Lagos is home to over 10 million people. Every day more people arrive in search of work and somewhere to live. For many, this means a home in one of Lagos slums, which are some of the largest in Africa. Here, people live in unsafe buildings in floodprone areas, without access to clean water, electricity or toilets, adequate health care or education for their children. Lagos growing population also means interest from property developers who want to build offices and houses on land occupied by slums. As a result, many slum dwellers are forcibly evicted to make way for these projects, which are available largely to the wealthy. These forced evictions take place outside of any legal framework, without compensation and without the government providing adequate alternative housing for the people living there. More than 2 million people have been forcibly evicted from their homes across Nigeria since 2000 in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
Fraudulent property sales caused in part by pressure and competition for land have resulted in people in Lagos and across Nigeria painting on their homes: This house is not for sale.
Makoko is one of the biggest slums in West Africa. Located in Lagos commercial area, close to a bridge, the land on which the settlement is built is highly sought after by property developers. As a result, forced evictions and demolitions are frequently carried out by the authorities.
A home in Makoko in 2008. The land on which it stands is highly sought after by property developers in Lagos and homes are at risk of being demolished. Living conditions in the slum are very poor.
Maina and her son were evicted from Makoko slum in 2005, when their home was demolished. Here they stand in front of the land their home used to stand on. Over three days in April 2005, 3,000 people were forcibly evicted from their homes in Makoko. Bulldozers demolished homes, churches, schools and a medical clinic. After demolishing the buildings, officials were reported to have set the remaining materials on fire so that they could not be used for rebuilding.
Ahmed Mohammed is a security guard at a building site on land which used to be part of the Maroko slum. Maroko was one of Nigeria s biggest slum communities, located on Victoria Island, Lagos and had an estimated population of around 300,000. In February 1990, the area was demolished, with only seven days notice.
Souleyman Ades is a worker on the Ocean Wind Project building site. Projects such as this which often include hotels, leisure centres, apartments and offices are destined for the rich, not the people whose homes have been cleared to make way for the new buildings.
A schoolboy sits outside his home in Festac Town, another of Lagos slums. The neighbourhood is home to a large population with many children, but the buildings are in a poor state and the area has virtually no services.
A flooded street in Jakonde, Lagos. Jakonde is a largely dilapidated area. It has no electricity, clean water or sanitation services. As shown in these pictures, the area often floods, making life very difficult for people living there. Many of the people living in Jakonde came here after being forcibly evicted from Maroko slum in 1990. Property developers now want to build in the area and people are again at risk of being forced out of their homes.
Rasheed Ajai, a baker, in front of his building in Jakonde, Lagos. Like many in Jakonde, his building is unsafe and the area is often flooded.
Melvin P. Daji, a lawyer, (second from left), decided to pay a team of people to build wooden bridges through the alleys in Jakonde. These bridges enable people to walk around the area. Jakonde floods regularly and this makes life even more difficult for the people living there.
A newly built house in Lagos. Inhabitants of informal settlements are regularly evicted to make way for new houses and other buildings. However, in many cases, only the very wealthy can afford these homes and buildings.