Kunle Falayi
A report ranking Lagos second on the world’s least liveable cities might have surprised many Nigerians, but some foreigners resident in the country say their experiences living in Nigeria have made the Economist Intelligence Unit assessment a bitter pill to swallow.
The report ranks Nigeria behind Damascus at number one while Tripoli (Libya), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) rank third, fourth and fifth respectively.


With Melbourne (Australia) as the most liveable city, a position the country has occupied for the seventh year running, the annual report assesses the cities based on five broad categories: stability; health care; culture and environment; education and infrastructure.


In 2015 and 2016, Lagos, which lays claim to being a mega city in Nigeria, was rated third on the list of the world’s least liveable cities but slipped one place in the 2017 report.
However, some members of the Lagos’ large expatriate community told our correspondent that having seen other countries far worse than Nigeria, such reports were not reflective of the city and Nigeria they had lived in.


One of such people is 77-year-old Mrs. Irmgard Williams, who has lived in Nigeria for more than 50 years.
Married to a Nigerian, she said she had seen both the good and bad sides of the country she now calls home.


For her, the report is disheartening.
She toldSaturday PUNCH, “When I read this report, I almost cried. In Lagos – a place for millions of people – different ethnic groups in Nigeria live here side by side.
“Most nationalities in the world find work and livelihood in this mighty city. All religions under the sun are practised here and tolerated. Then why are we rated so low? Is it only when health care, education, environment and infrastructure are top of the agenda, that a city is good to live in? What of the human aspect?


“True, we still suffer from lack of many social amenities which other cities enjoy like regular water and electricity and health care and education have not yet reached the high standard like in other places.


“But we are working on it. And mind you, even under these poor conditions, we manage our lives, make the best of every situation and overcome our problems. It is true that conflicts, terrorism, violent acts and crime have also knocked at our gates. But that is a worldwide phenomenon right now.”
“I’m a German national and I have lived in Lagos for 52 years. Why? Because I like the people here, their inner strength, their ability to cope, their friendliness and their cheerfulness in spite of all the odds. God bless Lagos and Nigeria.”


Williams, a widow, toldSaturday PUNCHthat the positive sides of Nigerians rarely get a mention in media reports.
She believes it is the people that make a place good to live in.


“In Nigeria, if you give a smile, you get back more smiles. If you give a handshake, then you get a hug,” she said.
A Bangladeshi national, Azim Hogue, voiced his assessment of the report on the basis of his 14-year residency in Nigeria, explaining that it was reflective of the negativity that had saturated the news about Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria has come a long way but that a city like Lagos cannot be the second worst in the world.


“No, I would not say Lagos is the second least liveable city in the world. Lagos is way better than many other places I have been to. I have lived in Nigeria for about 14 years. Between this time, I travel abroad frequently.
“Earlier when I was living here, things had not developed that much. But now, Lagos has gone very far. To be honest, I am from Bangladesh and I know a bit about other cities like Mumbai and even in Bangladesh that are a lot worse than Lagos.


“I travelled sometime ago, when I was coming back to Lagos, people were freaked out because all they hear about Nigeria are Boko Haram, terrorism and corruption because that is all the media talk about.
“You cannot blame people holding such view because they have not been here. It is what they see on the news. Nigerians too tend to believe this is the worst place on earth because that is what they too see on the news.


“In China for instance, there is a lot of smuggling and child trafficking. Mexico too has a lot of terrible places where kidnapping is rife. In Lagos, I can still walk freely on the streets without any fear. This is why I find it hard to believe this sort of report.”


The Economist Intelligence Unit said in the Global Liveability Report, that in the past few years, there has been increasing instability across the world, which causes volatility in the scores of many cities.

The cities whose ranking improved are said to be those in countries that have enjoyed periods of relative stability.


But the EIU cites “continued threat from groups such as Boko Haram acts as a constraint to improving stability in Lagos.”
Lagos is at least 1,190 kilometres away from northeast Nigeria, Boko Haram’s base and the theatre of the war against insurgency in Nigeria.

http://punchng.com/least-liveable-ranking-hard-to-believe-foreign-residents-in-nigeria/

Lalasticlala

However, some members of the Lagos’ large expatriate community told our correspondent that having seen other countries far worse than Nigeria, such reports were not reflective of the city and Nigeria they had lived in.

