In terms of administration, Lagos is not a single
municipality and therefore has no overall city administration.
[65]
The geographical city limits of Metropolitan Lagos comprises 16 of the
20 Local Government Areas, which together comprise Lagos State. The
latter entity provides overall government for the metropolitan region.
The Municipality of Lagos, which covered Lagos Island, Ikoyi and
Victoria Island as well as some mainland territory, was managed by the
Lagos City Council (LCC), but it was disbanded in 1976 and divided into
several
Local Government Areas (most notably Lagos Island LGA,
Lagos Mainland LGA and
Eti-Osa LGA).
[66]
The mainland beyond the Municipality of Lagos, on the other hand, comprised several separate towns and settlements such as
Mushin,
Ikeja and Agege. In the wake of the 1970s Nigerian oil boom, Lagos
experienced a population explosion, untamed economic growth, and
unmitigated rural migration. This caused the outlying towns and
settlements to develop rapidly, thus forming the present day "Lagos
Metropolitan Area", also known as "Metropolitan Lagos". The history of
Lagos is still evidenced in the layout of the LGAs which display the
unique identities of the cultures that created them.
By 2006, the metro area around Lagos had extended beyond Lagos State's boundaries and attained a
megacity
status. This much larger area is referred to as "Greater Metropolitan
Lagos" or "Lagos Megacity Region", which is a continuous built up land
area of additional 1,535.4 square kilometres (592.8
square miles),
comprising sprawls in LGAs situated next to Lagos' eastern and western
city limits in Lagos State, and beyond northern limits, spilling into
the LGAs in adjoining
Ogun State. Ogun State LGAs within Greater Metropolitan Lagos majorly include:
Obafemi Owode,
Sagamu,
Ifo,
Ado-Odo/Ota and part of
Ewekoro.
[33]
The 16 LGAs of Metropolitan Lagos
| Local Government Area |
Land area[67]
(in km²) |
Population[31]
(2006 Census) |
Density
(inh. per km²) |
| Agege |
17 |
459,939 |
41,071 |
| Ajeromi-Ifelodun |
13.9 |
684,105 |
55,474 |
| Alimosho |
137.8 |
1,277,714 |
6,899 |
| Amuwo-Odofin |
179.1 |
318,166 |
2,364 |
| Apapa |
38.5 |
217,362 |
8,153 |
| Eti-Osa |
299.1 |
287,785 |
1,496 |
| Ifako-Ijaiye |
43 |
427,878 |
16,078 |
| Ikeja |
49.92 |
313,196 |
6,785 |
| Kosofe |
84.4 |
665,393 |
8,174 |
| Lagos Island |
9.26 |
209,437 |
24,182 |
| Lagos Mainland |
19.62 |
317,720 |
16,322 |
| Mushin |
14.05 |
633,009 |
36,213 |
| Ojo |
182 |
598,071 |
3,781 |
| Oshodi-Isolo |
41.98 |
621,509 |
13,886 |
| Somolu |
14.6 |
402,673 |
34,862 |
| Surulere |
27.05 |
503,975 |
21,912 |
| Metropolitan Lagos |
1,171.28 |
7,937,932 |
7,941 |
A map showing the 16
LGAs making up Lagos Metropolitan Area
Today, the word
Lagos most often refers to the urban area,
called "Metropolitan Lagos" in Nigeria, which includes both the islands
of the former municipality of Lagos and the mainland suburbs. Lagos
State government is responsible for some of the utilities including
roads and transportation, power, water, health, and education.
Metropolitan Lagos extends over 16 of the 20 LGAs of Lagos State, and
contains about 85% of the population of Lagos State, and includes
semi-rural areas.
[68]
Lagos City has a considerable number of high-rise buildings which
dominate its skyline. Most of the tall buildings are located in the
downtown Central Business District.
Lagos was the former capital city of Nigeria but it has since been replaced by
Abuja.
