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Up First from NPR

The human cost of building the Dubai of Africa

5/17/202629 min

For many of the poorest residents in Lagos, Nigeria, the land their families have lived on for generations is now being violently seized by the government to build luxury condos. The communities are fighting back, but even court injunctions haven’t stopped the bulldozers. This week on The Sunday Story, NPR’s Emmanuel Akinwotu goes to these sites of destruction and talks to those who have lost everything in this race to develop one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities.

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Clips

Development That Excludes The Poor
A Newborn Lost In Chaos
Reporter Confronted At Demolition
Twenty Thousand Displaced Overnight
Court Orders Ignored, Homes Razed
The City’s Invisible Workforce
Luxury Builds, Lives Upended

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Ayesha Rascoe· Host0:00

    [gentle music] I'm Ayesha Rascoe, and this is the Sunday Story from Up First. Lagos, Nigeria is one of the world's fastest-growing mega cities. It's currently home to nearly 20 million people, and by the end of the century, it's projected to be the most populous city in the world, with 88 million residents. Lagos is already considered one of the most vibrant economic hubs in Africa. It has multi-million dollar tech firms, one of the world's biggest film industries, Nollywood, and a thriving music scene centered on Afrobeat. [Afrobeat music] To support the influx of industries and people, new infrastructure and housing projects are being built at a rapid pace.

  2. Emmanuel Akinwotu0:47

    Welcome to Eko Atlantic, the future of African real estate.

  3. Ayesha Rascoe· Host0:51

    The Nigerian government is working closely with developers, hoping to turn Lagos into a gleaming global destination, much like Dubai.

  4. Emmanuel Akinwotu1:00

    We believe that Eko Atlantic is more than just a city. It's an opportunity to dream, venture, and prosper in a world-class environment.

  5. Ayesha Rascoe· Host1:10

    But many of these developments are not targeted at housing the residents who need it the most. There's an explosion of luxury high-rises and hubs for the wealthy, especially along the waterfront, fueling a push to reclaim land on the coastal lagoons and bays. The problem is,

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