Lagos Ranks 139 out of 140 most liveable city in the world, worst in Africa.
Do you think this report is true Mr Governor? Does it reflect the real state of things in Lagos?
Your Excellency sir, I usually drive round my state on weekends. I drive through and to places you and some leaders of the state may never visit.
The squalor, proliferation of slums and poverty in most of these areas arrest my consciousness every time.
In many areas , roads have not been motorable for decades. Drainages never existed. Open defacation is common.
In other places it is almost like no government exist, local or state. Houses are built haphazardly some on drainages and parks.
Mr Governor permit me to inform you that our smart city still embrace the nuisances of the NURTW who gallivant the roads like war lords and emperors terrorising commercial drivers and who ever stands in their way.
Your Excellency do you know people still defecate on papers and fling on road sides or in bins.
But really sir, is it that difficult to birth an organised city considering the economic resources and potentials of Lagos?
I mean, like where does all the money go and what are they used for because I think the situation could be much better.
I think as lagosians we should fall flat on our faces to still see thousands of young people some below the age of eight, hawking ‘pure’ water and stuff in traffic, exposed to all the dangers.
I do not think we have much to celebrate when in the 21st century, LASTMA officials still engage in physical altercations to enforce or manage traffic.
Development of a state cannot be restricted to Lekki, Victoria Island or Ikoyi. What happens to Mushin, Egbeda, Ikotun, akowonjo, Orile Agege etc?
The evaluation of these places form the substance of many of these reports on Lagos and its under belly.
Governent presence is near absence in these places. Social amenities are limited. Hundreds of thousands live like they are in the jungle.
Is Lagos that rich yet so poor? What exactly will it take to create an organised society where rules and regulations take precedence?
When will lagos become the most liveable city in Africa if not the entire world?
Boss, Lagos as it is presently, is very far from being a smart city. So much work needs to be done sir.
By the way your Excellency have you read the report?
Sanwo-Olu: looking at me funny.
Here it is Mr Governor. (Handing him the report)
Lagos State has been ranked 139 out of 140 in the list of most liveable cities in the world in the first quarter of 2021. This makes Lagos the second-worst city to live in the world today.
According to the data, Lagos is only next to Damascus, Syria as the worst city to live in the world, and worse than Algiers (Algeria) and Tripoli (Libya).
The data is compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist newspaper.
The data is based on a survey collected between February 22nd to March 21st, 2021, and looked at issues such as border closures, ability to handle health crisis, and roll out of vaccinations. To rank the cities, the report focuses on five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Every city is assigned a rating for relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across the categories.
Auckland, in New Zealand, topped the list of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability rankings, based on the city’s ability to contain the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic faster and thus lift restrictions earlier, unlike others around the world.
In addition, six of the top ten cities in the March 2021 survey are in New Zealand or Australia, where tight border controls have allowed residents to live relatively normal lives.
According to the report, the poorest ranking cities are struggling with growing civil unrest and military conflicts a major reason for being in the top ten.
“These continue to score poorly across the five categories. A consistently low stability score, owing to ongoing civil unrest and military conflicts, is the reason behind most of these cities featuring in the bottom ten. However, conditions have deteriorated even further as a result of Covid-19—particularly for healthcare.”
While most parts of the country are besieged by military activities and civil unrest, Lagos seems to be relatively calmer this year. The last time there was major unrest in Lagos was during the End Sars protest in October.
About the ranking
“The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best and worst living conditions. Assessing liveability has a broad range of uses, from benchmarking perceptions of development levels to assigning a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages. City officials and urban policymakers can use the rankings to benchmark target cities against the top-ranked cities. The ratings can help them to understand the gap between target cities and the best-ranked cities across different categories. This in turn should help to frame policies and target investors.” EIU
I was jolted from sleep by heat. Power had gone. It was then I realised it was just a dream.
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