Metaphors of underdevelopment

Abstract

This work examines some historical processes that have resulted in making Lagos hitherto the most urbanized center in Nigeria, a ‘villagized’ city. This work demonstrates how the city was made by people and also how the activities of people have been a major threat to the city. In addition, the paper has shown that what is striking to a visitor to Lagos is the site of a city marked by filthiness and degradation with slums and squatter settlements. This situation with its evident health hazards are now monumental that they are almost out of control. These problems are a result of fundamental neglect and poverty of urban governance. The collapse of critical public infrastructure such as roads, water, sewage and drainage systems, power supply and importantly, housing, essential for households and business concerns, increasingly characterize Lagos metropolis, thus making it a villagized city.