Makoko: A shantytown
Nigeria's Makoko slum is a shantytown on the edge of the port city of Lagos. The chaotic maze of wooden houses built on water is considered one of the city's liveliest neighborhoods.

Much of Makoko rests on structures constructed on stilts above Lagos Lagoon.

Residents travel through the neighborhood by canoe, boat or over a few wooden bridges and walkways. Small children as young as 6 can be seen rowing through the canals to and from home.

The area was established in the 18th century as a fishing village; many of the men living there today still work as fishermen. The population has not been officially counted, but residents say it is more than 100,000.






Life in Makoko
Most of Makoko's inhabitants are from neighboring countries such as Benin, Togo and Ghana. They have traveled to Lagos in search of work and a better life for their families. Inhabitants say that once they arrive, they find that life is harder than they imagined and work is scarce, but it doesn't stop more from arriving daily.

The people living in Makoko are said to be very enterprising; fishing and wood processing are the main forms of industry.

Elizabeth Zanu lives in Makoko with her husband and their five children. She told CNN it's a struggle to support the family. "Our income is not enough," Zanu said. "We need someone to assist us."



Population boom
Nigeria's population of about 150 million is expected to more than double in the next 40 years, according to the United Nations.

Makoko is heavily overcrowded, and one of the neighborhood's midwives says there are up to 14 children living in some homes. The birthrate in the neighborhood is an average of four per day, and there are only about eight community-owned clinics in the area.

Midwife Giselle Hakonzu is trying to manage the population explosion through education in the neighborhood. She says that, in Nigerian society, a big family is seen as a sign of prosperity and success.

"If you give birth to one or two children, people will laugh at you," she said. "It's not our culture."



'Hectic, dark and incredibly smelly'
American photographer and writer Chris Osburn traveled to Makoko in 2009.

Osburn says he found the slum hectic, dark and incredibly smelly.

"Those poor people are essentially living atop an open sewer. It was really difficult to float around through there and meet people while dealing with that smell," he said.

Osburn says that he also found the area very overcrowded.

"I was blown away by the sheer number of people everywhere, virtually living on top of each other," he said. "I was also surprised by the densely compacted layers of trash and filth on the sidewalks."



Making a living
To make a living in Lagos is tough, especially in the floating slum.

Many residents operate boat shops that float through the neighborhood, from which they sell a variety of items from noodles to palm oil.

Residents say you can buy just about anything from these boats. One worker, Chantal Goko sells pof pof, a local snack made from eggs, yeast and flour.

Goko is a single mother of four children and now runs the family business that was passed down to her by her grandmother a decade ago.

She keeps a fire on her boat so she can make the fried dough balls fresh for her customers.



'Area boys'
According to the U.N., Makoko is self-governed and security forces rarely venture into the slum. The neighborhood is policed by what are called "area boys," loosely organized gangs of unemployed young men who often resort to violence to defend their territory.

Osburn says that it's a dangerous place to go without a trusted guide. "This is not a place to explore alone, however street savvy you are," he said.



'Spirits are high'
There is no sewer system in Makoko and the toilets are built in a way that everything just goes back in to the water beneath the homes. There is no running water in the huts, and the electricity supply is erratic.

The water is black and murky with pollution, and residents either have to buy clean water or travel to water points.

How human waste could power Nigeria's slums

Despite the hardship, photographer Seun Bankole, who traveled to the neighborhood, says spirits are high.

"I am amazed at the fortitude of the residents and survivor attitude against all odds," she writes on her blog.



Children of Makoko
There are a number of schools in Makoko for younger children. The older children attend schools outside the area and there are a number of boats that act as floating school buses to ferry them there.

Still, school attendance is low. According to the Olumide Emmanuel Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Lagos, only 10% of the people living in Makoko are educated up to primary school.

One thing you will notice, is the happiness and contentment in the midst of their poverty.

And yet we are told we have a government , lol.

The Lagos state government is only refurbishing the rich and middle class areas of the state and also the highways and surroundings such as Osodi.

Otherwise no one gives a hoot about the poor in Lagos it seems 

The smile on their faces. Aww.


Some of them don't know any different from the world they live in.

Govt, come to their aid.

Nigerian children that survives infancy are highly immune to the elements,their biological compositions are in-tuned to the filth and it becomes part of them with little harm,

Filth that accumulates as a result of the moral decadence of the adults,adults that reason like children.Adults like obj,atiku,ibb and co.

I can tell you that I have stayed in one of those houses and the people there are nice people.

In fact at night, it is a high live issue there

the interview said, you find many Immigrates including the Nigerians mixing up to earn a living.

further inland, instead of using a coneo, Bridges are used to connect settlements and houses.

Offical language in the slum is broken english and yoruba.

In the Makoko, you would find electrician, carpenter, teacher, bread seller etc so you don't really go out to find other commodities. In fact you would find suya seller there, Iya basira rice, Iya nkechi isiewu etc.

Common food, is akara and bread aka burger, designer rice aka rice with bean, etc

People should visit this places once a while and connect to see how people survive on a daily bases.

they should destroy that eyesore and send all those people back to their countries.

why must they come and transform nigeria into a rubbish dump or a rubbish heap.

stay in ur freaking village and farm there.

just coming here to transform lagos into a gargbage dump.

frosbel:

One thing you will notice, is the happiness and contentment in the midst of their poverty.

And yet we are told we have a government , lol.

The Lagos state government is only refurbishing the rich and middle class areas of the state and also the highways and surroundings such as Osodi.

Otherwise no one gives a hoot about the poor in Lagos it seems 

i disagree with u!!! Lagos state Govt. does not have to focus on a location because it is inhabited, it has to be legally approved for occupation by inhabitant of such place. another example is families who live under the bridges. living in Lagos is not by force. i don't expect them to prioritize such place.

