It was reported recently that the Nigerian govt wants to make a mega city out of Lagos. This is a good idea, and Lagos deserves it. However, making Lagos a mega city will be an end on its own and not a means to achieving an end. According to reports, the purported end is to mitigate the effect of overpopulation on the infrastructure of Lagos. But this end will be defeated dead on arrival. This makes me wonder the type of socio-economic planners we have in Nigeria. In a counry of 140 million people,how can you tilt development towards one or two areas and expect that the population will not tilt towards those areas? The only way out is to create one mega city in each of the Geopolitical zones. By so doing, the influx of people will be evenly distributed, and Lagos will be saved from the impending implosion. Any attempt to develop Lagos without a concomittant development of one city in other zones will just be a short-term measure. Sooner than later all the Nigerians will leave their original zones and migrate to Lagos, thus the population problem remains unsolved.

Some places are just born to be big. Lagos is one of them.

In Brazil they have tried thru hook and crook to develop outside of Rio and Sao Paulo especially.

But for where. Everybody still wan be Paulista or Carioca.

Nice that you mentioned Brazil. This type of anything goes mentality is one of the reasons why Brazil remains a developing country. China also has Shanghai as its own major mega city and everybody troups there, to the detriment of the city. I live in Germany, a country which boasts of a number or megacities and a near-even distribution of infrastructural development. Hence you have Sturtgart in the SW, Munich in the SE, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf in the Central and Hamburg and Berlin up north. Germany is the third biggest economy. In the US, and Japan, the first and second largst econonies, there are several megacities. Create a single megacity in Nigeria and give it 1, 2, 3 years, and that city is in shambles again because of its unipolar and masive attraction of a large segment of the populace.

They should make Jos a megacity it has a weather that is favourable to foreigners not the kind of irritating heat you have in Lagos.

and what are the economic drivers that would make Jos a mega city? Entrepreneurship? trading? natural resources?

you don't 'make' mega cities, they evolve into such because they draw human populations in with skills, opportunities and avenues for advancement.

no one is 'making' Lagos a mega-city, that is simply a descriptive term to encompass how large the city has grown and encroached on Ogun State even. It is simply a terminology to help better manage the huge mess but potential success that Greater Lagos is at the moment.

Jos has a lot of natural resources and a climate which is favourable to most people from all around the world.

Have you ever stopped to think that the weather in Nigeria puts off a lot of people? Especially those from temperate climates.

still there are more oyibo people in Lagos than elsewhere in the country save p/h.

that means that its economics that is the bottom line, besides who cares about oyibo coming? unless they are bringing money to invest in the country, they can sit in their lands and enjoy the coldness

the only natural resources that Jos has in abundance are tin and columbite, and those went pretty much out of fashion in the 60s and 70s, Weather may be good, but that is not sufficient. It must be able to attract people and investment to grow into a mega city, without that, no chance.

denex:

They should make Jos a megacity it has a weather that is favourable to foreigners not the kind of irritating heat you have in Lagos.

On the contrary, oyinbo's are constantly going after hot weather.

only thing in Jos conducive is GADA BIu and Jukios berger damn, LOL. Nothing in BUKURU but damn mountains

Maybe because Lagos, by virtue of it being the capital of the country for decades? Or is it just by chance that everybody is flocking to Abuja. Perhaps.

Maybe Lagos just became a commercial nerve centre on its own. Maybe all the embassies and head quarters just located themselves in Lagos and Abuja by sheer luck. Who knows.

Please when I'm discussing some things on Nairaland, I assume that people have some basic knowledge instead of coming to make mockery of what they don't understand.

Yaradua just released the funds for Lagos state councils and he's meeting up with Fashola and Gbenga Daniel. hopefully Fashola will make Lagos clean a bit and deal with those agberos tinubu gave birth to.

