The UN-Habitat reports that approximately 53.9% of Nigeria’s urban population live in slums or
informal settlements. For every 10 Nigerians living in urban areas, five live in households
without one or more of the following: access to improved water, improved sanitation, sufficient-
living area, housing durability and tenure security.
The causes and effects of the prevalence of these challenges have been explored generously in Nigeria. The general consensus link the emergence of these slum communities as a response to the failures of urban governance to countenance the impacts of rapid population growth and urbanisation. Thus, our urban centres are marked by blight and decline, where the concept of public water and sanitation facilities seems obsolete. Our most important cities are not spared, at least 30% of the population in Lagos and Abuja reside in slums and informal settlements.
Since 1920, urban authorities have been grappling with urban renewal strategies to address
urban blight, adopting regeneration techniques aimed at improving the physical conditions of
urban areas. A healthy amount of emphasis has been placed on infrastructure provision – new
roads, street lights, constructed drainages, etc. which provide social, economic and
environmental benefits for residents. As an example, the construction of a distributor road
linking the low income community of Aboru to bustling towns of Iyana-Ipaja and Abule-Egba in
Lagos, resulted in economic revitalisation via the influx of people and businesses.
However, settlement upgrading does not always benefit the residents. This is because most
renewal strategies do not address tenure insecurity, which is a major characteristic of slum and
informal settlements. Without legal land ownership, urban renewal can lead to evictions and
social instability.
Urban renewal projects are usually one of the few opportunities where urban authorities are
able to focus on recording and enforcing land rights. Hence, slum dwellers are wary of
regeneration efforts and tend not to participate or encourage them. This is understandable as
the absence of land rights makes them liable to forceful evictions without compensation,
resulting in displaced families and destabilised communities. Thus, urban renewal projects tend
to conclude with the outward migration of the original residents, who then congregate to form
another slum settlement.
The ultimate goal of urban renewal is the improvement of urban living conditions for the
residents, and not indirectly contribute to their exodus. This can only be possible if techniques to
strengthen land rights are included in the renewal strategy. A land rights focused renewal
approach will ensure that the residents are able to retain ownership, contribute to regeneration
activities without fear, benefit from solutions being presented and avoid negative impacts
associated with gentrification.
A great start might be the adoption and redefining the continuum of land rights to reflect prevailing local contexts.