OVERPOPULATION IN SLUMS.

(A CASE STUDY OF ILAJE, BARIGA, LAGOS STATE)

A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE,
UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

BY

AMARHAVWIE JOANNAH
O70501015
ARC 423
RESEARCH PAPER
28TH MAY,2010.
 Table of contents

- Abstract

- Introduction

- Problem statement

- contribution

- details and Related work (literature review)

- Referencing
 ABSTRACT

1. Overpopulation is a great problem in the Ilaje community, as the area has been excessively

populated to the point of overcrowding, depletion of natural resources, environmental

deterioration, and prevalence of diseases.

2. This is of great interest because if the population growth continues in this community, adverse

effects would eventually result. These include, increased levels of pollution ( air, water, soil,

noise), changes in atmospheric composition, unhygienic living conditions and inadequate health

care.

3. A restructuring of the Ilaje layout, making sure the Ilaje people are educated on and have access

to family planning services, and an enhancement of the standard and conditions of living of the

people of Ilaje would eventually tackle the problem of overpopulation.

4. The welfare and the quality of life of the Ilaje people would eventually be improved and the

population number would be reduced to a sustainable number.

 INTRODUCTION

A slum has been defined by the United Nations agency (UN-HABITAT) as a run-down

area of a city characterized by substandard housing.

Ilaje is one of the suburbs of Bariga L.G.A, Lagos State. It Is bound to the North by

Gbagada, to the South by Akoka, to the West by Bariga and to the East, the Ibrahim Babangida

Bridge. It lies between latitude 4N, 14N and longitude 3E, 15E. The area can be accessed

through the St. Finbarr’s Road. By Canoe, it is accessible via Community Road and the Lagos

lagoon. The community is very close to the coastline of Lagos. The area of Ilaje site is 22

hectares and its perimeter is 3 kilometers. Ilaje combines to various extents the following

characteristics to be defined as a slum:

1. inadequate access to safe water

2. inadequate access to sanitation

3. Inadequate social amenities

4. poor structural quality of housing and state of infrastructures

5. overpopulation

Problem statement

Overpopulation is a condition when an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity

of its ecological niche. Overpopulation is not simply a function of the size or density of the

population. It can be determined using the ratio of population to available resources, food and

living space.

As a slum, one of Ilaje community’s major problems is overpopulation. It has been a

major problem in the Ilaje community and still is. From the Survey we took, we found that
 structures have been built on 91% of the total land area, with open, marshy and areas accounting

for the remaining 9% of the land area of Ilaje having an estimated population of 20,000

inhabitants. Very little of its surface area is uninhabited. We also discovered that the highest

employment level is trading and the highest income level is 5,000 – 20,000 naira, which is not

enough to make an impact on the standard of living and the quality of life of the Ilaje

community. This is evident in the dominant kind of housing – self contain rooms and small room

apartments. This problem has also put a strain on available infrastructure, thus decaying such

infrastructures faster than they can be maintained and upgraded. Thus, as population increases,

poverty level increases as well.

Other major issues that we found to be associated with the major problem of

overpopulation in Ilaje are:

- The building design and structure is very defective. The buildings are dilapidated and devoid of

basic facilities.

- No access to safe fresh water necessary for drinking; sewage treatment and effluent discharge,

therefore, a greater part of the community have to purchase water.

- the condition of the Ilaje community has made it a good breeding ground for social problems

such as crime, substance addiction, alcoholism, poverty and unemployment and with the low

level of capital formation in Lagos, these problems tend to increase.

- The area also exhibits high rates of disease due to unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack

of basic health care. From our demographic analysis, we discovered that health care facilities

only took 0.5% of the whole area which is completely insufficient to cater for the population and

this accounts for the increasing rates of diseases.

- No waste management policy and this increase chances of the emergence of new epidemics and

pandemics. for many environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded living conditions,

malnutrition and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care, the people are more likely

to be exposed to infectious diseases

- Social life was virtually limited within residents and they were more isolated from the rest of the

society.

- Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise pollution.

CONTRIBUTION

In this paper, we examine the solution to the major problem of overpopulation and thus

the solution to the other sub-problems arising from overpopulation in Ilaje- Bariga. These

include:

- A Spatial restructuring and change in spatial interaction patterns ( migration patterns, travel,)

- Regional economic development: e.g. Changes in income, employment (Satterthwaite et al, 2007).

- Human resources development (skills, education),

- More public education is to develop more awareness about population issues.

- Free and equal access to health care, family planning and education are desirable in their own

right and will also help reduce population growth in Ilaje – Bariga. (Satterthwaite, 2007).

- Enforcement of building guidelines in coastal locations is also particularly important.

- a combination of government regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline

substantially, even as the population continues to grow.

BACKGROUND DETAILS AND RELATED WORK (literature review)

To set the scene for this paper, we consider a brief over view and example. In one

Zimbabwean slum similar to that in Ilaje – Bariga, the layout was completely defective. Shacks
and bungalows dominated the area. Even though it was not close to any coastline, it still faced

the main problems that arise from defective structural layout which includes flooding, pollution,

water problems and unsanitary conditions. The slum is being restructured now, followings

regulations from the Zimbabwean government. This could also be the case for the Ilaje – Bariga

community. The government must take steps to restore quality and standard living conditions to

Ilaje – Bariga. Then building guidelines should also be enforced in coastal locations like Ilaje –

Bariga.

From his inspiring work, Abumere, (S.I. 2004), explained that Economic development

and human resource development which includes skills and education acquisition, is also

necessary for change to happen in slum areas like Ilaje - bariga. The government could take steps

to provide employment for a majority of the population of the Ilaje – Bariga community. Then

income level would thus increase, thus affecting the standard of living, thus affecting population

levels positively. Here, as more youths seek education, there would be a regional interaction as

the youths have to move out to acquire skills or education.

Free and equal access to health care, family planning and education would see to it that

population in the Ilaje – Bariga community is greatly reduced. As the income level is insufficient

to acquire facilities like health care, education and family planning education, the government

could improve the economy by reducing inflation levels and providing free facilities like these

for the Ilaje – Bariga community. Agbola, T. and Agunbiade, E. M., (2007).

These steps would see to it that the population problem and the other sub –problems tat

follow overpopulation in Ilaje –Bariga is curbed and reduced to a sustainable level.

People are a good thing, but population growth without limit is not.
REFERENCES

Abumere, S.I. 2004. The State of Lagos Mega City and other Nigerian Cities. Ministry of

Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos

Agbola, T. and Agunbiade, E. M., (2007). Urbanization, slum development and security of
tenure: the challenges of meeting Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 in metropolitan
Lagos, Nigeria. Paper presented to the PRIPODE workshop on Urban Population, Development
and Environment Dynamics in Developing Countries. Nairobi, 11-13 June 2007.

Planet of Slums - The Third World’s Megacities

http://www.tinbergen.nl/discussionpapers/98105.pdf

http://www.interacademies.net/?id=3547

http://www.ecotravelpage.info/article/lagos-an-overpopulated-state-a-case-of-continous-spatial-

restructuring-and-interaction/