Exactly.

There are far WORSE cities in this world to live in this world.
The worst places in Lagos are on google earth streetview, anyone can go and view them, and they are very far from being the worst places n the world.

The Amount of funds Lagos gets daily I can categorically say Lagos is not living up to expectations !!

.

t

Eko wenjele

Na today?

Hmmn

Fot those expats earning hard currency, they will agree with this report.

tolulope855:


See them

lol, so festus commentus no dey sweet u

Of course. No Lagosian can deny that. The forex devaluation, lack of electricity, flooding, badooism and unchanged wages have even made it worst. If anyone is in doubt, check out the number of young professionals secretly working hard to write IELTS and secure Canadian permanent residence to check out of this national mess.

chibike69:

lol, so festus commentus no dey sweet u

Na me be the new police wey dey catch Una spacebookers.

They really shouldn't be talking about Boko Haram with respect to Lagos, it has no foothold in Lagos, not an inch.

Anambra State better than Lagos State..

Ambode wasting oil money..

I don't think anyone should be amazed, even we Nigerians what do we say about our country and cities? We all proclaim and sing the negative to the roof top but keep the positive low.

All that litter the west news is all bad negativity and bad image of our cities and we are not doing anything to even salvage the situation.

It is well.

Even the residents know this fact

If you can stay in lag for 15-20yrs, you can survive any country. We still love our Lasgidi.

God bless Lagos
God bless Nigeria ��

So book haram in North East is the reason for instability in lagos. Kontinew sir!

scholes0:


Exactly.

There are far WORSE cities in this world to live in this world.
The worst places in Lagos are on google earth streetview, anyone can go and view them, and they are very far from being the worst places n the world.

Pls, don't let these foreigners fool you. They're simply sucking up to us. I'm not sure Lagos should be ranked that low but i can't say that the ranking isn't apt.

Afam4eva:

Pls, don't let these foreigners fool you. They're simply sucking up to us. I'm not sure Lagos should be ranked that low but i can't say that the ranking isn't apt.

These are expats that have been to a lot of countries on this globe.
Sure, Lagos is third world... but worst in the world?
A bit of a stretch imo.

I don't know about others but few yrs I stayed in lagos made me cherish my hometown the most.

It's just that Nigerian's have peculiar ways of adapting in unusual circumstances else I will say that there is nothing in lagos and most Nigerian cities that entices one to live in them.

Lagos is a shalanga! If the rankings are based on healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Even our neighboring Cotonou is a far better place than Lagos!
Lemme expantiate further.
Healthcare: How responsive are the emergency ambulances to accidents and emergency health situation? What are the reputation of the hospitals? The ratio of quality doctors to the population? Is it accessible? Do people go to pastors and babalawos for healing instead of hospitals? Do you go to your quack "chemist" instead of seeking for medications through the proper channels?

Culture and Environment: What can tourist see? How are your museums? Your history? Your festivals? How attractive is it. Is Lagos a place where one can take a 'wow' picture? Your environment, how polluted are they? Is the environment litter free? How is your waste management? The water bodies? Are they "clean"? The number of dead cars on the roads polluting the air. What is the traffic situation like?
Education: For a population of over 15 million, 2 public universities serving the teeming youth is actually a big disgrace! What is the quality of the high schools? Which research institutes do they have?
Well, if you judge Lagos from the eye of a foreigner, you will know that Lagos is a shalanga, and yes, including the almighty Lekki!

scholes0:


These are expats that have been to a lot of countries on this globe.
Sure, Lagos is third world... but worst in the world?
A bit of a stretch imo.

Nobody says Lagos is the worse in the world and not even in the rankings. My only concern is that Lagos is doing worse than a few years ago which doesn't make sense considering that things have gotten a tat bit better. We cannot rule out the fact that people who come up with these rankings are not inundated about cities in Nigeria like other cities in the world and just jump to conclusions based on what they've heard.

... lots of work to be done,rather than seeking the sympathy of others