This report is a brief sequel to an old article I wrote in September 2023 about the intra-city railway system being constructed by the government of Lagos State in order to tackle heavy traffic congestion on the roads and bridges of its densely populated metropolitan area,
Usually, when we talk about politics we don't focus on the things that really improves the daily life of average people, and the metro is a good one. That's why, I would ask you: ¿how it is the daily life of an average Nigerian? ¿To which public services they have access? ¿What food they can buy with the monthly incomes? ¿How it is security for a random guy (or woman)? ¿How fast is being the development since, let say, 1950?
Those kind of questions, for make a general picture knowing the diversity of regions and classes.
Well, Nigeria's economy is ailing due to combination of incompetence, corruption and declining federal government revenues caused by lower crude oil production rates. The low production rates stems from the fact that upstream and downstream petroleum facilities are in a decrepit condition. There is also a lack of major investment in expanding other parts of the national economy (e.g. agricultural sector, solid minerals sector).
The standard of living for many millions of people is not very good. But there are huge variations by state and by region. Generally, Southern Nigeria has higher standard of living than Northern Nigeria.
Literacy rates in the autonomous states of Southern Nigeria varies from 80% to 98%. The Muslim-dominated states of Northern Nigeria, the literacy rates are much lower (7% to 20%). The reason is historical and go back to the 19th Century when Christian missionaries were permitted by British colonial dictatorship to establish schools in the South and banned from establishing similar schools in large swathes of the North to avoid offending the Muslim population, which preferred Islamic education centers that only taught their children how to read the Koran. (The Christian schools in Southern Nigeria taught Science, Mathematics, English, Latin in addition to religious studies)
Of course, historically, the country as a whole has developed much further than during the final phase of British colonial dictatorship in the 1950s. Nigeria gained its independence in 1960. The post-independence petroleum boom of the 1970s fuelled massive economic growth and infrastructural development. This was the era when skyscrapers and high-rise buildings began to appear in the skyline of Nigerian cities. Several motorways (expressways) were built across the country and electricity was supplied to rural communities that did not have any of it during the colonial dictatorship. But that petroleum boom ended in the early 1980s, the IMF moved in with its "structural adjustment programmes" and the national economy began to decline.
As of today, there is a lot of poverty across the entire federation. However, the poverty levels are more intense in the North than it is in the South
Good for the people of Lagos and Nigeria.
Happy New Year!
Usually, when we talk about politics we don't focus on the things that really improves the daily life of average people, and the metro is a good one. That's why, I would ask you: ¿how it is the daily life of an average Nigerian? ¿To which public services they have access? ¿What food they can buy with the monthly incomes? ¿How it is security for a random guy (or woman)? ¿How fast is being the development since, let say, 1950?
Those kind of questions, for make a general picture knowing the diversity of regions and classes.
Thanks a lot,
Well, Nigeria's economy is ailing due to combination of incompetence, corruption and declining federal government revenues caused by lower crude oil production rates. The low production rates stems from the fact that upstream and downstream petroleum facilities are in a decrepit condition. There is also a lack of major investment in expanding other parts of the national economy (e.g. agricultural sector, solid minerals sector).
The standard of living for many millions of people is not very good. But there are huge variations by state and by region. Generally, Southern Nigeria has higher standard of living than Northern Nigeria.
Literacy rates in the autonomous states of Southern Nigeria varies from 80% to 98%. The Muslim-dominated states of Northern Nigeria, the literacy rates are much lower (7% to 20%). The reason is historical and go back to the 19th Century when Christian missionaries were permitted by British colonial dictatorship to establish schools in the South and banned from establishing similar schools in large swathes of the North to avoid offending the Muslim population, which preferred Islamic education centers that only taught their children how to read the Koran. (The Christian schools in Southern Nigeria taught Science, Mathematics, English, Latin in addition to religious studies)
Of course, historically, the country as a whole has developed much further than during the final phase of British colonial dictatorship in the 1950s. Nigeria gained its independence in 1960. The post-independence petroleum boom of the 1970s fuelled massive economic growth and infrastructural development. This was the era when skyscrapers and high-rise buildings began to appear in the skyline of Nigerian cities. Several motorways (expressways) were built across the country and electricity was supplied to rural communities that did not have any of it during the colonial dictatorship. But that petroleum boom ended in the early 1980s, the IMF moved in with its "structural adjustment programmes" and the national economy began to decline.
As of today, there is a lot of poverty across the entire federation. However, the poverty levels are more intense in the North than it is in the South
Thanks for your answer, Chima.