Apparently, Lagos Is One Of The Worst Cities In the World

The Economist Intelligence Unit released a Global Liveability Report yesterday, and surprise-surprise, our beloved Lagos City ranked among the 5 WORST cities to live in : 138th of 140 countries ranked.

So apparently, these people think our one and only Lagos is not all that.

In 2015, Lagos ranked 4th worst city to live in: 137th of 140 cities surveyed.

The overall Liveability Score for Lagos is 36 of 100, with the least scores coming from the Stability Category.

High crime rates as well as civil unrest are everyday realities in Lagos.

The city’s ranking implies that most aspects of living are terribly constricted and not acceptable in global standards.

Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria, covering 0.4% of the country’s territorial landscape.

Education and Healthcare in Lagos had miserable figures -well below average, with war-torn Tripoli (Libya) actually scoring higher.

A 2010 report revealed that 45.2% of girls in a Lagos slum have never attended school.

The continuing urbanization of Lagos is gradually turning it into a Mega City, and the city’s expansion is estimated to continue over the next decade.

Lagos is the major hub for the head-quarters of numerous global and national companies, and accounts for over 60% of industrial activities in Nigeria.

Epileptic power supply and an exploding population of about 22 million- leading to terrible traffic snarls- are among the city’s biggest challenges.

How to avoid traffic in Lagos:
1) Drive only between 11pm and 4am
2) Buy helicopter
3) Become governor
4) Be a witch
5) Don't come to Lagos.

— Chidi Okereke (@Chydee) July 25, 2014

Although the report wrongly places the bulk of Lagos’ challenges on the threat of Boko Haram, conflict has seen more migration to Lagos from the North.

The terrorist group’s activities were restricted to the North-Eastern parts of the country, and Lagos was never a red-zone.

The EIU report ranked Lagos just above war-torn Tripoli (Libya).

Damascus, Syria is currently ranked the worst city to live in.

Lagos scored highest in the Culture and Environment Category, although some parts of the city are extremely dirty and face serious environmental threats.

Careless waste disposal in slums and ‘urban’ areas are dangerously on the rise.

But it’s not all gloom in Lagos. The past 12 months have seen massive reconstruction of roads and bridges as well as the beefing-up of security . A light -rail project is in place and the Eko Atlantic City is nearing completion.

An artist’s impression of what Marina will will look like when the light-rail project is completed.