Lagos: Africa's largest floating shanty town must go
In Makoko, an informal settlement on a lagoon in central Lagos, tens of thousands are losing their homes. Officials cite safety reasons, but critics have accused authorities of backing land grabs for luxury projects.
A century on stilts
Makoko, an informal settlement floating in Nigeria's largest city of Lagos, has existed for over 100 years. Without electricity, water or official schools, the community here lives off fishing and informal trade. The floating houses are the focal point of an ongoing conflict over land in the city.
Uncertain future
Authorities have demolished hundreds of wooden huts in Makoko. The crackdown on the settlement built on stilts is part of a campaign to remove so-called illegal structures and reclaim waterfront land for modern real estate projects.
Forcible evictions
As the houses in Makoko are demolished, the residents and their neighbors carry away their belongings. Even in the huts, rents are high. When people pay the equivalent of $126 a year "for a space under the bridge, you know there is a problem," Timothy Nubi, an urban development expert at the University of Lagos, told the AFP news agency.
Tear gas used against protesters
Amphibious excavators rumble through Makoko, escorted by armed police. Hundreds of stilt houses in the heart of Lagos have collapsed into the lagoon. The demolitions are estimated to have displaced more than 30,000 people. Shortly before Christmas, NGOs say three people, including two babies, died after tear gas was used against protesters.
Informal settlements
More than 15 million people live in Lagos. With scarce land and a booming population, the city faces an acute housing shortage. Urban expert Nubi calls the situation paradoxical: Slums are cleared while high rents leave apartments in wealthy areas empty. About half the population lives in informal settlements.
High-end coastal property
Alongside the demolitions, excavators are filling the lagoon banks with sand to reclaim land. Houses were also recently torn down in nearby Oworonshoki, officially over environmental concerns and missing permits. But in Lagos, coastal property is highly lucrative and activists say poorer settlements are increasingly being cleared for this purpose.
'Treated' worse 'than animals'
"They treated us like we are less than animals," says 25-year-old Alex Wusa, pictured here in his canoe. Wusa's house, his shop, even the school where he teaches have all been destroyed. The evictions took place without warning, Wusa told AFP — a claim the state disputes. For many like Wusa, the loss feels abrupt and total.
For safety reasons?
The government has justified the demolition of the stilt houses as a safety measure, pointing out that the demolished buildings were located in close proximity to high-voltage power lines. In addition, residents were given 14 days' advance warning, the state said. Local NGOs disagree and note that demolition took place well beyond the marked zones where residents were warned.
No place to go
After the demolitions, families with children and pets were forced to sleep on boats. Their makeshift shelters are regularly hit by heavy rain. "This suffering is too much," said Iyabo Olaleye, a fishmonger who lost two houses. "The rain drenched my children, and I have nowhere to go."
Upgrade instead of demolition
Activists and experts, including Nubi, have called for upgrading homes instead of demolishing them, with investment in infrastructure and safer building methods. "When they demolish, will they build for the use of those who occupied those properties?" asked urban planner Moses Ogunleye. Models of inclusive urban renewal could integrate Makoko, but so far profit seems to have prevailed.