Is Lagos world’s 3rd worst city?•ACN, PDP, others disagree over EIU rating

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Written by Soji Ajibola, Lagos Friday, 24 August 2012

altThe Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) liveability survey for August 2012 rated Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, as the world’s third worst city. Soji Ajibola writes on the controversy which the rating has generated between the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

IF we are so rich, why are we so poor?’ is a question asked in the most recent issue of Africa in Fact, a publication of the South Africa-based Good Governance Africa (GGA). Lagos, Nigeria, is one of Africa’s most populous cities with great economic potential, but ironically and arguably one of the most challenged developmentally. With an estimated population of over 20 million people, Lagos State, which was created in 1967, has been adjudged, most controversially, the second most populous state in Nigeria after Kano. Lagos is Nigeria’s indisputable commercial capital and the hub of its economic activities. Its cognomen, Centre of Excellence, underscores its identification with the trendy, the modern and the very best in matters of development. However, its rating as the third worst place in the world to live in, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability Survey report recently, is now threatening its pride of place among the comity of states in Nigeria.The Economist Intelligence Unit is the business information arm of The Economist Group, publishers of The Economist magazine, well known globally for its annual reports on the “liveability” and cost of living of the world’s major cities. It also produces “monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports and industry reports.”

The report ranked Melbourne, Australia, as the best city in the world for anyone to live in, followed by Vienna, Austria and Vancouver, Canada. Dhaka, Bangladesh, leads the table from the rear as the worst city to live in while the city of Lagos was ranked 138th of 140 cities, to earn the tag of the third city with the worst living conditions trailing other African countries like Nairobi, Kenya(124), Lusaka, Zambia (126), Dakar,Senegal(129), Abidjan, Cote D’Voire(131) and Douala, Cameroon(133).

The rating, according to the EIU report, was based on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality healthcare services, the diversity and standard of cultural events and the natural environment, quality of education facilities and the standard of infrastructure, including public transport. However, opinions are divided along political, economic and social lines over the recent rating of the EIU, especially as it affects the city of Lagos, noting its economic significance, its size, in terms of population and geographic land mass, the perceived neglect of the Federal Government, corruption, dearth of infrastructure and the alleged insensitivity to the plight of the people by the Alliance for Democracy, (AD) and the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN) that have been in the position of leadership in the state since 1999.

While the political class are viewing the rating from the political angle, economists submitted that Lagos deserves more attention than what it is getting from the leadership at the federal level, noting that the city was once the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)and most of the infrastructural facilities there were inherited, but, ‘we are in a country where people play politics with development and that is why we are where, we are today. It is not only about Lagos; Lagos is a component of Nigeria, it is about the entire country.”

Buttressing this view, the national spokesperson of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, submitted: ‘Clearly, it is the Federal Government which has failed in its responsibilities that should be blamed for this. As you are aware, security and quality infrastructure are necessary for economic buoyancy. In the last 13 years, there has been no federal intervention in the infrastructure of Lagos State. All federal roads in Lagos have been abandoned in the last 13 years. But for the sterling efforts of Governor Babatunde Fashola in the area of environment security and infrastructure, Lagos today would simply have been inhabitable.”

altHis view was also corroborated by the Special Adviser to Governor Fashola on Information and Strategy, Lateef Raji, submitting that the rating is not the true picture of the developmental efforts being put in place by the present administration in the state. He said: “I think what they were trying to say was that probably Lagos State is the most expensive city to live in. That is what they are used to saying. The rating is there for everybody to see. We have a functional transport system, and we have a functional health system, we can’t be the worst.” On the issue of security as one of the parameters used in rating the city, especially the photographs currently circulating on the social media network on train passengers hanging on coaches, he said that should not be seen as a Lagos issue but a national embarrassment.

