As seen on Quora.

I live in Nairobi but I travel 3 - 4 times a year so I do believe that I have some credibility to answer this question.

Airport

Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Lagos) vs. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi): there’s no comparison. JKIA is larger, cleaner and more organized than MMIA. The visa process in JKIA is also easier

Weather

Nairobi’s climate is mild and dry due to high altitude even though it straddles the equator (average is 23° / 14°). Temperatures in Lagos is hot and oppressively humid (average 32° / 24°)

Power

Most Nairobians do not own a generator because it is unnecessary. There are power blackouts but one of more than 4 hours is uncommon and maybe happens 1 - 2 month. Additionally, power is available in the lower income areas. Everyone in Lagos has a generator because power is off more than 50% of the time

Fuel

Nigeria is one of the leading exporter of crude oil but has to import diesel/petrol since their refineries are barely working. For various reasons, there are frequent stockouts of diesel and petrol although to be fair it has improved a lot in the last 2 years. Nairobi has not had a major petrol/diesel stockout in 5 years

Rent

In Nairobi, you pay first month, last month and one month deposit to move into a rental unit. In Lagos, you have to pay 2 years upfront

Environment

Lagos is a concrete jungle without a shred of greenery. Nairobi is the Green City in Sun with a lot of greenery and even a forest (Karura Forest) within the city limits

Traffic

Both Nairobi and Lagos suck equally

Hotels

Because Kenya has no oil, one of the major industries is tourism so there’s been a lot of investment in hotels and all levels. Most international chains have hotels in Nairobi. A few international chains have now a presence in Lagos (for a long time it was pretty much Eko Hotel) so this has improved.

Road infrastructure

Lagos does have better road infrastructure than Nairobi, although Nairobi is catching up with the building of the bypasses

Food

If you are a fan of spicy food and seafood then Lagos is the place to be. Nairobi food can be somewhat bland but this is a very subjective topic. I think there are more restaurants per capita in Nairobi since Kenyans eat out more than Nigerians.

Nightclubs

Lagos has many more higher end nightclubs than Nairobi and Nigerians dress up when they go out. Kenyans are very casual and frankly dress badly. It is common to find most people in a Nairoib club in jeans and sneakers whereas no self respecting Nigerian would roll like that to a club.
One major cultural difference is that in Nairobi, women go to nightclubs by themselves or with their buddies and will entertain themselves and buy themselves drinks. This is for both single AND married women. In Lagos, it much less common for women (especially married) to go out by themselves unless accompanied by boyfriend/husband/brother. Also, a Nigerian woman will not pay for her own drink

I hope you enjoyed the synopsis of Lagos and Nairobi.

Edit: Ambrose Ukwuegbu asked me to add 16 other indices to compare Nairobi (Kenya) and Lagos (Nigeria). I’m not an economist nor an expert but I’ll give it a shot with 8 of the 16, Ambrose. Others are free to add to this. Note this is exercise is not to say which country but to compare in what areas each country can look to each other (or not) to improve itself.

For example, I wish Kenyans would like at how Nigerians are proud of their country and culture and Nigerians can take an example of how a more diversified economy like Kenya’s would work for them.

1. Corruption: both Kenya and Nigeria are equally bad. They are ranked 143 rd and 148th by Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Index. Nigeria has been improving though since it used to be in the bottom 5, so it’s trending upwards whereas Kenya is either plateauing or trending downwards

2. Strong Institutions: Kenya’s judiciary annulled a presidential election in 2017. Although I visit Lagos often I don’t live there so my view on this wouldn’t be an educated one.

3. Transparency in doing business: according to the World Bank’s 2019 Ease of Doing Business Index, Kenya is ranked 61st and Nigeria 146th.

4. Patriotism and nationalism: this answer is anecdotal but Nigerians are far more patriotic and proud of their culture than Kenyans are. The are proud of their food, dress, movies, etc. They export their culture much more readily than Kenyans do. It helps that the population is 5 times that of Kenya but I still think the Nigerian culture is more exportable because it is more identifiable. The knock on Kenyans is that we just ape Western ways which I somewhat agree with.

5.Healthcare and welfarism: this is a complex topic because healthcare is complex. You can compare public health vs. private health and frankly I am not erudite enough on this topic.

6. Election rigging and selection: a lot of election rigging in both countries but my general perception is that it is getting better in both countries.

7.Judiciary and independence: the Kenyan Supreme court annulled a presidential election in 2017. They are becoming more and more independent but perhaps not as fast as Kenyans would like them to be. I do not know much about the judiciary in Nigeria.