I don't think they can they can make Lagos the financial hub in Africa without a major facelift in that state. I think ogun state will be expected to take some of the strain, if they can improve transport/traffic then people will be able to commute from ogun to work in Lagos.

dockwoky, Lagos is the former capital and commercial nerve centre-its inevitable that people will continue to troop there, calabar improved alot under duke and I'm sure the population increased somehow, if business is booming in PH and security aint as bad as it is then im sure that will make the state more conducive for people to move to

@Dis Guy

leave all these people make dem dey think round about a circle.

Maybe because Lagos, by virtue of it being the capital of the country for decades? Or is it just by chance that everybody is flocking to Abuja. Perhaps.

Maybe Lagos just became a commercial nerve centre on its own. Maybe all the embassies and head quarters just located themselves in Lagos and Abuja by sheer luck. Who knows.

Please when I'm discussing some things on Nairaland, I assume that people have some basic knowledge instead of coming to make mockery of what they don't understand.

@dis guy,
i tink i quite agree wit u and wit the release of lagos money that av be witheld for so long
let wait n see wot Fashola wuld do wit the money
cheers

its nice making  Lagos a megacity. Lagos have been abandoned for too long everything now is Abuja. Most foreigners think Lagos is the capital of  Nigeria,  its also a commercial city.  Lagos is just like the US new york. New york is not d capital of d US but some people think so, d same goes with south Africa where Johannesburg is thought 2 be d capital. New york and Johannesburg are great commercial centers, providing alot of wealth for the country. making Lagos Nigeria's megacity will be great cause its a popular city.

@debosky;

did you ever reside in ph, or do your parents reside in ph?

just spent a few weeks in the city and Bonny in '02 and '03, my folks are Lagos based.

most of the money originate out of p/h! i don't have a problem with lagos becoming a mega city, the whole of rivers state from the bonny islands to opobo and the uplands, ikwerre lands and ahoada and some ijaw towns should all be transformed slowly into a mega city and towns respectively. there is endless oppurtunities in these areas that the rest of nigeria do not even know about. some guys i know think everyone outside of ph is backward just because you from lag abi abuja. nothing sha, ignorance like they say is a disease.

@debosky;

ok, i know someone with that same name that lives in p/h. edobor. he used to live in new gra.

I have no problems with P/H becoming a mega city, it has the necessary qualities in my opinion - economic drivers, large catchment area and a political center as well.
I've been to some parts of the delta along the p/h to Bonny axis, and I know everything isn't backward. but I think the city is too concentrated at one spot though, the govt isn't doing much to expand the city and its facilities, and private capital such as housing estates and such ( I don't know why - maybe the militant thing or something else) are not as plenty as expected with all the money in P/H

Nigeria does not need to be told about the opportunities,if they exist, no one will tell Nigerians before they flood such a location Lagos grew because of what was available in it, not due to advertising. if P/H is that good, it will draw people in naturally. like i said earlier, Mega-cities develop almost on their own without any prior intention to achieve such. Its not a competition or anything, the more mega cities, the merrier.

hopefully we will get rid of DONATUS and his boyz with time.

wetin make i talk than to say all those talk about making lagos a mega city are white elephant project unrealistic and gullible

for the umpteenth time, no one is 'making' Lagos a mega city, by virtue of its population, it IS already a mega-city

all that is happening is that it is being designated (i.e called) one, and hopefully will be managed in that manner too.

the authorities have just realised this and seen the wisdom in managing and treating its problems as such, not just like any other town/city in the country

it is simply a recognition of the complex and multi-faceted nature of Lagos' problems and a new initiative to face it.

trust Nigerians - anything in its light is critisiced and put down by people who doesnt wany anything good for the country.