Faulting the analysis of the EIU, some political analysts close to the ACN argued that the Fashola led administration deserved a pat on its back, noting its numerous achievements in the areas of security, primary health care, transportation, employment opportunities, to mention but few. They wondered how the EIU came about its findings, even in the face of records showing that the ACN administration, in its efforts to arrest the traffic situation in the state, took one lane out of the main carriageway and dedicated it to the special purpose vehicle called Las Bus Company.

“The BRT has saved many people some stress and money in terms of efficiency, availability and affordability,’’ they said.

Apparently aware of the various development/ security challenges racking the state, and to rid the state of miscreants and return sanity to the roads, Governor Fashola recently signed the New Traffic law, which, according to him, was not aimed at sending people to jail but at ensuring sanity on the highways, in accordance with what is obtainable in other metropolitan cities of the world.

According to the governor, “unlike the provision of the old traffic law, the new law has made provisions for not only payment of fines but for convicted offenders to engage in community service such as directing traffic for a specified period. The objective of the new law is to get people to comply rather than getting them arrested or apprehended.

“There is nothing spectacular about the provisions in the new law that is not applicable in distant locations”. Also, the state government recently said it had concluded arrangements to create alternative roads for Ikorodu given the traffic count and increase in the number of residents there and based on the initial survey. The road is expected to cross from Ojodu/Berger to Isawo and is expected to gulp N60bn with a compensation component of N5 billion.

While there are gaping holes in meeting the huge development appetite of a highly cosmopolitan city like Lagos, especially in the transportation sector, the ACN administration in the state has been able to construct bridges and some arterial roads in the Lagos metropolis which include; the Lagos-Badagry Expressway expansion (10 lanes), the six-lane Ikorodu Road Expansion, the 170-Metre Bridge at Festac and construction of canals at various locations in the state.

On employment generation, the state, a few years ago commissioned, the Poultry Estate, Erikorodo, with a 10,000 birds capacity mechanized broiler house, 2,000 birds per day processing capacity plant and 1.5T per hour feed mill. There are also 22.19 kilometre network of farm access roads in Ikorodu Fish Farm Estate and nine other locations in the state with counterpart fund from the state government and World Bank Assisted Commercial Agric Development Project, CADP.

Commissioning the project, Fashola said his administration was consciously building a sustainable economy around agriculture, and was ready to collaborate with the Federal Government, the World Bank and the private sector in further raising the bar.

“We are building a sustainable economy around agriculture in Lagos and we are determined to do more, collaborating with the Federal Government and the World Bank,” Fashola said, adding that it was high time jobless youths keyed into the government’s vision by engaging in sustainable and productive ventures in farm estates around Lagos.”

Specifically, he said there was no room for ‘area boys’ in Lagos, stressing “the youths must roll up their sleeves and get to work. Let me use this opportunity to talk to our youths, especially those who tag themselves as area boys, that it is time to stop miscreancy in Lagos. The time for money without work is over.

Under the “Adopt-a-School Policy”, Governor Fashola’s technocratic know-how is believd to have brought tremendous reformation in the education sector. The construction of millennium schools in all local government areas is also regarded as a step in the right direction. Of course, more can still be done in this regard.

On environmental issues such as waste management, drainages and sanitation, the Fashola government has also made impact in this critical area. “We have an opportunity here and we also have a challenge. The challenge is how to manage over 9, 000 metric tones of waste that are generated everyday, which is larger than what some countries generate. My predecessor succeeded in initiating the waste-to-wealth programme, which is now operational in Ikorodu where they are turning our organic waste into fertilizer. We have plans to scale up the project so that they can open up two other sites at Epe and Badagry. That we believe will help create job opportunities,” the governor asserted.

Also, the sustainability of the KAI Brigade that was established by Fashola’s predecessor, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is another proof of governor Fashola’s visionary leadership. The Kick against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade is the Law Enforcement Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Environment established on 3rd November, 2003 with a view to enforcing the Environmental Sanitation Law of Lagos State.

