In Lagos, dreams come true. Servants become masters, and vagrants become homeowners. Such transformation can happen in a matter of years or even months.
Zion Orubebe left his home in Rivers State for Lagos in 2015. He graduated from Rivers State University in May 2013 but was jobless for two years.
Prodded by a Lagos-based friend, Orubebe moved to the state in October 2015.
“I had only ₦3,000 ($15 at that time) when I came here,” he said.
The following year, he entered a babies’ clothing business at the International Trade Fair Complex.
“I sold a piece of land, used some money to pay for a quarter-sized shop, and the rest, about ₦500,000 ($2,538), for business,” he said.
From 2016 to 2024, it has been just eight years, but it is now like a century. Orubebe has transformed.
In 2019, he became an importer. In 2021, he shifted to an export business, shipping products to Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Central Africa.
By 2023, he had joined an exclusive class of the wealthy: seven shops at the Trade Fair Complex, three commercial vehicles, two houses, and two private cars. He now lunches at a French restaurant in the posh Ikoyi area of Lagos.
“I came to Lagos as a pauper, but I am now a multi-millionaire,” he said.
Orubebe’s story captures the spirit of Lagos: a spirit of enterprise and a reward to boot.
Similar Stories Abound
Several people come into the state from all parts of Nigeria almost empty-handed and leave – or continue to stay- as mega-millionaires.
State records say 6,000 persons from every part of Nigeria and even Africa enter Lagos daily. Onyeka Udemezue is one of them. He moved to Lagos from his native Abia State in 2019 when his business shut down due to a fire incident.
Fast-forward to 2024. Udemezue has set up a nylon factory at his Ikorodu base. He owns the land and the building and employs over 15 staff members. His wife owns a supermarket in the state.
“Lagos is tough, but so is it rewarding,” he said.
The Mega Size
Lagos State’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at $137 billion – $145 billion. Forget whether it is the fourth or fifth largest on the continent. Pay attention to what that size means: Bigger than Kenya’s $113.4 billion economy, Ghana’s $74 billion GDP, and Ethiopia’s $127 billion economy.
It is larger than 40 African nations in terms of economic size.
A City Of Millionaires
It is a city that makes millionaires like a manufacturer makes shoes.
Henley & Partners’ 2024 Africa Wealth Report 2024 said Lagos has 4,200 millionaires (in dollars).
Lagos may have dropped from fourth to fifth in 2024 due to currency devaluation, but it still has 4,200 people worth ₦1.5 billion or above.
It is also home to Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. For the records, Dangote did not come to Lagos as a pauper; he was a great-grandson of Alhassan Dantata, the wealthiest man in West Africa at the time of his death in 1955.
But Dangote’s story can never be complete without Lagos. He came to Lagos in 1977 with a loan from his uncle to expand his business. From there, his wealth spread, shooting him to where he is today.
His sugar plant is in Apapa. His $20 billion refinery is in Lekki. No matter where other Dangote businesses are located, their headquarters are in Lagos.
Billionaires Mike Adenuga and his Globacom, Femi Otedola, executive Chairman of Geregu Power and a host of other companies, and Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, are all in Lagos. Other billionaires include Cosmas Maduka and his Ford Assembly Plant, Tony Elumelu and his companies and Jim Ovia and his firms are in Lagos. The list is endless.
“Being a commercial city throws up a lot of opportunities for enterprising people,” said Muda Yusuf, director-general of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for many years before setting up his Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise.
The Headquarters Are In Lagos
Every serious business has its headquarters or at least a major branch in Lagos. The headquarters of all the major financial institutions, from banks to insurance companies, are in Lagos.
Serious manufacturers are at Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Iganmu, and Ikeja. Nigerian Breweries, Guinness, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Dangote Group, and BUA Group, name them.
Lagos is home to telecom giants such as MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, as well as investment banks, importers, exporters, maritime companies, big farmers, and oil and gas companies.
Nigerian Exchange Limited and government regulators such as the Nigerian Ports Authority and many others are in Lagos.
Lagos has the highest concentration of small businesses in Nigeria, with about 8 percent share of over 40 million MSMEs. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) 2017 data, Lagos has 3.224 million small businesses.
