Encomium
30 qualitative and quantitative features spread across five areas: stability, infrastructure, education, health care and environment, were used by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Ranking and Report, to decide the worst cities to live and the top 50.
The only cities Lagos outshone were
- Port Moresby, Papa New Ginea (138)
- Dhaka, Bangladesh (139)
- Damascus, Syria (140)…
TUNDE ADEYINKA
I don’t think so. In those days, I used to think Lagos was the worse city until I travelled to other cities of the world.
The hustle and bustle, Lagos is a bit stressful. People say the money you make in Lagos will stay in Lagos because things are on the high side.
NGOZI NWACHUKWU
I can never agree with that. There are other worse cities of the world. I know Lagos has its peculiar problems, it is not as bad as that. You can still live an average life, a good life for that matter. You still have a sense of security.
Lagos is stressful. You have to leave home early in the morning and return very late at night.
DAMILOLA OWOLABI
That is not true. It is contestable.
I love everything about Lagos. I enjoy the hustle a lot. It makes you sharp and vigilant. A Lagosian will be distinct when he or she travels to other cities. I can’t dream of living somewhere else. I wouldn’t cope. It will seem they are caging me.
LILIAN ELIOTT
I don’t believe it. There are far worse places in the world, why Lagos?
We are always in a hurry. You will get to the bus stop early in the morning and see people running, I mean running to work. They are hyperactive, it is too much. We need to learn how to slow down.
FUNKE AKANDE
I quite agree. Lagos is one of the worst cities, though, I have not been to some other places. A lot of people are suffering in Lagos, it is unfortunate that they are used to it and see it as a normal way of life.
Lagos is too noisy. I like quiet, calm places. The fact that things are too expensive, the fact that you can hardly get someone to assist you without collecting money or otherwise from you. It is very sad that Lagosians live an abnormal life, they don’t see it that way, they think it is normal. I was going out one day, stayed at the bus stop, a bus was calling my destination, I didn’t hear it so, I stood where I was until the bus got close to me. When it got closer, I entered, a man was already grumbling that I couldn’t chase the bus, that the bus had to come to me. I was just laughing because abnormality is now normal in the eye of a Lagosian. If I have my way today, I will leave Lagos for good.
GIDEON OKON
I am 48. I came to Lagos since 1980. Things were not like this then. People were not too many as the state is experiencing this time around. Then there was plenty to eat and drink at affordable prices. There was an improved health system. Education system was also okay.
There was no stress all over the place unlike what’s happening now. People could sleep and have their eyes closed. But now, everything is the opposite.
I think the researchers didn’t lie. But the only area I can contest is that there are many other cities in the world that are worse than Lagos.
But the essence of the research to me, is for the government to address the aspects listed. And Lagos lacks in almost all the areas. I am using this medium to appeal to our governor to quickly start work on those areas so that the state can be a better place for all of us.
TOBI AWOLUSI
I have lived all my life in Lagos, and I think I can assess it better than any other place in the world. Although, I have the privilege of travelling outside the country just once, and that’s when I went to the UK in 2004.
The place is far better than Nigeria as a whole, not only Lagos. Everything there is perfect. But what I can’t agree with in the report in ranking Lagos as fourth worst city in the world.
It’s true things are not working perfectly as expected, that doesn’t make Lagos the fourth worst city to live in. The fact remains that Nigeria as a country is not working. And the situation became worse during the administration of former president, Goodluck Jonathan. But there is hope now that we’re in a new era. Nigeria is not the worst country in the world, and Lagos can’t as well be among the least four in terms of safety, health, education, transportation and all that.
AHMED AKINWUNMI
To be honest, Lagos is congested, and that’s the reason it might be adjudged the fourth worst city to live. In the past two or three decades, things were not like this.
But now, Lagos harbours people from different backgrounds, making it difficult for the state to cope in attending to issues that guarantee better life for all its residents. It’s a city full of stress. Also, the environment is not conducive enough for the people, yet more and more people keep coming in on a daily basis. I don’t think the report is biased. The state government should do something urgently to address the issue. Only few areas were paid attention to by the former governor, Babatunde Fashola. So, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode should continue from where he stopped.
JAMES UDOH
I don’t agree with that. How can Lagos be the fourth worst city in the world? The research is biased. I don’t believe Lagos is even bad to that extent.
Although, Lagos has some flaws in terms of infrastructure, health, good road network, crime rate, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad as a city to live.
Former governor, Babatunde Fashola tried his best in some areas, and I think the new administration should continue from where he stopped. Truly, the governor must address certain aspects including safety, health, environment and transportation for the people of Lagos to enjoy dividends of good governance.
50 best cities to live
1 Melbourne, Australia
2 Vienna, Austria
3 Vancouver, Canada
4 Toronto, Canada
5 Adelaide, Australia
6 Calgary, Canada
7 Sydney, Australia
8 Helsinki, Finland
9 Perth, Australia
10 Auckland, New Zealand
11 Zurich, Switzerland
12 Geneva, Switzerland
13 Osaka, Japan
14 Hamburg, Germany
15 Stockholm, Sweden
16 Montreal, Canada
17 Paris, France
18 Frankfurt, Germany
19 Tokyo, Japan
20 Brisbane, Australia
21 Berlin, Germany
22 Copenhangen, Denmark
23 Wellington, New Zealand
24 Oslo, Norway
25 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
26 Amsterdam, Netherlands
27 Honolulu, United States
28 Brussels, Belgium
29 Munich, Germany
30 Pittsburgh, United States
31 Hong Kong, Hong Kong
32 Dusseldorf, Germany
33 Lyon, France
34 Barcelona, Spain
35 Washington DC, United States
36 Atlanta, United States
37 Chicago, United States
38 Miami, United States
39 Detroit, United States
40 Boston, United States
41 Seatle, United States
42 Los Angeles, United States
43 Minneapolis, United States
44 Madrid, Spain
45 Cleveland, United States
46 Dublin, Ireland
47 Houston, United States
48 Milan, Italy
49 Rome, Italy
50 Budapest, Hungary
