nigeria. Lagos Island, the central LGA and historic center of Metropolitan Lagos, had a population of 209,437 as of the 2006 Census.^[7]

Authorities of Lagos State have attacked the results of the 2006 census, accusing the National Population Commission of having undercounted the population of Lagos State, an accusation strongly denied by the National Population Commission.^[8]

Lagos is, by most estimates, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Lagos State is currently experiencing a population increase of about 275,000 persons per annum. In 1999 the United Nations predicted that the city's metropolitan area, which had only about 290,000 inhabitants in 1950, would exceed 20 million by 2010 and thus become one of the ten most populated cities in the world. This projection, however, must now be revised downward due to the results of the 2006 census.

Many residents of Lagos are poor, and live in slums such as Ajegunle, whilst there are districts of considerable wealth. Lagos, like many cities in developing countries, has attracted many young entrepreneurs and families seeking a better life from throughout Nigeria and beyond.

[edit] Economy

Lagos is Nigeria's most prosperous city, and much of the nation's wealth and economic activity are concentrated there. The commercial, financial and business centre of Lagos and of Nigeria remains the business district of Lagos Island, where most of the country's largest banks and financial institutions are located. More than half of Nigeria's industrial capacity is located in Lagos's mainland suburbs, particularly in the Ikeja industrial estate. A wide range of manufactured goods are produced in the city, including machinery, motor vehicles, electronic equipment, chemicals, beer, processed food, and textiles.

The standard of living is higher in Lagos than in the rest of Nigeria, as residents have considerably greater access to food, fresh water, indoor plumbing, and modern technology.

The Port of Lagos is Nigeria's leading port and one of the largest in Africa. It is administered by the Nigerian Port Authority and is split into three main sections: Lagos port, in the main channel next to Lagos Island, no longer used much, Apapa Port (site of the container terminal) and Tin Can Port, both located in Badagry Creek which flows into the Lagos Harbour from the west.^[9] The port features a railhead.

The port handles imports of consumer goods, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, machinery, and industrial raw materials. Its export trade in timber and agricultural products such as cacao and groundnuts has declined since the early 1970s, although the port has seen growing amounts of crude oil exported, with export figures rising between 1997 and 2000.^[10] Oil and petroleum products provide 20% of GDP and 95% of foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria as a whole.^[11]

[edit] Advance fee fraud

Many 419 advance fee fraud scams are based in Lagos, in suburbs such as Festac Town where scammers use shady cybercafes to implement scams, or Oluwole, where businesses produce false documents used in scams. The EFCC was established in 2003 to eradicate scamming networks. For more information and references, see the article on advance fee fraud.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Highways

Lagos lacks surburban trains and has few modern ferry services despite the prevalence of waterways, and in most cases road transport is the only practical way around. Highways are congested, due in part to the geography of the city, as well as to its explosive population growth.

Local roads in Lagos vary in quality from well-maintained to pothole-ridden. The freeways were built by German contractors, most notably Julius Berger PLC. Most freeways are currently in working shape. The Lagos–Ibadan expressway and the Lagos–Abeokuta expressway are the major arterial routes in the north of the city and serve as inter-state highways to Oyo State and Ogun State respectively. To the west the congested Badagry Expressway serves outlying suburbs such as Festac Town as well as being an international highway (see below).

The more recently-built Lagos-Epe Expressway has opened up the coast south of Lagos Lagoon and east of the city, leading to the development of resorts and outlying suburbs aimed at the wealthy Lagosians of Victoria Island and Ikoyi.

The city is teeming with poor quality transit buses known to locals as Danfos or Molues, as well as taxi motorcycles known as Okadas. Both means of transport are a vital part of Lagos's transport network, however, they are notorious for vehicle collisions and robberies. Many foreign tourists avoid travelling on them.

An agency called Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA)^[12] has been created to solve the transportation problems in Lagos. The Bus Rapid Transit scheme is set to be launched on the 4th of June 2006.^[13]

[edit] International Highways

Lagos's importance as a commercial centre and port and its strategic location have led to it being the end-point of three Trans-African Highway routes using Nigeria's national roads:

• The Trans-West African Coastal Highway leaves the city as the Badagry Expressway to Benin and beyond as far as Dakar and Nouakchott.
• The Trans-Sahara Highway to Algiers, which is close to completion, leaves the city as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
• The Lagos-Mombasa Highway also leaves the city as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, but the route is far from completion between East Africa and West Africa and is practical only for travel to neighbouring Cameroon.