Stable Governance
Governance in Lagos has been stable. Only one political family, President Bola Tinubu, has ruled the state since 1999. From Tinubu himself to Babatunde Fashola, down to Akinwumi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, all have been from the same political party.
Tax revenues have risen from ₦14.6 billion in 1999 to ₦651.2 billion in 2022. The NBS said the state generated ₦400 billion in the first six months of 2023.
Investors are also betting on the state. Out of a total of ₦508.98 billion in real sector investment made in Nigeria in 2017, Lagos received ₦235.61 billion, representing 46 percent, the highest in the country, according to data by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
Of the ₦552.64 billion investment in 2018, Lagos welcomed ₦287.16 billion, representing 52 percent, the highest in Nigeria. Also, of the total ₦496 billion investment made in 2019, Lagos received ₦180.63 billion, representing 36 percent, the highest in the year.
“Stability has helped Lagos retain its masterplan and economic blueprint,” said Ifeanyi Okeleke, CEO of Kenfrancis Farms.
“It sends a positive signal to investors that things can’t suddenly turn upside down. However, it has also upended the opposition in the state.”
What Drives Lagos?
It is easier to identify why Lagos is working. A population of about 20 million is seen as a big market. Of all the 16 million international passengers airlifted in 2022, about 6.526 million, representing 40.3 percent of the total passenger volume, passed through Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos, said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The seaports are in Lagos.
Lagos is the sixth largest economy in Africa.
“The population of Lagos is huge and concentrated. Naturally, economic activities will increase if you are a city of ports. Also, Lagos is a coastal city, and coastal cities are a magnet because their position boosts economic activities,” Yusuf quoted earlier.
A Disorganised City
Despite all the upsides, Lagos is not a bed of roses. This reporter found in 2021 that, agberos or revenue touts collected ₦123 billion from commercial vehicles, tricycles (and motorcycles) but remitted nothing to state coffers. The only thing that has changed since 2021 is that commercial motorcycles have been banned.
Small businesses pay countless taxes to touts, and the state government appears helpless.
“You pay for ‘ground fee’ before you start a business, pay the local government levy, lock-up shop fee, shop permit, parking permit, radio and TV levies,” said Omolola Adetunji, a small-scale trader at Oshodi.
“Sometimes, you can pay eight to 10 groups daily – with only two or three issuing official receipts,” she added.
Lagos is a state with several mega-millionaires, but it is also where you find the hopeless and the urchins. Beggars, whether genuine or not, litter the streets from Ojuelegba to Igando. People needing medical treatment – some with protruded stomachs and swollen legs – are in the streets seeking alms. Women beg for alms with babies in the streets, markets, and roads.
Traffic clogs the state from Iyana Ipaja to Oshodi, with 6.5 million vehicles striving for space. According to Taibat Lawanson, a professor of urban management and governance at the University of Lagos, the state generates 26 million tons of carbon emissions.
The cost of living is very high. Rents at places such as Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, Festac, and Oshodi, among others, have jumped by over 100 percent in three years. A two-bedroom at Oke-Afa, ₦400,000 in 2021, now goes from ₦1 million to ₦1.2 million. This explains why many live under bridges. Some analysts estimate that five million residents will be homeless by 2025.
Food Is Expensive For The Poor
“In October 2023, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (41.74 percent), Kwara (38.48 percent) and Lagos (37.37 percent),” the NBS said in October 2023.
Development is concentrated in the state and rarely spreads to others.
The state is overpopulated, with people competing for everything. It can also be dirty and polluted.
Lagos is ranked 133rd in the world’s most polluted cities in the 2023 World Air Quality Report by IQAir.
It is also susceptible to flood, being a coastal state.
Furthermore, in New York, Paris, London, and other major world cities, foreigners or ‘outsiders’ play significant political roles. Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, is originally from Pakistan. Blessing Adeyemi Mobolade, a Nigerian, is the mayor of Colorado Springs in the United States. However, this may not happen in Lagos.
Its political season can be chaotic. In the 2023 elections, people were prevented from voting in the governorship election because they were from a particular region and could swing the election.
“We are worried about our investments, our rights, and our children in Lagos,” said Nnanna Ukoha, an ex-banker, now an investment banker in Lagos.
However, the Lagos State government has tried to douse the tension and assured that it is not discriminatory, but concerns remain.
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