As Nigerian cities swell with millions of new residents, the challenge is clear: can the country's urban centres become hubs of opportunities and prosperity, or will they succumb to the same slums and squalor that plague other developing countries?
Nigeria's major cities are dotted with sprawling slums, many of which have defied actions by the government. There are varying estimates of the percentage of Nigerian urban dwellers who live in slums. These range from 50.2 per cent by the UN-Habitat, to figures as high as 69 per cent and 75 per cent by other agencies. This poses a challenge to our policymakers and urban planners as the country looks to move into the future like other nations.
Solving Nigeria's slum problem, as in other places, calls for a creative approach to an inevitable urban surge. It involves adjusting the boundaries of urban centres to integrate the outlining communities into the cities with minimal disruption of the original functions of the cities.
Slums are the dwelling places of the urban poor, whose ranks, ironically, have kept swelling up over the years as individuals are drawn to the allure of the cities. Slum dwellers, like poor people everywhere, have no choice, no voice, and no power. Their ranks swell over time because of a negative agglomeration process where the poor congregate in a location and that process reinforces the characteristic features of the poor.
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The key features of slums are the lack of basic amenities to support human life, including clean water, sanitation facilities, healthcare. They are also characterised by overcrowding and environmental degradation, among others. Therefore, a major step in avoiding a rise in the slums as the country urbanises must involve policies targeted at reducing the surge in urban poverty.
Some of Nigeria's cities with significant slums include Port Harcourt, Lagos, with such slums as Ajegunle, Ijora Badya, and Makoko. Even Nigeria's capital city, Abuja, has the challenge of slums such as in Mpape. With a projected increase in the rate of urbanisation in Nigeria as in other countries, there is a challenge of how the country can manage the rate of rise in the number of its population living in the cities without the unintended consequences.
Urbanisation brings with it the need for the provision of more and better services such as transportation, affordable housing, waste management, and improved health services in the city. These call for government policies tailored to create sustainable cities that meet the needs of the new generation. The private sector also has its role to play through investments.
Tackling the spread of slums begins with an appraisal of the causes of these appendages to the cities, the needs of the slum dwellers and determining the best ways to address them. The origin and sustenance slums are the consequences of unplanned, uncoordinated urbanisation programmes of the past, and lack of opportunities in most of adjoining communities. The slums are overcrowded because of the dearth of appropriate houses for the large numbers of people living there. This leads to negative impacts on the environment, often leading to recurring poor health of residents, crime, and other vices.
The negative agglomeration process that sustains urban poverty is sustained by lack of jobs, which creates a high degree of dependency among the urban poor. An unemployed and unskilled relative arrives in town and joins a family in the slums thus exacerbating the poor condition of the family. With the poor sustaining the poor, the condition worsens and breads more poverty. Even the environment is not spared because the increased activities of the rising population puts additional pressure on the inadequate facilities.
The fundamental approach to addressing urbanisation without raising the number of slum dwellers is to take care of the job and housing needs of the dwellers. This comes under a bigger programme of urban renewal or upgrade, which comes in different forms. Urban renewal could lead to the residents being moved from their locations, although this approach is often met with resistance by the affected residents. The challenge that governments face here is how to minimise the disruptive impact of this exercise
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Therefore, job creation in the cities of the future must be a top priority for governments. They can foster economic growth in urban areas through initiatives like agricultural-based industries, entrepreneurship programmes, and vocational training. This can help reduce poverty and inequality, which are drivers of slum formation.
Governments must sustain ongoing slum regeneration plans. Lagos State has excelled in this regard. Slum regeneration involves implementing programmes that focus on improving living conditions, providing access to basic services, and enhancing economic opportunities for residents of these communities.