[edit] Railways

Apapa in Lagos is the railhead for the Western line to Ibadan, Kaduna and Kano. It is in need of rehabilitation and does not provide surburban services.

[edit] Ferries

Lagos State Ferry Services Corporation runs a few regular routes, for example between Lagos Island and the mainland, but lacks modern ferries and wharves. Private boats run irregular passenger services on the lagoon and on some creeks.

[edit] Airports

Murtala Mohammed International Airport (IATA: LOS, ICAO: DNMM) serves the city from Ikeja Lagos.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Music & film industry

Lagos is famous throughout West Africa for its music scene. Lagos has given birth to a variety of styles such as highlife, juju, fuji, and Afrobeat. In recent years Lagos has been the fore-runner with African styled hip-hop branded Afrohip-hop.

Lagos is the centre of the Nigerian film industry, often referred to as 'Nollywood.' Many of the large film producers have offices in Surulere, Lagos, though there aren't any film studios in Nollywood, in the Hollywood sense. Idumota market on Lagos Island is the primary distribution center. Also many films are shot in the Festac area of Lagos.

The cinemas are gradually losing their supporters to the movie industry. Yoruba films happen to be the most watched in the cinemas, followed by Indian films. Films are not premiered for a long period of time in the western sense, especially with Yoruba films. The English spoken films move directly from the studios to the market.

Iganmu is home to the National Arts Theater — the primary center for the performing arts in Nigeria.

[edit] Football

As in the rest of Nigeria, football is the most popular sport. The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and the Lagos State Football Association (LAFA) are both based in Lagos. A prominent Lagos soccer club Julius Berger FC, members of the Nigerian Premier League; the team, owned by the Julius Berger Construction Company, is set to close in 2008, potentially leaving Lagos without a Premier League team.^[14]

The Nigerian national football team, also known as the Super Eagles, used to play almost all of their home games in Lagos; however, games are now split between the Surelere Stadium in Lagos and the larger, newer Abuja Stadium in Abuja, which may soon become the default home of the Super Eagles.^[15][16]

[edit] Tourism

Lagos is not a common tourist destination, as it is primarily business-oriented and has a reputation for chaos, danger and squalor amongst some foreigners and while such aspects exist in some places, others appreciate the culture and vitality which can be found in the city as well. Visitors are also drawn to the musical heritage of Lagos, such as fuji music (see Music section).^[17] There are tourist attractions such as the Oba's Palace and modern facilities for international visitors exist particularly in Ikoyi and Victoria Island, such as the Falomo Shopping Centre.

[edit] Education

The Lagos State Government operates state schools.^[18] The education system is the 6-3-3-4 system, which is practised throughout the country (as well as by many other ECOWAS states). The levels are Primary, Junior Secondary School (JSS), Senior Secondary School (SSS), and university. All children are offered basic education, with special focus on the first six years. Their family's finances may determine how far the child will go after this.

Lagos is home to four universities, several colleges and other centres of learning. Some examples are listed below.

[edit] Colleges

• Igbobi College established by the Methodist and Anglican Churches in 1932, in Yaba.

• King's College, Lagos was founded in 1909 on Lagos Island.

• Methodist Boy's High School, Lagos was founded in 1878 on Lagos Island.

• Nigerian Institute of Medical Research

• Queen's College, Lagos was founded in 1927 while Nigeria was still a British colony. It is a government-owned girl's secondary (high) school with boarding facilities located in the Yaba suburb.

• The Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls founded in 1991, is a six year prepatory college to help girls to prepare for Univerisity. It is located in Ikeja.

[edit] Universities

• Cetep University
• Lagos City University (formerly Yaba College of Technology) was the first higher institution in the country, and one of the first in Africa.
• The Pan-African University is primarily a business school, offering two MBA programs. Founded in 1996 and awarded University status in 2002, it consists of the Lagos Business School and of Enterprise Development Services. The University also places some emphasis on the study of art.

• The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a large institution dating from 1962, with over 35,000 students. It comprises 13 faculties, run by over 4,000 staff.^[19]