The Inherent Dangers of Slums Proliferation In Nigeria Cities
ESV Friday Otuma,
Slums could be variously defined, depending on the parameters for definition and assessments, but one common denominator is the empirical fact that slums is a function of urban poverty. In a more concise definition, the United Nations (UN-Habitat, 2007) describes slums as areas usually inhabited by the urban poor, and which are largely characterized by substandard dwellings, lacking basic social amenities such as clean water and regular electricity supply.
In a 2009 research carried out by Ayuba Muhammad Ribadu of the Department of Sociology at the Ahmadu BelloUniversity, Zaria, Nigeria, on slums proliferation in Nigeria, the social scholar of human development outlined a number of factors that are responsible for slums proliferation in Nigeria to include; explosion of urban population as accessioned by massive rural-urban migration, acute urban housing deficit, inaccessibility of land, and above all, pervasive poverty that is currently plaguing the Nigerian economically weak population.
As a professional Estate Surveyor and Valuer, in this short opinion article, I will be sharing insights on the dangers that are associated with the scenario painted above as it affects the entire real estate ecosystem and the economy at large.
Nigeria has been described by development economists as the world’s poverty capital. Most Nigerians live on less than $2 a day, and the Nigeria economy is powered by only 4, 000MW of power. The economic and social challenges are enormous. The money to rent or build a quality house in Nigeria is only a function of the rich in the society.
Available data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that Nigeria has a housing deficit of 28 million. All these are more are the major reasons while people are being forced to create and live in slums across Nigerian cities.
One major negative consequence of the increasing slums in Nigeria is the fact that they are breeding grounds for social miscreants and other criminal elements. Majority of the persons that live in these places are those who are economically displaced, and criminality is a common character among these set of persons.
Distortion of urban plans is another effect of the increasing slums in Nigerian cities. Slums are usually unapproved residential areas for the economically displaced individuals. Thus, the original plans of such places are distorted, and it comes with attendants economic and social problems.
Due to lack of basic amenities in slums, lives there are endangered, prone and vulnerable to so many sickness and diseases. There is a high rate of infant mortality and death rate in slums.
Security threats to neighborhoods are another problems being caused by the rising urban slums. Slums are breeding grounds for hoodlums and criminal elements. Thus, they use they usually prepare and lunch attacks from slums to the urban neighborhoods.
Massive urban renewal, development of satellite towns, bridging the growing housing deficits, and the development of mortgage products for the low-income-earners are all solutions to the growing slums in Nigeria cities.
ESV Friday Otuma, a Registered Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Writes from Warri, Delta State.
the United Nations (UN-Habitat, 2007) describes slums as areas usually
inhabited by the urban poor, and which are characterized by substandard dwellings
lacking basic social amenities such as clean water and regular electricity supply. This
definition largely agrees with the Britannica’s (2003) description of slums as densely
populated dirty run-down urban areas character
SLUMS PROLIFERATION IN NIGERIA: EXPLORING THE SPATIAL
MANIFESTATIONS, FORMATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