Abuja officially gained its status as the capital of Nigeria on 12
December 1991, although the decision to move the federal capital had
been made in now Act no. 6 of 1976. Lagos is also home to the High Court
of the
Lagos State Judiciary, housed in an old colonial building on Lagos Island.
[69]
Census data for Lagos
Although
the 2006 National Population Census of Nigeria credited the
metropolitan area with a population figure of 7,937,932, the figure is
at variance with some projections by the UN and other population
agencies and groups worldwide. The population figure of
Lagos State
given by the Lagos State Government is 17,553,924. It was based on
claimed conducted enumeration for social planning by the Lagos State
Government "parallel census" and it believes that since the inhabitants
of the metropolitan area of Lagos constitute 88% of the Lagos State
population, the population of metropolitan Lagos is about 15.5 million.
[70]
A rejoinder to Lagos State Government views
[71]
concluded that Lagos State concealed the fact that the population
projection, for Lagos Urban Agglomeration by the UN agencies had been
revised downwards substantially as early as 2003. It failed to interpret
the two most important and fairly representative and reliable secondary
data sets already in public domain, the National Identity Card Scheme
and the 2003 Voters Registration figures from INEC. The figures for 2007
Voters Registration by INEC were an act subsequent to the release of
the provisional census results and comprehensively corroborate,
vindicate and validate the population figures in no uncertain terms.
According to the official results of the 2006 census, there were
8,048,430 inhabitants in Metropolitan Lagos.
[31]
This figure was lower than anticipated, and has created controversy in
Nigeria. Lagos Island, the central Local Government Area and historic
centre of Metropolitan Lagos, had a population of 212,700 at the 2006
Census.
[72]
Authorities of Lagos State have attacked the results of the 2006
census, accusing the Nigerian National Population Commission of having
undercounted the population of the state. This accusation is denied by
the National Population Commission.
[73][74] A study found that research carried out by Africapolis (the African subsidiary of e-Geopolis backed by the
Agence française de développement),
in addition to the cross-referencing of official figures with more
scientific independent research concluded that the 2006 census figures
for Lagos State of about 9 million were valid and that the state's own
assessments are inflated.
[75]
Lagos is, by most estimates, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
[76] Lagos is currently experiencing a population increase of about 275,000 persons per annum. In 1999 the
United Nations
predicted that the city's metropolitan area, which had only about
290,000 inhabitants in 1950, would exceed 20 million by 2010 and thus
become one of the ten most populated cities in the world.
There is a huge spectrum of wealth distribution among the people that
reside in Lagos. It ranges from the very wealthy to the very poor.
Lagos has attracted many young people and families seeking a better life
from all other parts of Nigeria and beyond
[55] and this has also contributed to its cosmopolitan status.
[77][78][79][80]
Economy
The city of Lagos is a major economic focal point in Nigeria,
generating around 10% of the country's GDP. Most commercial and
financial business is carried out in the
central business district
situated on the island. This is also where most of the country's
commercial banks, financial institutions, and major corporations are
headquartered. Lagos is also the major Information Communications and
Telecommunications (ICT) hub of West Africa and potentially, the biggest
ICT market in the continent.
[81] Lagos is developing a
24-hour economy[82][83][84] and has also been ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the world.
[85][86][87][88][89][90] In some parts of Lagos, residents have one of the highest standards of living in Nigeria and in Africa.
[91][92] At the same time, a sizable proportion of the residents live in slums without access to piped water and sanitation.
[93][94][95][96][97]
The
Port of Lagos is Nigeria's leading
port and one of the largest and busiest in Africa. It is administered by the
Nigerian Ports Authority and it is split into three main sections: Lagos port, in the main channel next to Lagos Island,
Apapa Port (site of the container terminal) and Tin Can Port, both located in Badagry Creek, which flows into Lagos Harbour from the west.
[98] The port features a
railhead. The port has seen growing amounts of
crude oil exported, with export figures rising between 1997 and 2000.
[99] Oil and
petroleum products provide 14% of GDP and 90% of
foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria as a whole.
[100]
Gary, Indiana, United States, since 1991[126][127]
