Housing and urban development experts have raised fresh concerns over the growing housing crisis in Lagos State, revealing that the city currently has about 145 slums, with nearly two-thirds of its population living in informal settlements.
According to The PUNCH, the disclosure was made during a roundtable on sustainable urban regeneration held at the University of Lagos, where stakeholders examined pathways to improving living conditions across African cities.
Speaking at the event, the General Manager of the Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency, Animashaun Oladimeji, said the government had reduced the number of slums from over 300 to 145 through ongoing renewal initiatives.
“Before any community is marked for regeneration, we engage residents to understand their needs. Areas identified typically lack basic infrastructure, and the goal is to provide those missing services,” Oladimeji explained.
He added that demolition should not be the primary approach to urban renewal.
“In regeneration efforts, demolition is the last option. Evictions may or may not happen depending on the plan, but due process must be followed to avoid repeating past mistakes,” he said.
Despite these efforts, experts warned that the housing challenge remains severe. A Professor of Housing at the University of Lagos, Timothy Nubi, described the situation as critical, noting that slums have continued to multiply over the years.
“The increase in slums, despite repeated evictions, shows that current strategies are not effective. We need new approaches to manage urban growth,” Nubi said.
He also highlighted the scale of the housing deficit, estimating that Lagos faces a shortage of about five million housing units.
“There is an obvious shortage of housing in cities like Lagos. People are forced to pay high rents for substandard spaces, which reflects the depth of the crisis,” he added.
Nubi further warned that with Lagos’ population projected to hit 40 million in the next 25 years, the situation could deteriorate if urgent action is not taken.
Adding to the concerns, urban development expert Peter Elias revealed that more than two million residents have been displaced through forced evictions over the past five decades.
“Evictions often create more problems than they solve. They are frequently carried out without adequate notice or resettlement plans. Such actions should only be a last resort and must be properly regulated,” Elias said.
Former Lagos Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde, blamed poor planning and disregard for residents’ welfare for the persistence of informal settlements.
“The more people are displaced without alternatives, the more new slums emerge. We cannot continue pushing people out without considering where they will go,” Ayinde stated.
Similarly, another former commissioner, Salako Idris, stressed the importance of inclusive planning.
“Urban regeneration should integrate people into the city, not exclude them. Proper resettlement must be part of any redevelopment effort,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos City Manager for the African Cities Research Consortium, Temilade Sesan, called for a broader, system-based approach to tackling the crisis.
“Housing cannot be addressed in isolation. It is connected to transportation, energy, education, and other systems. The current crisis reflects years of neglect, and solving it requires coordinated action,” she noted.
Sesan warned that without immediate intervention, the number of informal settlements would continue to rise.
