Why Lagos “worst city” report is fantastically ridiculous
In case you haven’t heard, Lagos has been ranked the world’s third worst city to live in.
A report from the intelligence unit of The Economist says only Tripoli in Libya and Damascus in Syria are worse cities to live in in the entire world.
When one considers that both those cities have been ravaged by war for years, the ridiculousness of that submission becomes quite apparent.
A look at the stability rating for Lagos which accounts for 25% of the overall rating is particularly instructive.
How Lagos will be scored 10 out of a possible 100 and Tripoli and Damascus will score 20 and 15 respectively is something quite hard to understand.
You may have missed the news, but Libya has been in a civil war since 2014. It’s capital city, Tripoli, has not been immune to the effects of that war especially as it is the base of the “National Salvation Government”, one of the warring parties in the country.
Damascus in Syria was also rated above Lagos in stability.
That same Damascus has been a prime destination for mortars and rockets in a war that started some five years ago.
And according to a report on mintpressnews, “life for many in Damascus, Syria is just beginning to regain a sense of normalcy.
But as far as we know, life has always been normal in Lagos. Of course, there has been the once in a while mishap – which city doesn’t have those these days? But our Lagos has always been normal.
“Continued threats from Boko Haram acts as a constraint to improving stability in Lagos,” the EIU offers in the report apparently to explain the low Lagos rating.
But the EIU, of all people, should know that Boko Haram has been an issue majorly in north eastern Nigeria.
That being said, a comparison of the present report with that of 2015 shows a decline in the state of Lagos over a one year period.
Now that is arrant nonsense.
Over the past 12 months, majority of Lagosians can testify to the numerous improvements in the state. Security has been beefed up with subsequent reduction in response time of security operatives. The government has increased spending on infrastructure over the same period. The new BRT will be one year old in November. A light rail project is in line for delivery very soon. Hundreds of roads across the state have been rehabilitated or reconstructed over the same period.
Hence, this report is not reflective of present realities in the state especially in comparison with the previous year. Lagos is not deteriorating!
Moreover, many Lagosians, aware of its many shortcomings, are in love with the city.
“Lagos has its issues, just like any other city. And it is, for me, one of the best cities to live in the world. Certainly not one of the worst,” BlackHouse Media CEO, Adekunle Ayeni wrote.
He is well-travelled, he should know.
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