The Nigerian government has pledged support for an ongoing urban development research initiative aimed at addressing key challenges in cities like Lagos and Maiduguri.
The initiative, led by the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) and supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), focuses on issues such as tenure security, urban safety, and water sanitation in informal settlements.
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The government’s commitment was reiterated by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, during a dinner hosted recently in Abuja to welcome ACRC’s Chief Executive Officer, Diana Mitlin, a professor of Global Urbanism at the University of Manchester.
Other representatives of various development partners and government agencies, such as UN-Habitat, the National Assembly, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, among others, were in attendance.
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ACRC is a body of researchers working across 12 African cities, including Lagos and Maiduguri in Nigeria.
More about project
ACRC’s work in Nigeria is part of a broader initiative covering multiple African cities.
In Maiduguri, researchers from the University of Maiduguri, in collaboration with other stakeholders such as community residents and civil societies, are working on a project to enhance tenure security in informal settlements, ensuring that vulnerable residents have legal protection against forced evictions.
In Lagos, action research is focused on urban safety and security, particularly in Ajegunle-Ikorodu, where poor street lighting has been linked to high crime rates.
A study led by Adewumi Badiora, an urban planning researcher at Olabisi Onabanjo University, explores how improved lighting could help mitigate security risks. Another study in Okerube, Alimosho Local Government Area, examines water and sanitation challenges to improve public health.
Mrs Mitlin emphasised that ACRC’s approach is not to impose solutions but to align with existing local efforts.
She said: “We felt that we had to acknowledge the work that had gone on already, and our task was to add value to that work. We also acknowledge that the reform efforts were not singular but were driven by the diversity of agencies frequently working together.
“So, as academics, we acknowledge the significance of planners, architects, engineers, and others who get involved in the making of urban space as well as researchers on the other side. We also acknowledge the importance of the local government administrators, even as we are conscious of the depth of the NGOs’ efforts, especially the national and city-based NGOs.”
She noted that the foundation phase of the project across the 12 cities showed how evidence-led development could help to catalyse commitment from the elite to address identified problems and build capabilities among relevant state agencies.
Government’s response
While commending ACRC’s efforts, Mrs Orelope-Adefulire acknowledged Nigeria’s growing urban challenges, particularly in Lagos, the country’s most populated state.
She stressed the need for sustainable infrastructure to match the city’s rapid expansion.
“Nigeria is overpopulated, and we need to match it with infrastructure so that those in both the urban and the rural communities can enjoy life. And we are sure this is in line with the study your team is conducting in Nigeria,” she said.
“As you may have seen, Lagos is witnessing such a crisis now as the smallest state with the highest population. This has put a lot of pressure on the government of Lagos State in the area of infrastructure to match the population.”
Apart from commending ACRC’s work in Maiduguri and Lagos, she commended the government of Borno State, the federal government, and various development partners for their support to the city when it witnessed flooding in 2024 due to the collapse of its dam.
“We thank you for coming to Nigeria and for what you have done in Maiduguri in Borno State, one of the lovely states in Nigeria. It was unfortunate that we recorded a dam collapse in the city, killing people and destroying properties. But we all rolled our sleeves to help humanity,” she said.
“Part of our job is what you have come to do, so we appreciate you. We would like to have your report so that we can work on it.”
Need for Partnership
Mrs Mitlin said ACRC recognises that true development must be localised, saying its concern was to align its operation with the ongoing existing efforts in Africa.
“We are not the agencies here, we are the followers, the learners, and to align our work to be effective and be focused. I think what we have already realised is that an alignment with the SDGs is very close and very embedded. As we all know, SDG 11 is all about cities and creating prosperous, viable, and sustainable cities,” she added.
According to Ms Mitlin, ongoing action research in the Ajegunle-Ikorodu area of Lagos focuses on safety and security with a streetlighting project being led by an urban and regional planning researcher at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Adewumi Badiora.
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According to the researchers, the lack of streetlights significantly contributes to high crime rates, identifying area boys, cult groups, trade unions, and even some security operatives as key actors in the city’s security challenge.
The ACRC CEO also mentioned another action research on water and sanitation in the Okerube community in Alimoso LGA, which she noted is aimed at improving the health of the residents and also another that focuses on the city’s climate resilience.
The dinner also had in attendance the consortium’s Director of Uptake, Ismail Ibraheem, a professor at the University of Lagos; the ACRC Lagos City Manager, Temilade Sesan, and the Lagos City Uptake Officer, Mojeed Alabi.
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