Nigerians are always good at talking of mega ideas, but do not know how to build a hut. Mega NEPA, power is still epileptic, Giant of Africa still crawling, Mega GSM networks, services are still unsteady. Mega Transcorp. Mega NNPC, Mega NTA, Mega Ajaokuta steel. Why can’t we jettison this mega mentality and start from small ideas that will give rise bigger innovations. Most ideas start from drawing board and materialize into a gigantic feat , but Nigerians think in opposite direction that's why we are hedging toward retardation

THANK GOD Yar adua yesterdayhas revealed his intentions to visit lagos constantly 2 achieve the mega city project with ogun

Get the argument folks, no matter how ultra or mega or macro (whatever name you like) that Lagos is made to be, it will be an exercise in futility over long -term. The barrage of influx thereafter will simply overwhelm any little succes made and it will be back to basics. Spread development evenly, every zone has something to offer. All those who throng Lagos like ants will settle in and develop other regions. My proposed Megacities are

Lagos
PH
Onitsha or Aba
Jos
Kano
Maiduguri

And, to think that the money that maketh the city is coming outside of the mega city (lol)

@ poster I agree 100% with you.
Mega city in each of the geopolitical zones will reduce the madness in Lagos.
True talk

debosky and Xris74 are not on the same term on the meaning of a megacity.

debosky is focusing on 'economic drivers'

Xris74 is looking at infrastructure and quality of life.

I think efforts should be channeled towards de-congesting Lagos instead of making it a mega city. I for one will gladly leave Lag if I can get a good job with good pay out of Lag and all the side attractions (Cinema, club, great hang out places etc). I thought the Tinapa was going to compete with Lag but so far I haven’t seen or heard much about it. Hope the innovation is mot going down now that Duke has let power

Xris74:

Get the argument folks, no matter how ultra or mega or macro (whatever name you like) that Lagos is made to be, it will be an exercise in futility over long -term. The barrage of influx thereafter will simply overwhelm any little succes made and it will be back to basics. Spread development evenly, every zone has something to offer. All those who throng Lagos like ants will settle in and develop other regions. My proposed Megacities are

Lagos
PH
Onitsha or Aba
Jos
Kano
Maiduguri

And, to think that the money that maketh the city is coming outside of the mega city (lol)

I do not agree its an exercise in futility,

While I appreciate most comments about spreading the largesse around, I think the point has been made severally by debosky that LAGOS IS ALREADY A MEGACITY. We should stop this tribal/ethnic sentiments:LAGOS BELONGS TO ALL LAGOSIANS

& lets stop this erroneous impression that 'the money that maketh the city is coming from outside the mega city',  Its the same short  sighted comments people in the NATURAL RESOURCE RICH areas make. What makes Lagos primarily is its proximity to the ports & TRADING activities, this has a DOMINO effect and generates other businesses and these ultimately leads to growth in population and ultimately a demand for more goods and services.

Kano has no OIL & is not close to the sea , but it IS A MEGA CITY due to it been a Centre of Commerce(Trading) for many centuries and we have many examples around Nigeria,

The World is moving from a reliance on RAW MATERIALS TO FINISHED GOODS and SKILLS, thats why although a barrel of Oil is about $70, that same barrel will produce finished goodS with over 10 times the value(IN TOTAL).

The Chinese,Japanese,British though with some 'natural 'resources have megacities(SHANGHAI,TOKYO,LONDON) not entirely linked to those Natural /raw resources,

So in summary,what makes a megacity is THE POPULATION and not a proclamation by the President, and lets remember Lagos is for all Lagosians(irrespective of which part of the World you're from) just like some Nigerian citizens consider themselves Londoners,New Yorkers & Parisians etc, & I'm sure we realise there are more 'non-indigenes' than 'indigenes' in Lagos.
So lets stick to what we would like to see in the new MEGA-CITY plan & possibly replicated in other Megacities across Nigeria & not fall back on primordial sentiments,

Create a new state out of Lagos.

Lagos State is the only state that has not been divided since some parts of the old Western Region was merged with Lagos Federal Capital territory.

Agege State or Ikeja State can be created and will therefore lead to more L.G's that the Tinubu Govt tried to create and led to withholding of L.G money apart from other infrastructural developments that state creation brings in Nigeria. Also more share of the National cake for the 10 Million or less citizens that will be in the new 2 states.

Wikipedia - History Of Lagos State


Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states.

Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (Colony Province) of Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry were administered by the Western Region.

The State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital. However, with the creation of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country.