In spite of these numerous achievements, however, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) opined that EIU was justifiable in its rating of Lagos State as the third worst city to live in in the world, blaming the past and present political administrations in the state for its socio-economic woes.

A chieftain of the Party in the State; Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, told The Friday Edition that it was wrong for the leadership of the ACN to blame the Federal Government for its ineptitude, adding, the Federal Government has its challenges but every city, every state also had its own responsibilities. Lagos state government has sociological, government structures. It has a budget.

“If the ACN government is blaming the Federal Government, that means the Federal Government did not release its allocations, so it never had money to operate. Is that what they said? They cannot say that. They cannot also say that the Federal Government stops them from collecting taxes. They cannot say that. All we can say is that they have to bear their responsibilities for poor government, for a corrupt administration which has actually ruined the economy of the state and has stolen the future of our children.

“The only thing that Tinubu did while in office was to build a few kilometers of road in Alimosho and he called the place his home town. Nothing has been done in heartland area of the state, nothing in Ikorodu, nothing in Badagry, nothing in Epe. He only focused and spent all our money on Lekki peninsula, he wasted our money.

“The scientific survey and report warned the present administration against investing in that Atlantic Ocean project, describing it as an ecological disaster. Despite the warning, Governor Fashola went ahead spending money, wasting money, resources that could have been invested in education, transportation, in cleaning up the environment.

“Instead of using the resources, they wasted it because they wanted to build the waterfront land which they have actually ceded; they have allocated it to themselves and their families, so that they can have waterfront property like it is available elsewhere in the world.

“Let them not blame the Federal Government but look towards and consider what they have not done effectively. ACN has been in office since 1999, if you take a look at the budget they have spent and then look at what they have delivered, then certainly that party, that administration has failed.

“Lagos is regarded as 138th out of 140; that is, only two cities in the whole world can be said to be worse than Lagos. Can you imagine that? Lagos is not even among the 10,first cities in Africa. The report said it is the worst in Africa.

“Let us say Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa were created by the West, let us say Tunis was created by Asians, let us say Casablanca and Cairo, what of Nairobi, Nairobi is number 124, we are number 138, Lusaka is 126, we are number 138, Dakar is 129, we are number 138, Abidjan is 131, we are number 138, Douala is 133, Lagos is 138. We should be ashamed.

“Development is concentrated in only one area. If you look at what they are doing in Lagos Central, you will think there is one kind of development even what they have done in Lagos Central has also been a disaster because instead of spreading out, they are choking Lagos Central and they are wasting money there because the money they have invested in that Lekki Peninsula has become not only wasteful, but a noose around the neck of Lagosians, it has become dangerous. It is killing people.

“They refused to listen to scientific reports, survey and advice and they wasted our money, they are wasting it continuously. Instead of investing it in the heartland of Lagos, like Ikorodu and Badagry and Epe and even Alimosho. What is going on in Alimosho, is the way it was when it was western region, years ago. This is the problem. Nigeria can be graded and be what Nigeria is in terms of world rating, that will be Federal Government issue. This one is a state and City issue. City of Lagos is not working; everything we have is just cosmetic.

Education, security, transportation are not what they are supposed to be. Nothing is working in Lagos state. We are having problems everyday,” the PDP leader said.

Although the blame game may be on between political gladiators, what is certain is that the EIU rating for the city has been progressively falling in recent years. In year 2010, Lagos was 136th, while in 2011, the city was ranked 137th, which was a step better than its current position.

Melbourne retains the crown of most liveable city
With Vancouver slipping down the ranking slightly in 2011, Melbourne remains the most liveable location of the 140 cities surveyed,

followed by the Austrian capital, Vienna. In fact, there has been no change among the top tier. The score and ranking of the top 65 cities remain identical to six months ago. This may primarily reflect renewed stability as some economies begin to recover from the global economic crisis of a few years ago, although the continuing crisis in the euro zone and tighter fiscal budgets may have also slowed planned improvements, meaning that scores have remained static rather than moving up or down.

