Millions of Lagos live in slums. Slums usually have poor housing infrastructure and sanitation, and limited access to education, healthcare facilities and clean drinking water.
These challenges make people living in slums vulnerable to health crises, high illiteracy rates and poor living standards.
A central element of the city’s government’s efforts to address this issue was to drive people out. Over the past decade, more than 50,000 people have been kicked out of slum homes in Lagos.
As a development economist who conducted studies on urban poverty in Lagos State and conducted studies on social exclusion of slum residents from full joint participation, I observed several notable patterns.
Despite efforts to contribute to national productivity, these low-income communities are often marginalized and denied access to basic public amenities and dignified living conditions. Instead of addressing their needs, policy and development priorities tend to focus on replacing them. Subsequently, regulations for wealthy groups are created to replace informal settlements with skyscrapers.
Sadly, survivors of forced evictions usually move to other slums because they cannot afford to pay the high cost of living in the city. This indicates that forced eviction is not the solution to slum proliferation.
I argue that if Lagos wants to solve the problems facing slum residents of the city’s vast population, it should focus on six things. these are:
A community-driven regeneration process upgrades the community of community engagement upgrades without evacuating evacuation that is inclusive and inclusive to adequate compensation for evacuation.
This helps restore confidence that the city has the interests of all people in mind.
Forced evictions are seen as benefiting the rich
In March 2025, a demolition exercise was held at Otsumaraslam, and in a short period of time more than 10,000 residents moved.
They continue despite the 2017 Lagos High Court ruling condemning forced evictions made without justice consultation.
Known cases are the eviction of the Otodo-GBAME waterfront (just before the court ruling), where more than 30,000 residents have been evacuated (just before the court ruling).
In mid-April 2025, the Lagos State Government revealed its plans to revive Otsumaraslam. The Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (Rasla) met with community leaders and other stakeholders to discuss how that would be done. That step should have been taken before dismantling.
The idea behind the meeting was to ensure inclusiveness and reduce challenges to the project. Lasura assured community representatives of the fair hearing through the implementation process. They were told that the benefits of regeneration extend to the entire community.
As a development economist who conducted many studies on urban vulnerability and inclusion, I discovered that slum residents do not always trust the government. This lack of trust stems from experiences experienced by other slum residents.
City regeneration does not always favor slum residents. Therefore, government intervention is not seen as a real effort to improve their living conditions, but as a mechanism to drive them away to make a path for the elite.
For example, residents of Maloco slums were forced out, pretending to improve infrastructure amenities and because the area was below sea level. Currently, there are Oniru Estate, Lekki Phase 1 and other prominent residential and commercial buildings.
The luxurious apartments in Lagos Lagoon have replaced former Ilbilin Waterfront Slums. Development of Lekki Foreshore continues in the former Otodo-Gbame waterfront community.
Evict survivors usually move to other slums because they cannot afford to live in the city.
The achievement of Lagos as a “fair shared city” is proposed by the wonderful urban foundation, in partnership with the Heinrichbel Foundation. These organizations advocate for urban inclusiveness and community-driven initiatives. They envision Lagos as an inclusive place where everyone (regardless of social class or status) has fair access to amenities and decision-making processes.
The pattern of forced displacement under the guise of urban regeneration without proper compensation or resettlement is inconsistent with the principle of fairness.
Lagos’ development plans follow Western ideas and continue to widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor. This is because it is often developed to be accessible to the middle and upper classes.
Specifically, the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP 2052) contains many lofty ideas and opportunities to make Lagos a “model megacity in Africa.” However, it is not clear how the multidimensionally poor population of cities fits into the plan.
Solution
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Inclusion of slum residents marked for regeneration is a more aggressive approach:
Continuous community involvement to reaffirm that the government and other stakeholders are committed to including all residents. Community-led redesign and regeneration process. The state of the slum is deplorable and dehumanized, but it is unacceptable that the inhabitants will give way to luxury. Redesign should aim to support the community. Observe the court’s ruling warning against forced evictions. Lagos courts often control forced evictions, especially when made without legitimate procedures or resettlement arrangements. The Lagos State government should maintain its human rights by suspending all forced eviction procedures as it is illegal. Upgrade instead of displacement. Regeneration within existing settlements should be encouraged when feasible and should not disrupt livelihoods and social cohesion. Regeneration must include all income groups. The focus should be on social and economic issues as well as physical infrastructure. It will create affordable housing and basic amenities available to all income groups. Appropriate compensation. If relocation is inevitable, resettlement plans must be in place to ensure fair treatment and avoid disruption to livelihoods.
Oluwaseyi Omowunmi Popogbe, Lecturer I, Crawford University
