Page 69 - The World About Us

Lagoonside
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What is life like for those living in the world’s slums?

Housing is one of the greatest and
most pressing issues facing Lagos. The
city is expanding faster than homes can
be built. For the majority of the poor
this means that they will have to live in
one of Lagos' many slums, along with
two thirds of the popula on of Lagos.
Makoko is perhaps Lagos' most
famous slum. Straddling the edge of
Lagos Lagoon's eastern shore, in full
view of the Third Mainland Bridge.
Makoko consists of six 'villages'
called Oko Agbon, Adogbo, Migbewhe,
Yanshiwhe, Sogunro and Apollo. The
first four make up 'Makoko on Water'
while the last two hug the shoreline. fig.191 Makoko: embarrassing slum or the Venice of Africa?
Oko Agbon, Adogbo, Migbewhe authori es. The very visible nature of gangs of machete-wielding men and
and Yanshiwhe are floa ng villages. the se lement, whether to middle class armed police.
Here the houses are built on s lts sunk commuters or foreign visitors, as they
into the bed of the lagoon or they are sit in the traffic jams on the Third Targeted buildings were set on fire
built upon reclaimed land, Lagos-style. Mainland Bridge, means that the city and s lt dwellings pulled down. As
Cages of wood and plas c dug into the authori es have long been planning to residents tried to protect their homes,
lagoon are filled with rubbish diverted remove what they see as the eyesore shots were fired by police. One man
from the local dump. This is mixed with of Makoko. was killed and 3,000 residents lost
sawdust collected from the mber their homes.
yards along the shore at Ebute Me a. Makoko residents have had several The death, and the resistance of the
This mixture is then finally covered with confronta ons with the authori es, residents, forced a halt to the demoli-
a layer of sand, dredged by hand by including with officers from the ‘Kick ons. A local NGO, Urban Spaces
divers, deep on the bed of the lagoon. Against Indiscipline’ environmental Innova on, began work with local
police force. In 2005, three days of residents to develop a regenera on
forced evic ons and demoli ons le plan for Makoko. The plan, a ‘commu-
3,000 people homeless as well as nity-led and people-centred develop-
destroying two churches, a mosque and ment model’ was submi ed to the state
a medical centre. The evic ons were planning authori es in January 2014.
condemned by local human rights
groups and Amnesty Interna onal. Residents of Makoko s ll live in
fear of future evic ons. However, they
In 2012, residents of Makoko were are also hoping for the chance to take
issued with no ce to quit orders from control, in a posi ve way, of the
the authori es. Five days later the se lement that has been called the
demoli on crews arrived, protected by
fig.192 Ge ng around Makoko. 'Venice of Africa.'
The popula on of Makoko is fig.193 Educa ng Makoko: school by the water.
unclear, but es mates range from
50,000 to 300,000. Founded as a fishing
village in the 19th Century, todays
Makoko residents are a lively mix of
long-standing fishing families and new
arrivals from the countryside. Yoruba
acts as the lingua franca but you are
likely to hear French or English spoken
as well as any number of local Nigerian
languages.
The people of Makoko have a very
uneasy rela onship with the village

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Cities have distinct challenges and ways of life, influenced by its people and culture.
Many factors contribute to a country’s economic development.The majority of the world’s population now live in urban areas.y factors contribute to a country’s economic development.
Man