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Monday, 22 February 2010

Lagos is fifth worst city to live in the world? WTH?

A recent survey on global cities has shown that Lagos is the fifth worst city to live in the world.

In the annual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Lagos was only surpassed by
Harare (Zimbabwe)
Dhaka (Bangladesh)
Algiers (Algeria)
Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) 
Then Lagos (Nigeria)
What the hell does that mean? You agree?

Meanwhile here are a few pictures of Lagos through the lens of one of Naija's finest photographers, Mrs Tina Ezenma...

If Lagos is the fifth worst city to live then it's time for me to start traveling to see what other cities look like.
Seriously, is Lagos that bad?

19 comments:

busybee said...

That u even have internet to upload these pictures is indicative of the fact that u r not living the 'lagos' life that whoever conducted this research is referring to.
Ask a pure water seller that shares one room with 7 other boys from his village in bariga and they'll be surprised lagos didn't make #1 (worst)!
Not to say we haven't made progress, but I won't say I'm surprised. God will take us there sha. Eko o ni baje!

Anonymous said...

yes Linda, it's that bad. we really need to step up our game. public transport (molue and danfo) are in terrible conditions and most of the roads are bad. but at least they got a foto of our toyota yaris taxi! even for jand them no dey use yaris do taxi ;)

Anonymous said...

Yes It Is ! Its a pity that pple are actually unaware of the living situation in Nigeria esp Lagos. For some of us who live abroad, coming home for short holidays is like hell. Lagosians live such a fake life, like their in a bubble, they are so blind at wats really going on around them. As long as they in d clubs poppin champagne, living the so called "lagos good life" they think they've made it, lifes all good... its such a pity !
And yes Linda, u should travel to other states, coz there's nothing like exposure n education, live outside ur box, see how others live, learn about other cultures, be experienced, coz only then can u recognize n appreciate n be able to even comment on or understand others.

Myne said...

Lagos too badd oo, the good, the bad , the ugly.

Anonymous said...

@ anonymous 4:48pm....my point exactly..lots of people are living in a bubble and dont know what is happening around them.They think life in lagos is only on the island and other "nice area"....It is a case of "palatial residence in the midst of squalor...most lagosians live in abject poverty...the state of the roads are horrible...I dont even know

BB said...

One of Nigeria's best photographers ... never heard of her, her pictures aren't amazing, anyone could have taken that.

So sad abt Lagos, e go beta!!

Unknown said...

Not to sound uncaring you should know that there are some parts of lag that are so not cool.. With the way other parts are hyped, you would think attention will be given to these other place.. there are some places in mushin that are so not motorable.. that are bushes.. yet they all claim they live in lag.. I could go on and on.. anyway, I hate dwelling on problems without coming up with solutions..I wrote a post today titled ' save our soul'.. I humbly request your attention please.. thank you ever so much.
www.askchacha4free.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

i'm sorry but who is one of the finest photographers?!?
Those pics look like they were taken from a vehicle with a 2MP digital camera..
and Yeah Lagos is bad also from a business point of view..the cost of operation is crazy..rent too expensive, diesel cost cause there's no electricty etc.I think that's where the survey is coming from..open your eyes..

Chyke said...

Personally I am surprised that Lagos didn’t make the top 3 on the list. The place is far removed from what any candid observer will classify as a town focussed on joining the forward-looking world. Fashola has his hands full and is trying his best. His central mistake can be akin to that of a painter trying to paint over a ramshackle wall; he is simply covering the cracks. Lagos is a muddle that doesn’t have the infrastructure to shore up its ever-increasing populace. And before anyone shouts Lekki, Ikoyi and VI - Glorified villages, inhabited by peeps living a deluded tale.

Anonymous said...

its a lie jo i live in lagos and i luv it, been around d world and cant live anywhere else mehn, even with all d katakata we still make it happen, now thats wat i call living.. I LOVE LAGOS :-)))

Adanne said...

Indeed i agree that it should actually be in the top ten list. As much as i love Lagos, i have the opportunity to live in other cities in the world and have experienced what sanity should be. We should try to develop a communal sense of pride so that we can take cative part in first and foremost keeping lagos clean. The state of the roads, the horrid horrid traffic, the insecurity, the chaotic transport system, the underutilisation of the tourism potential..i could go on and on.. And the reality indeed like anonymous said is the fact that Lagos live in delusion..a false, imagined sense of their own importance and opulence..whereas the majority of the city is a shambles..
Yes Linda, do travel a bit more, in Nigeria and beyond and see how much more wualitative life can be just by living in a sane, decent city.

Anonymous said...

lagos is a very very crazy place 2 live in. it is dat bad.

Anonymous said...

@annon 8;07, i was going to say the sam thing about the photographer...Linda choose ur words carefully, cos thi might be bad for the womans busineess, the pictures arent all that.

Moving on..im glad with the comments read so far lagos has a dark side.ask the people leaving in adjegunle or under the bridge!!!

Jobs Nigeria said...

This is not funny at all, can't Lago escapades be controlled by Nigerian Government?

Wild Boy said...

This photographer has taken reality...instead of the photoshopped picassa nonsense people parade all over the place.... Let's just appreciate the artistic side of what she's done. She's soo not the best(yet) but she's done well and there's room for improvement.
Lagos is just a little case study of the decaying state of the whole nation. Whatever Nigerian can afford it simple breaks away to sanity elsewhere and the 'not so made' create cosy cocoons for themselves....instead of dealing with the damn big picture. Sad.

. said...

who orchestrates these rankings? and what are they based on? is what I would like to know. I know there are poor living condition in Lagos, but there are places worse off abeg.

Anonymous said...

I don't care if there are worse places than lagos, but the fact that Lagos is one of the worse city in the world, that's a problem.

Linda, even though, you've been offered to travel outside, but you don't want to, according to you, for whatever reason. I will advice and encourage you to give it shot, to go out, go outside your little world, be exposed, and see what the world is about. So, yes Lagos is that bad, it's terrible. I try to keep up with Nigeria, by reading blogs like this, some websites, and I noticed that many of them are like in their little world or bubble, I think that's the reason they can't see how much problems they have, and what the country is been faced with.

My first visit to Nigeria was a year ago. Eventhough, we mostly stayed on the good side of Lagos, but I still couldn't believe the bad conditions in Nigeria. Some of them don't realize how bad, I guess they don't have any choice but to be accustomed to it. It's really sad, because money is not the issue, but leadership.

Although, I commend Fashola for trying to do something.

Anonymous said...

yes, Lagos is one of the worst cities to live in the world- filthy streets, chronic traffic, poor public transport, high crime rate, poor housing which is very expensive, lack of suitable amenities, chronic power cuts and poor attitude of Lagosians- from the airport, Lagos gives a very bad impression of Nigeria. The attitudes gets worst when leaving Nigeria, particularly with demands for 'dash' from immigration, law enforcement, the airport authorities and even BA staff

afrochic said...

by whose standards? who decides what? Even in New york, you have the projects- slums. Lagos by my standard is not utopia but the classification is oh so off point!

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