The Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), also known as KAI, recently cleared out people who were living illegally under the Eko Bridge at Elegbata on Lagos Island by removing their makeshift houses. 84 rooms were taken down because they were made without the right permissions and were thought to be dangerous to public health and safety. The move was made after a member of the public was attacked at the site, which led the person to make a complaint with the state’s Commissioner for Environment, according to the Corps Marshal, retired Major Olanini Cole. After getting the report, the state told the illegal buildings to be torn down.
Authorities found a number of worrying violations of safety and environmental laws during the process. One person was caught for building a toilet building with eight rooms and illegally connecting the waste pipes to the Lagoon. The Lagoon is an important body of water for the people who live nearby, especially fishermen who depend on it for their income. This connection was a major environmental risk. Channeling human garbage into the Lagoon without treating it could have very bad long-term effects on the ecosystem and public health in the area.
In addition to the bathroom problem, some of the people who had to leave their homes were seen cooking food in the area with water from the lagoon, which made the health risks even worse. The water that was used for cooking could have been dirty, which could have led to water-borne diseases. This is especially likely in an area that already has problems with bad sanitation and too many people. Conditions under the bridge were dirty and didn’t care about safety, which is a public health issue for the people who live there and for the whole neighborhood.
Corps Marshal Cole said that some of the people who lived in these illegal camps had been there for up to thirty years. A lot of them said they had to live under the bridge because they couldn’t afford to rent good apartments in other parts of the city. This brings up the bigger problem of housing affordability in Lagos. The high cost of rent has pushed many low-income people and families to live in unsafe places. Even though it was hard, the people who had to leave had grown used to the area over the years. Some of them had even started small businesses, like cooking for people, to try to make money. These actions did, however, hurt the environment and made it more likely that diseases would spread in the area.
The removal of illegal residents from under the Eko Bridge is part of a bigger plan by the Lagos state government to deal with illegal settlements in different parts of the city. The government has been focusing on getting rid of illegal buildings in “black spots,” which are places that aren’t safe for people to live because of bad infrastructure, lack of sanitation, or environmental dangers. The Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps has been doing these jobs because people are becoming more worried about their health and safety in the city, especially in areas with a lot of people where informal villages have grown over the years.
Authorities have made it clear that this action is not an isolated event and that plans are already in place to remove other illegal settlements across Lagos. The state government wants to do something about overcrowding, which is a big problem in a place where the population is growing quickly. As more people move to Lagos in search of work and better chances, the need for cheap housing has skyrocketed, leaving many people with few choices. Unfortunately, many people have to live in unsafe informal settlements because they can’t find cheap housing.
Even though the moves were needed for public health and safety, the people who have been moved are worried. Many of the people who were kicked out have complained that they don’t have any other places to live and that it’s hard to find decent places to live in a city where rent prices are high. The state government hasn’t said anything specific about how it plans to help the displaced people find affordable housing. This ongoing problem shows the gap between how cities are growing and how many low-cost homes are available. This is still a problem for many big cities around the world, not just Nigeria.
The government wants to make these “black spots” safer and healthier places to live, but it will be hard to find long-term solutions that meet both the short-term need for affordable homes in Lagos and the long-term need for safety. It will be hard to stop more people from living in illegal settlements in the future if there aren’t enough support systems in place, like social housing programs and better facilities in areas that aren’t as well developed.
In the end, the problem is a sign of a bigger problem with urban planning and housing that needs both the public and private sectors to work together to help the city’s most vulnerable people. The operation to get rid of illegal residents is a good start, but it shows how much more needs to be done to solve the city’s growing housing problem, make living conditions better, and make sure everyone has access to safe, affordable homes.
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