A Dry City Surrounded by Water: The Negative Effects of Inadequate Infrastructure and Poor Water Management in Lagos.
Located in Nigeria, Lagos is the largest city in Africa, populated by over 20 million residents. Lagos borders the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Lagos Lagoon. Over the last few years, Lagos has experienced rapid population growth and increased urbanization. At this rate, Lagos will be one of the largest cities in the world.
Africa is statistically the poorest continent in the world due to environmental factors like droughts and floods. These environmental occurrences cause natural resources to be scarce, crops are wiped out by floods and livestock to become dehydrated and die due to droughts. Natural resources are difficult to maintain, especially water. Lagos has been suffering from a water scarcity crisis for years, which has become increasingly worse as the population has grown. By examining local newspaper articles and news reports, the Lagos Water Corporation master plan, and statistical data surrounding boreholes, we can see how severe the water scarcity crisis truly is, and how with population growth there is less water accessible. Boreholes being dug are making the situation worse by forcing citizens to compete for water, and the irrigation system put in place is riddled with water leakages, which most readers don’t see. This is important because it reveals the infrastructural violence occurring in Lagos due to the government’s lack of initiative to repair the water leakages as well as wealthy groups using boreholes, which causes water to be seen as a materialistic good rather than a necessity.