Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria, is one of the most economically successful cities in Africa, providing a crucial hub for the movement of goods while harboring profitable commercial enterprises in multiple sectors. Yet, as a result of its development as a colonial center in an ecologically precarious area subject to flooding, as well as its rapid-pace urbanization as a major regional population center, the megacity has inherited many problems involving water management. This chapter examines the role of water resources in the growth of Lagos, including the substitution of wetlands for urban districts amid crises of disease and inequality. The plight of informal settlements is discussed apropos the disparate burden borne by women in particular as well as the efforts of nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, and the state to address the uneven distribution of water hazards and resources. Analyses are foregrounded that view water issues as inextricably tied to the spatial inequality of housing and a lack of investment in poor communities, indicating holistic solutions that address not only the typical hydrologic approach of “moving water out of the city” but also helping communities take root and address the problems of water quality and quantity with localized and decentralized means coordinated across multiple scales.