Certainly, infrastructural development has been a driver over the last few years, with improvements to infrastructure in key cities in

Australia, where the federal government initiated an ambitious long-term road-building programme in 2010. Vancouver is also embarking on a series of high-profile projects. Work began on an “Evergreen” mass transit line in 2012 and the authorities are reported to be considering measures such as “scramble intersections” or road tolls to counteract congestion. For cities in general, these measures will no doubt have a long-term benefit, but in the short term they can be disruptive.

The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions. Assessing liveability has a broad range of uses. The survey originated as a means of testing whether Human Resource Departments needed to assign a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages. While this function is still a central potential use of the survey, it has also evolved as a broad means of benchmarking cities. This means that liveability is increasingly used by city councils, organisations or corporate entities looking to test their locations against others to see general areas where liveability can differ.

This service provides an overview and summary of the Economist Intelligence Unit's liveability ratings for 140 cities around the world. This liveability rating quantifies the challenges that a city might present to an individual's lifestyle. To get this rating, the EIU scores each city on over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors, across five broad categories:

• Stability
• Healthcare
• Culture and environment
• Education
• Infrastructure

The Global liveability survey ranks 140 cities on over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad

categories:stability;healthcare,culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

• Each of the 30 factors in each city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable.

• The categories are compiled and weighted to provide an overall rating of 1–100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal.

• The liveability ranking considers that any city with a rating of 80 or more will have few, if any, challenges to living standards. Any city with a score of less than 50 will see most aspects of living severely restricted.
Source:www.eiu.com

Source: The Economist (14 August, 2012 edition)

Melbourne again AFTER a disappointing performance in the London Olympics, Australia should be cheered by a set of triumphs in a more
testing environment: the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest liveability ranking. For the second year in a row, Melbourne has been adjudged the world’s most liveable city, ahead of Vienna and Vancouver, whose slip from the top of the list last year, after almost a decade, riled many western Canadians. Three other Australian cities make it into the top ten, with Adelaide rising from ninth to equal fifth in 12 months.

The ranking scores 140 cities from 0-100 on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. These numbers are then weighted and combined to produce an overall figure. The cities at the top of the table are separated by tiny differences, with just 0.3 percentage points between first and fourth.

As has been clear for several years now, the cities that do best in this ranking are mid-sized conurbations in countries with low population densities. Such conditions are likely to result in low crime levels, functioning infrastructure and easily available recreational activities. Murder rates in Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver, for example, were respectively 2.7, 1.1 and 2.5 per 100,000 people in 2010-11, compared with the American average of 4.8. Indeed American cities tend not to do as well as their Australian and Canadian counterparts because poor scores for crime and congestion negate their decent marks for culture. Honolulu, which is 26th on the list, is the best placed, though it should be noted that all American entries come in the top tier of 63 cities, for which HR managers are advised not to bother paying a hardship allowance.

Cities that have suffered unrest in the last year have seen their scores drop. Damascus moves from 117th place to 130th; and London and Manchester, the sites of riots last summer, fall nine and two places respectively to 51st and 55th. Dhaka remains in last place because of particularly poor scores for health care and infrastructure, though it would probably come above the likes of Baghdad and Kabul, which were not considered business centres.

Most liveable cities: 1. Melbourne 97.5 2. Vienna 97.4 3. Vancouver 97.3 4. Toronto 97.2 5=. Calgary 96.6 5=. Adelaide 96.6 7. Sydney 96.1 8. Helsinki 96.0 9. Perth 95.9 10. Auckland 95.7 ... 138. Lagos 39.0 139. Port Moresby 38.9 140. Dhaka 38.7

How the rating works
The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the 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. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in any given location, and allows for direct comparison between locations.

