The Home as Workplace: Investigating Home Based Enterprises in Low Income Settlements of the Lagos Metropolis

The paper critically examines the phenomenon of Home Based Enterprises (HBE‘s) in low income residential areas of the Lagos Metropolis. The research adopts a purposive selection of thirty one low income residential neighbourhoods in the Lagos Metropolis. Data was obtained by the administration of structured questionnaires and analysis was done by both parametric and non-parametric methods. Random sampling of 394 home based enterprises was carried out. Issues examined include housing and environmental conditions; nature as well as types of home based enterprises and socioeconomic characteristics of operators. These include age, gender, and income, household size and level of education. The social network and informal institutions as well as the urban planning implications of these HBEs were also considered. The research revealed the importance of home based enterprises as a major source of income generation and socialization in urban areas. Recommendations include the adoption of case-specific planning models, consideration of cultural contexts in planning and the adoption of local economic development strategies in city design and development.Key words: Poverty, Income, Lagos, Home, Workplace, HBEs, LE

9Socio-economic adaptation strategies of the urban poor in the Lagos metropolis, Nigeria

This article investigates the survival strategies of the urban poor in Lagos metropolis. The study considers the socio-economic characteristics as well as the livelihood patterns and strategies employed in the absence of formal social security systems. The research adopts a purposive sampling of 396 household heads in 31 low-income residential neighbourhoods in the Lagos metropolis. Data were obtained by the administration of structured questionnaires, and analysis was done by both parametric and non-parametric methods. The research revealed that most of the respondents were involved in informal trade enterprises and were living below the national poverty line, as mode household monthly income was between $50 and$125. The importance of informal social networks – especially rotating credit and ethnic alliances as social security and insurance mechanisms of the respondents – was highlighted. The study concludes by recommending measures for building on the identifi ed strengths of the urban poor, which includes civic engagement and partnering with informal social networks to provide opportunities for poverty alleviation in the communities.Keywords: Ethnic alliance; informal economy; Lagos; poverty; rotating credi

Utilizing Creeks for Integrated Rural Coastal Development of Ilaje Area of Nigeria.

Rural communities in the country are blessed with resources which need to be exploited to achieve rural development. This study examines the Utilization of Creeks for Integrated Coastal Development of Ilaje Area of Nigeria. The primary goal of the study is to carry out inventory on creek resources and how best it could be utilized for Integrated Coastal Development of the study area. Questionnaires which include close and open ended questions were administered to elicit information from household heads in the study area. Stratified-random sampling technique was employed in the administration of questionnaires, and 5% sample was adopted for this study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis method. Information gathered from the administration of questionnaires include: socio-economic characteristics of respondents, major uses of creeks, existing condition of the coastal area and infrastructural facilities in the study area among others. The study reveals the present level of creek utilization, poor fishing techniques, poor sources of water and navigation routes, and manual dredging among others. Based on the findings, it is recommended that government should employ the services of dredging companies to selected locations in the study area for dredging; this would increase the amount of sand turn over, thereby increasing revenue generated for local economic development. Periodic clearing of water weeds will also be of necessity, dredging and expansion of the creeks for navigation for modern boats and development of tourist and recreation centres will also enhance development of the area.Keywords: Coastal development, creeks, Ilaji, navigation and rural communities

The atmospheres of massiveness: The politics and times of the maybe in Southern megaregions

In this introduction to the special issue on massive urbanisation, the collective that has prepared this issue reviews the thinking and experiences that have been important to them. The reflections centre on the use of ‘massive’ in Jamaican patois, where it has two countervailing meanings. On the one hand, it means an inordinate lack of sensitivity to the real conditions taking place, a sense of extreme self-inflation beyond reason. On the other, it means a collectivity coming into being without a set form, but reflective of a desire for collaboration and mutuality. Massive urbanisation thus means here both the voluminous expansion of speculative accumulation, extraction of land value, replication of vast inequities and disfunction, and the continuous emergence of new forms of urban inhabitation, a constant remaking of the social field by what has been called the urban majority. All of the contributions attempt to work with this sense of doubleness, amplifying the creation of particular atmospheres of the urban as a materiality of its heterogeneity

