IMPERATIVES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MAKOKO, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Makoko settlement, like many other informal settlements across the globe is an embodiment of social inequalities, social segregation and social polarization. Over half of the population in Makoko live on less than $1.25 per day. Rapid urbanization in Lagos State, Nigeria has not been matched with sustainable urban and housing policies, as well as adequate legislation and delivery systems. This has overtime led to the proliferation of slums within the city with urban poverty at its highest. This paper aims to examine the development challenges identified in Makoko area of Lagos State, Nigeria. The paper widens and extends the study of urban development through a descriptive analysis of Makoko by engaging some critical questions that continue to confront urban development policies: how can we tackle the challenge of steering complex urban development processes in an already highly urbanizing world? The research utilizes the concept of 'development from within' as a method for analyzing the wide gap between narratives and aspirations of Makoko slum dwellers and state-sponsored urban development specialists, who assume their idea of "development" is the focal mission of a developing country. The paper reveals that Makoko area of Lagos State suffers from historic structural problems, chronic inequality of opportunities, widespread poverty, inadequate capital investment in public goods and lack of pro-poor social programmes. We argue that successive political administrators and their agencies in Lagos State and Nigeria at large will need to embrace the 'development from within' approach to development, based on negotiations and collaborations between the government, non-government agencies and citizens, helping to develop an inclusive open city; a city where people will not only have options but choices. Critically, such responses will help deal with locally existing challenges and gaps in informal settlements like Makoko.