Each city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure. Each factor in each city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. For quali¬tative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of in–house analysts and in–city contributors. For quantitative indicators, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a number of external data points. The scores are then compiled and weighted to provide a score of 1–100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal. The liveability rating is provided both as an overall score and as a score for each category. To provide points of reference, the score is also given for each category relative to New York and an overall position in the ranking of 140 cities is provided.

The scores are then compiled and weighted to provide a score of 1–100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal. The liveability rating is provided both as an overall score and as a score for each category. To provide points of reference, the score is also given for each category relative to New York and an overall position in the ranking of 140 cities is provided.

The suggested liveability scale
Companies pay a premium (usually a percentage of a salary) to employees who move to cities where living conditions are particularly difficult, and there is excessive physical hardship or notably unhealthy conditions.

The Economist Intelligence Unit has given a suggested allowance to correspond with the rating. However, the actual level of the allowance is often a matter of company policy. It is not uncommon, for example, for companies to pay higher allowances—perhaps up to double the Economist Intelligence Unit’s suggested level.

Rating Description Suggested allowance (%)
80–100 There are few, if any, challenges to living standards 0
70–80 Day–to–day living is fine, in general, but some aspects of life may entail problems 5
60–70 Negative factors have an impact on day-to-day living 10
50–60 Liveability is substantially constrained 15
50 or less Most aspects of living are severely restricted 20
How the rating is calculated

The liveability score is reached through category weights, which are equally divided into relevant subcategories to ensure that the score covers as many indicators as possible. Indicators are scored as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. These are then weighted to produce a rating, where 100 means that liveability in a city is ideal and 1 means that it is intolerable.

For qualitative variables, an “EIU rating” is awarded based on the judgment of in–house expert country analysts and a field correspondent based in each city. For quantitative variables, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a location using external data sources.

Category 1: Stability (weight: 25% of total)
Indicator Source

Prevalence of petty crime EIU rating

Prevalence of violent crime EIU rating

Threat of terror EIU rating

Threat of military conflict EIU rating

Threat of civil unrest/conflict EIU rating
Category 2: Healthcare (weight: 20% of total)

Indicator Source
Availability of private healthcare EIU rating
Quality of private healthcare EIU rating
Availability of public healthcare EIU rating
Quality of public healthcare EIU rating
Availability of over-the-counter drugs EIU rating
General healthcare indicators Adapted from World Bank
Category 3: Culture & Environment (weight: 25% of total)

Indicator Source
Humidity/temperature rating Adapted from average weather conditions
Discomfort of climate to travellers EIU rating

Level of corruption Adapted from Transparency International
Social or religious restrictions EIU rating
Level of censorship EIU rating

Sporting availability EIU field rating of 3 sport indicators

Cultural availability EIU field rating of 4 cultural indicators

Food and drink EIU field rating of 4 cultural indicators

Consumer goods and services EIU rating of product availability

Category 4: Education (weight: 10% of total)

Indicator Source
Availability of private education EIU rating

Quality of private education EIU rating
Public education indicators Adapted from World Bank

Category 5: Infrastructure (weight: 20% of total)
Indicator Source
Quality of road network EIU rating

Quality of public transport EIU rating

Quality of international links EIU rating

Availability of good quality housing EIU rating Source: www.eiu.com
Quality of energy provision EIU rating

Quality of water provision EIU rating

Quality of telecommunications EIU rating

Men!!! what did Tinubu do in Lagos for 8 years and what has Fasola been doing in the last 5+ years?

I still wonder how decent humans live in that city. Upon landing in Lagos, all one sees instantly is pure insanity.
Tufiakwaaaaaaaa!

Onlytruth: I still wonder how decent humans live in that city. Upon landing in Lagos, all one sees instantly is pure insanity.

Tufiakwaaaaaaaa!

That city is one big gabbage bin. In essence, it is a local champion that is very non-competitive amongst global cities.

Onlytruth: I still wonder how decent humans live in that city. Upon landing in Lagos, all one sees instantly is pure insanity.
Tufiakwaaaaaaaa!