Impact of mobile health technologies on human papillomavirus vaccination uptake among mothers of unvaccinated girls aged 9–14 years in Lagos, Nigeria (mHealth-HPVac): study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Background Despite the availability of effective vaccines, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake remains low in most resource-limited settings including Nigeria. Mobile health technology (mHealth) has the potential to empower patients to manage their health, reduce health disparities, and enhance the uptake of HPV vaccination. Aim The “mHealth-HPVac” study will assess the effects of mHealth using short text messages on the uptake of HPV vaccination among mothers of unvaccinated girls aged 9–14 years and also determine the factors influencing the uptake of HPV vaccination among these mothers. Methods This protocol highlights a randomised controlled trial involving women aged 25–65 years who will be enrolled on attendance for routine care at the General Outpatient clinics of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria between July and December 2024. At baseline, n = 123 women will be randomised to either a short text message or usual care (control) arm. The primary outcome is vaccination of the participant’s school-age girl(s) at any time during the 6 months of follow-up. The associations between any two groups of continuous variables will be assessed using the independent sample t-test for normally distributed data, or the Mann-Whitney U test for skewed data. For two groups of categorical variables, the Chi-square (X2) test or Fisher’s exact test will be used, as appropriate. Using the multivariable binary logistic regression model, we will examine the effects of all relevant sociodemographic and clinical variables on HPV vaccination uptake among mothers of unvaccinated but vaccine-eligible school-age girls. Statistical significance will be reported as P < 0.05. Discussion The mHealth-Cervix study will evaluate the impact of mobile technologies on HPV vaccination uptake among mothers of unvaccinated but vaccine-eligible school-age girls in Lagos, Nigeria as a way of contributing to the reduction in the wide disparities in cervical cancer incidence through primary prevention facilitated using health promotion to improve HPV vaccination uptake. Registration PACTR202406727470443 (6th June 2024)

Plot by plot: plotting urbanism as an ordinary process of urbanization

With this paper, we analyse an ordinary urban process, which has received little attention so far and propose a new concept to take account of it: plotting urbanism. It is usually subsumed under terms like “urban informality” or “incremental urbanism” and not studied as a distinct process. In comparing Lagos, Istanbul and Shenzhen we captured four defining features of plotting urbanism: first, it unfolds in a piecemeal fashion with limited comprehensive planning. Second, it emerges from conflicts between multiple overlapping modes of territorial regulation, land tenure and property rights, which result in specific territorial compromises. Third, plotting is based on commodification of housing and land, which might accentuate socio-economic differentiations between property-owners, who often live in the same area, and their tenants. The term “plotting” highlights the key role of the plot in the process. It also alludes to strategic acts of collaboration for individual and collaborative benefit

Impact of manufactured goods' exports on economic growth: a dynamic econometric model for Nigeria

The impact of exports on growth has for a long time enmeshed in controversy partly due to both positive and negative effects empirically established in the literature. Still, most studies in developing countries have left detailed examination of exports' components and domestic institutions unexplored in the export-growth nexus. Based on an error correction model, this paper examines the impact of manufactured exports and its components on economic growth in Nigeria, taking cognisance of the country's institutional framework. Few of the components of manufactured exports were found to exert positive influence on growth both in the long and short runs. The paper, however, finds ample evidence in support of the relevance of quality of institutions in the economic growth process. In effect, with the right institutional framework, export-led growth, and specific focus on selected manufacturing sub sectors there appears to be a feasible development strategy for Nigeria. African Journal of Economic Policy Vol. 11(2) 2004: 1-2

Urban paradox and the rise of the neoliberal city: Case study of Lagos, Nigeria

In a bid to actualise the vision of transforming Lagos into Africa’s model megacity and global economic and financial hub, the state government has embarked on and/or supported various urban development projects. Drawing on the theoretical underpinnings of neoliberalism, we argue that governance practices in Lagos are transforming the city in a manner that is paradoxical to the intents of the city’s development plan. This paper, therefore, explores how government practices have shaped the city, and the socio-spatial consequences of the recent Lagos state government-supported developments. Of interest are projects from the Lagos State Development plan (2012–2025) which have resulted in significant spatial displacements – hence the selected case studies of Lekki Free Trade Zone and Badia-East Housing Estate. The study reveals that the Lagos state development policy results in creative destruction largely due to the uncritical embrace of market logic over social logic, thereby entrenching urban discontent and socio-spatial fragmentation across the city

Urban governance and Covid-19 response in Nigeria: Who is left behind?

This chapter assesses the Covid-19 response in Nigeria—highlighting the governance dimensions (interface of various stakeholders) and implications for sustainable development (pandemic containment in the immediate term and resilience building for the future). The chapter is based on the notion of governance, as distinct from government. Governance is the coordinating mechanism of both the public and private resources to achieve common goals, and central to its functioning is the extent of interaction among multiple stakeholders at different levels and across multiple sectors. Using a variety of sources, we evaluate Nigeria’s responses to the Covid-19 pandemic through the lens of multi-level governance frameworks. We analyse both the vertical interactions between the federal, state and local governments and horizontal interactions between government, civil society actors and citizens. We focus on how these dynamics enhance or obstruct citizens’ access to health and social services, as well as education and information at the urban scale, given that cities are the epicentre of the pandemic. Our findings reveal insufficient coordination, accountability and engagement across multiple sectors. We also observed extensive capacity gaps at the local government level, with attendant consequences for citizen response to pandemic protocols. We conclude with a reflection of how existing governance structures could be optimised and/or modified to better respond to future pandemics

Assessing smart infrastructure for sustainable urban development in the Lagos metropolis

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