Development: Meeting future demands — A cue from Lagos
Had an interaction with a bike man on my way home from work. Interestingly he is from Cross-River State (my state). I immediately told him i do not speak Efik. He has been in Lagos since 2008 riding a motor bike. “there are no high paying jobs in Cross river State, he says” He earns more here as a bike rider but the only thing he misses is his peace of mind(will discuss this in my next article) and cheap food. Lots of Nigerians like him find their way here in search of jobs that would pay well other than farming.
Lagos, the congested commercial capital of Nigeria, has a population variously estimated at anything from 12m-21m. But what is certain is that people are moving to the megacity and its smaller counterparts across the continent in droves. Cities are constantly growing. Populations boom, almost overnight, giving rise to questions about sustainability, livability and strains on resources and space. Some urban populations like Lagos, spread to the outskirts; others remain closely concentrated around the urban center. Hence the need for states to rethink development (infra, housing, services, education and resource refining). Cross River State as an example could be the next urbanized state — has the potential to be a hub for exports via its God-given coastal areas, as a free trade zone and its connectivity to eastern and northern states positions itself as another model for a smart city.
High-density urban living
When talking about the rise of urban centers, many factors are discussed such as infrastructure, modernization, sustainability and public services. And many urban planners see size and density of the population as determinants of the economic rise or fall of a city.
Population density refers to the number of inhabitants per square kilometer (or mile) in a given area. Yet for some, densely populated cities bring to mind unmanageable crowds and unlivable conditions. Urbanization, industrialization and development are concomitant processes. It is difficult to say what exactly is the cause of what. The changes are symmetrical. Agricultural society was a village society. Industrialization caused urbanization by providing better opportunities to work in the urban areas. Better employment situation, better wages and charm of city life attracted people to move towards cities and urbanization started. But that’s not the case here.
Nigeria’s GDP growth has not translated into improved living standards and a vehicle for moving more people above the empowerment line. Look at Indonesia in that chart. Human capacity was not utilized to attain faster GDP growth because the economy wasn’t structurally transformed. Instead demographic dividends has placed an upward pressure on poverty rates. The large population has forced a huge migration to the city, but these migrants often face unemployment and underemployment or find jobs in the
informal sector, where wages are low (but compared to other states it could be higher). This in return is pushing up urban poverty.
From the figure above, there a reason why the more developed countries which started urbanizing in 19th century are the most urbanized countries today. Less developed countries most of which were colonies of the developed countries did not experience industrialization and remained less urbanized. It was only in the second half of the twentieth century when they became independent that they started building infrastructure, providing various services to their population and developing industry. Then they started urbanizing.
At this present day less developed countries are more urbanized that the developed countries were at the same level of development and the quality of urban population in the developing countries is very poor.
In the less developed States/Cities/Countries below are a few facets to the challenges
• Overpopulation in the urban areas, particularly large cities, leading to creation of slums
• The condition of urban poor and structural and cultural marginalization: income, savings and loan pattern organization, health, education, welfare and self reliance among the poor
• Consequences of urban poverty for women and family
This migration pull also pushes the cost of living. States across the country would need to work with the private sector on housing, agricultural processing units and storages, transportation infra such as roads, rails and ports not neglecting profitable routes/zones that will make businesses efficient. Looking at how America was transformed, Railroads did several things for the country, including making it smaller in a way, creating a national market, driving the economy and opening vast expanses of America that were not easily reached before the railroad. The railroad was a key piece of moving America forward and making the country grow.
The 1850s were a time of westward expansion for the United States. The California Gold Rush and Nevada Silver Rush pushed U.S. Americans further and further west with the promise of economic prosperity.
The sentiment of Lagos been one of the most populous and urbanized does not work — its infrastructure does not meet the demands of the growing population. Although the informal sector might argue on productivity in Lagos higher than other states which is true. Hence my stance on Federal Government working with States and private sector as well on projects that would drive migration from densely populated cities to developing ones creating a semi-even distribution of the population.
