Contrary to all the hype that Lagos is being transformed into a world class city, a recent survey on global cities has shown that Lagos is the fifth worst city to live in the world.
In the annual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Lagos was only surpassed by Harare (Zimbabwe), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Algiers (Algeria) and Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) as greater hell holes on earth.
In the opposite end of the spectrum, Vancouver (Canada) for another successive year topped a list of the top ten most liveable cities in the world, giving the Canadian west coast city an extra boost as it opened the 2010 Winter Olympics yesterday.
Vancouver scored 98 percent on a combination of stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure – a score unchanged from last year. The city has also topped the index since at least 2007.
In the 2010 ranking, there was little change in the top positions with Vienna, Melbourne and Toronto still taking the second, third and fourth positions and the top ten dominated by Canadian and Australian cities which took seven of the ten slots.
Johannesburg, which is hosting the soccer World Cup finals in June, came in 92nd place, the highest score in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Vancouver scores well across all categories in the survey and the on going Winter Games contribute to a strong score in the cultural and sporting events category," said Jon Copestake, editor of the report, in a statement.
"Johannesburg has had well-documented crime problems, but performs better in other categories, with the highest overall liveability rating in sub-Saharan Africa."
The EIU survey ranked 140 cities on 30 factors such as healthcare, culture and environment, and education, pollution, waste management and personal safety, using research involving resident experts and its own analysts.
It said in a statement that these rankings were used by employers assigning hardship allowances as part of expatriate relocation packages.
New York was ranked 56th, two slots behind London which was at number 54, while Los Angeles ranked at number 47.
Zimbabwe's capital Harare scored the least, making it the list's worst city, with a rating of 37.5.
Following is a list of the top 10 most liveable cities as ranked by The Economist: 1. Vancouver, Canada, 2. Vienna, Austria, 3. Melbourne, Australia, 4. Toronto, Canada, 5. Calgary, Canada, 6. Helsinki, Finland, 7. Sydney, Australia, 8. Perth, Australia, 9. Adelaide, Australia, 10. Auckland, New Zealand.
The bottom 10 cities were: 1. Harare, Zimbabwe, 2. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 3. Algiers, Algeria, 4. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 5. Lagos, Nigeria, 6. Karachi, Pakistan, 7. Douala, Cameroon, 8. Kathmandu, Nepal, 9. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 10. Dakar, Senegal.

Sometime I wonder how people live and survive in Lagos year after year. I once ask a relative, why he can't possibly live in Ijebu Ode and commute to Lagos, his answer was, due to bad road, armed robbers and lack of train transit in Nigeria, it will be suicidal to do so, even though that would have been the ideal.
Try this experiment: After a whole day  in Lagos, preferably outside an airconditioned car, at the end of the day, use a clean/white towel to wipe your face and witness how much smug in the towel and how black it looks. That is population[b] (sorry pollution)[/b]and half of that is lodged already in your lungs and then pity those that breath that every single day.

HONESTLY SPEAKING, IF DYING IS A SCIENCE, THEN MAJORITY OF US LIVING IN LAGOS WILL LIKELY DIE YOUNGER. IMAGINE YOU LEAVE HOME 5.00 AM AND RETURN 10.00PM DAY AFTER DAY. ANYWAY I JUST SENT A MAIL TO GLO TODAY TO HELP LAUCH A SERVICE WHICH I TAGGED 'VIEW THE ROAD' SO THAT ONE CAN AT LEAST VIEW THE ROAD ON THE MOBILE PHONE BEFORE LEAVING THE OFFICE AND EFFICIENTLY PLAN THE ROUTE BACK HOME ACCORDIGLY.


ANY WAY I PRAISE THE VARIOUS EFFORTS OF THE LAGOS STATE GOVERMENT. . . PLS PUT IN MORE EFFORT. . . I PRAY FASHOLA WINS SECOND TERM.

Eziachi:

That is population and half of that is lodged already in your lungs and then pity those that breath that every single day.

Pollution?

We all know lagos is a slum but we're managing. What can we do.

Different strokes for different folks! In the U.S also, Americans make these kind of comments about New York! But whether we like it or not, it is the Big Apple just like Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. So I opine that people are attracted to this location not by their own volition but by the numerous opportunities present in these cities.

Afam:

Pollution?

Thanks Afam, I meant pollution as you rightly pointed out, now rectified. Old age.

ALMUSTAQIM:

HONESTLY SPEAKING, IF DYING IS A SCIENCE, THEN MAJORITY OF US LIVING IN LAGOS WILL LIKELY DIE YOUNGER. IMAGINE YOU LEAVE HOME 5.00 AM AND RETURN 10.00PM DAY AFTER DAY. ANYWAY I JUST SENT A MAIL TO GLO TODAY TO HELP LAUCH A SERVICE WHICH I TAGGED 'VIEW THE ROAD' SO THAT ONE CAN AT LEAST VIEW THE ROAD ON THE MOBILE PHONE BEFORE LEAVING THE OFFICE AND EFFICIENTLY PLAN THE ROUTE BACK HOME ACCORDIGLY.


ANY WAY I PRAISE THE VARIOUS EFFORTS OF THE LAGOS STATE GOVERMENT. . . PLS PUT IN MORE EFFORT. . .  I PRAY FASHOLA WINS SECOND TERM.

That is why I was surprised when Gov Fashola was supporting some initiative of more auto vehicles into the already jammed road not so long ago, when Lagos is surrounded by water. The only solution to Lagos's jammed up roads and pollution is heavy investment in waterway transport system and modern intercity train services, and then introduce road congestion charges and let all lorries/heavy duty/delivery trucks use the roads only between 10pm - 6am.