Fun Fact : About half of the residence who live in makoko are nigerians, the other half are immigrants from the benin republic who come to lagos on dreams for living a better life.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20031127&id=GRlPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6B8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6610,3311865

oduasolja:

they should destroy that eyesore and send all those people back to their countries.

why must they come and transform nigeria into a rubbish dump or a rubbish heap.

stay in your freaking village and farm there.

just coming here to transform lagos into a gargbage dump.

Makoko is a decent place. The nightlife is funny! I am sure you have never been there. Ignorance! Forget what you see and hear. Go there yourself.

jmaine:

Makoko . . . .The slum with awesome and dashing looking ladies . . .we do go hunting there . . .Though Rev. Frosbel would frown at my post but who cares . . . . Makoko reminds of the biblical verse . . .Can anything good come out of galilee . . . . cos i feel Galilee was the Makoko of the bible and the answer is yes . . .Pretty damsels abound in those shanty floating houses you see

Bros Jmaine, you don live for makoko before ?

if so what around what year, you must be that man that sells the akara and bread

I use to frequent makoko,near iwaya.You know,some how we got to there.It i\is full of deadly mosquitoes.

It is fucntional but filthy and it shouldn't be if there were governments in nigeria,

GAR3TH:

Fun Fact : About half of the residence who live in makoko are nigerians, the other half are immigrants from the benin republic who come to lagos on dreams for living a better life.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20031127&id=GRlPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6B8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6610,3311865

nigga shut up .

half of em aint nigerians.

hey must go back home.

redsun:

I use to frequent makoko,near iwaya.You know,some how we got to there.It i\is full of deadly mosquitoes.

It is fucntional but filthy and it shouldn't be if there were governments in nigeria,

Very true

Iwaya near iyano church has a canal there, the canal hurbours the mosquitoes

jason123:

Makoko is a decent place. The nightlife is funny! I am sure you have never been there. Ignorance! Forget what you see and hear. Go there yourself.

dude u are mad. if its decent why dont u go and liv ethere. dummy.

oduasolja:

nigga shut up .

half of em aint nigerians.

hey must go back home.

YOU SHUT IT

if not for them, makoko would not be what it is, it would have sank in the ocean u mo.ron

these are the people that make up the REAL LAGOS STATE not the mor.orns in VI and co posting on topics they are clueless about Yoruba mor.on

oduasolja:

dude u are mad. if its decent why dont u go and liv ethere. dummy.

You are very stupi.d, and that should be a compliment.

What makes you think I've not been there? The area is very cool! The nightlife is funny, believe me! Don't judge places based on the propaganda you see.
There is nothing the government can do about places like this.

alj harem:

YOU SHUT IT

if not for them, makoko would not be what it is, it would have sank in the ocean u mo.ron

[b]these are the people that make up the REAL LAGOS STATE not the mor.orns in VI and co posting on topics they are clueless [/b]about Yoruba mor.on

You didn't need to go tribal!
However, the highlighted is very correct. Most of these people judging have never been to Nigeria.

jmaine:

Oga Harem, craze dey worry you  . . . . Nope, i never live for Makoko before, but Onike area na my zone  . . .so boiz no what'sup  . . .E be like say na you bin be that Maishai wey dey sell tea and buredi . for that zone . .

So na onike area, hmmm that mean you be the boli seller. I talk say I done see you before

Onike is not too far from makoko, In fact I saw afam4eve one time

which Maishai you dey talk about. buredi ke, that one na for yaba na, You be really mainland man

jmaine:


You no serious oo!  . . .Mainland na correct place to be . . .especially when you dey behind Akoka like moi . .enough paparazi .

Very true egbon. Akoka is a place as well.

it is like the place never sleeps, especially the inner akoko area

alhjhrem/jason stop talking to yourself haba

Very interesting.

frosbel:

Most of Makoko's inhabitants are from neighboring countries such as Benin, Togo and Ghana. They have traveled to Lagos in search of work and a better life for their families. Inhabitants say that once they arrive, they find that life is harder than they imagined and work is scarce, but it doesn't stop more from arriving daily.

The people living in Makoko are said to be very enterprising; fishing and wood processing are the main forms of industry.

Elizabeth Zanu lives in Makoko with her husband and their five children. She told CNN it's a struggle to support the family. "Our income is not enough," Zanu said. "We need someone to assist us."

Didn't know that.

I don't see any reason to deport them unless they make trouble.

The coastal/riverine people are mainly limited by culture to explore other opportunities available within the polity. Their trade and exigencies confine their habitat. Yes, while I agree that the govt is not doing enough to address improvement in their standard of living, examples abound of govt attempts and their rejection of such.

http://www.unep.org/AbidjanConvention/docs/THE%20STATUS%20OF%20THE%20NIGERIAN%20COASTAL%20ZONES%20version%202.pdf

The Lagos state government has a project with the World Bank on transforming 9 of the 50 slums in lagos state, Makoko is one of them, when I was younger, we used to go there to watch Indian movies in those rickety buildings (1990 - 1992).

Hmmm, Fashola is really trying. He should also come plant some flowers in this space-age floating city.

dplordx:

@Harem:

You are awesome! So bread and akara na Naija Burger? I might do that business here!

Abi, if you want to start the business, Jmaine knows a lot about the business. Na real money spinner

Areosapien:

Hmmm, Fashola is really trying. He should also come plant some flowers in this space-age floating city.

Haba, how do you plant flowers there, to what effect would this do ?

Let me remain you that Makoko is NO solid LAND but a floating city on it's own.

htajz:

alhjhrem/jason stop talking to yourself haba

why can't I post to Jason, are you his wife or what

LOL na wa o

those houses have recently been cleared. anyone who house isn't on land was relocated out of there to a better and more befitting location.