8. Religious conflicts and dogmatism: Boko Haram vs. Al Shabaab. Boko Haram is the bigger threat since they are based within the borders of Nigeria whereas Al- Shabaab are mostly in Somalia. Also their aims are quite different. Boko Haram wants to establish its own country and hive off a chunk of Nigeria, whereas Al Shabaab basically wants Kenyans to keep out of Somalia. It's important to note that Boko Haram is much less of a threat in Lagos than Al Shabaab is in Nairobi. Nairobi has been a victim of several Al Shabaab attacks while I'm not aware of any Boko Haram attacks in Lagos.



https://www.quora.com/Which-city-is-more-developed-Nairobi-or-Lagos

Nigeria is a zoo, you know what the meaning of zoo is? Yes, that's what Nigeria is.

Modified:
Those fools quoting me below don't know shit, in two years time you all will regret that zoo. Brainless animals

How would you compare power bike to Bajaj. They can take you to same destination, but at a different speed.

Lagos vs Nairobi... But ended up comparing Nigeria vs Kenya

Bigflamie:
Nigeria is a zoo, you know what the meaning of zoo is? Yes, that's what Nigeria is.

The association of Zoo animals reject and refute this statement. They said they know they are animals and behave like animals whereas Nigerians are humans that imitate animals which they do very poorly. Even Goats that are stubborn have given up trying to understand Nigerians.

I notice something. A lot of Nigerians don’t travel to other African countries. They are ignorant and live in a bubble.

I will make exceptions for igbos because they are everywhere. They see what other Africans are doing in their homelands and get disappointed when they return to Nigeria.

Other Africans are developing and leaving Nigeria behind.

Travel, Travel, Travel!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough.

Traveling is the biggest cure for ignorance.

Really interesting

Bigflamie:
Nigeria is a zoo, you know what the meaning of zoo is? Yes, that's what Nigeria is.

And your forefathers were the animals that inhabited the zoo. Ewu Gambia.

horsepower101:
I notice something. A lot of Nigerians don’t travel to other African countries. They are ignorant and live in a bubble.

I will make exceptions for igbos because they are everywhere. They see what other Africans are doing in their homelands and get disappointed when they return to Nigeria.

Other Africans are developing and leaving Nigeria behind.

Travel, Travel, Travel!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough.

Traveling is the biggest cure for ignorance.

this ppl have no idea really....they dont take light anymore in kenya...unless for maintenancd and its announced always. Kenya is building super high ways now...they have national id card which is cumpulsory to carry everywhere u go....so its easy to catch foreigners without visas. They have social security numbers like america...so its easy for govt to collect taxes from all workers and for ppl to save for their pension even if they are traders...they have student loans and community colleges...

Nigeria is a zoo compared to where kenya is nw and will be in the future because they just discovered oil in the north east region. When we ask them for biafra they laff at us without knowing that we cant develope as one country because of mutual hate

Lagos should 1st get steady power to start comparing with nairobi or mombasa

I would visit Kenya to see things for my self...

Though I know in terms of power they're ahead of Nigeria.... No doubt..... And very shameful.

Landlord travel and see.....

horsepower101:
I notice something. A lot of Nigerians don’t travel to other African countries. They are ignorant and live in a bubble.

I will make exceptions for igbos because they are everywhere. They see what other Africans are doing in their homelands and get disappointed when they return to Nigeria.

Other Africans are developing and leaving Nigeria behind.

Travel, Travel, Travel!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough.

Traveling is the biggest cure for ignorance.

Unlike the Westerners, Africans don't travel to other Africans countries except they are seeking greener pasture in developed African countries like South Africa or Egypt.
No be who don chop go travel abi na person wey him minimum wage dey less than $50 go travel? Add the fact that the continent does not have a smooth transportation system like the Europeans won't also encourage eager travellers.

Bigflamie:
Nigeria is a zoo, you know what the meaning of zoo is? Yes, that's what Nigeria is.

Coming from a pig living in the zoo
Why should someone compare Nairobi to Lagos
.
.
When most property are owned by foreign investors just like South Africa

OP what do I need to visit Nairobi? maybe even live there for a year or two.

Nairobi is more comfortable to live in when compared to Lagos.

if you're rich. most of you guys will prefer to stay in Lagos.

I finally have 10 reasons for move to Kenya.

Leopantro:


The association of Zoo animals reject and refute this statement. They said they know they are animals and behave like animals whereas Nigerians are humans that imitate animals which they do very poorly. Even Goats that are stubborn have given up trying to understand Nigerians.

how did you come about this? You must be a member of The association of Zoo animals

Why do nairalanders keep reposting the same topics all the time?

And they always ask the same questions over and over again.

Pavore9:
Nairobi is more comfortable to live in when compared to Lagos.

Having lived in both cities,I agree with you.constant supply of electricity in Nairobi makes life easier.I will choose Nairobi over Lagos anyday.