Makoko
{{Short description|Informal settlement in Lagos state, Nigeria}}
{{distinguish|Makokou}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Makoko
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Informal Settlement
| image_skyline = File:Okoh collins photography landscape shots all over Nigeria.jpg
| imagesize =
| image_caption = A landscape photo of Makoko, 2017.
| image_map =
| mapsize =
| map_caption =
| image_map1 =
| mapsize1 =
| map_caption1 =
| pushpin_map = Nigeria Lagos
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| pushpin_mapsize = 200px
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = Nigeria
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Lagos State
| subdivision_type2 = Slum
| subdivision_name2 = Lagos
| subdivision_type3 = LGA
| subdivision_name3 = Lagos Mainland
| established_title = Settled
| established_date = 19th century
| population_as_of = 2020
| population_footnotes =
| population_note =
| population_total = 85,000 – 250,000
| population_est =
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| timezone1 =
| utc_offset1 = +1
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| coordinates = {{coord|6|29|44|N|3|23|39|E|region:NG|display=inline,title}}
| footnotes =
}}
Makoko is an informal settlement across the 3rd Mainland Bridge located on the coast of mainland Lagos, Nigeria. A third of the community is built on stilts along the lagoon and the rest is on the land. The waterfront part of the community is largely harboured by the Egun people who migrated from Badagary and Republic of Benin and whose main occupation is fishing.
Makoko is sometimes referred to as the "Venice of Africa" owing to its waterways.{{cite news|author=Soni Methu|date=24 December 2014|title=Postcards from home: documenting Nigeria's floating community|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/24/world/africa/nigeria-makoko-photograph-sulayman-afose/|access-date=10 October 2015}} Its population is considered to be 85,840; however, the area was not officially counted as part of the 2007 census and the population has been estimated to be much higher.{{cite news|last=This Day|date=1 May 2009|title=Makoko Residents And Their Unwanted Guest|work=Africa News}} In July 2012, the Lagos State government ordered that some of the stilts beyond the power lines be brought down without proper notice. This led to the destruction of several stilts on the Iwaya/Makoko waterfront and many families were rendered homeless.{{cite news | title=Destroying Makoko | newspaper=The Economist | date=18 August 2012 }}
History
Established in the 19th century, much of Makoko rests in structures constructed on stilts above Lagos Lagoon.{{cite news | last=Cohen | first=Roger | title=Nigerian Slum's Filth Is a World Away From Capital's Glitter | work=The New York Times | date=20 July 1998 }} Makoko is a neighbouring community to Iwaya on the waterfront and Oko Baba.{{cite news | last=UN Integrated Regional Information Networks | title=Lagos, the mega-city of slums | work=Africa News | date=5 September 2006 | url=http://www.irinnews.org/news/2006/09/05/lagos-mega-city-slums | accessdate=19 September 2009}}
The name Makoko is literally translated from Yoruba to be "Pick Akoko". In Yoruba tradition, "Akoko" leaves are used to aid fertility and also used during Chieftaincy coronation, present day Makoko had the leaf growing in abundance.
In July 2012, Lagos State government under the governorship of Babatunde Fashola ordered that the stilts on the Iwaya/Makoko waterfront be demolished and dozens of stilts were demolished within 72 hours of notice to the residents. Nearly 3,000 people lost their homes to the demolition exercise.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18870511 | title=Lagos Makoko slums knocked down in Nigeria |publisher=BBC | date=17 July 2012 |accessdate=28 February 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201208011031.html | title=Nigeria: Day After Makoko and Abonema – Frustration of a Homeless Nation |publisher=allAfrica.com | accessdate=28 February 2015}}Tolu Ogunlesi, [https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/feb/23/makoko-lagos-danger-ingenuity-floating-slum "Inside Makoko: danger and ingenuity in the world's biggest floating slum"], The Guardian, 23 February 2016.
Two months after the partial demolition, a Serac housing affiliate known as the Urban Spaces Innovation developed a regeneration plan for Makoko that would bring the community together with academics, non-profits, and international consultants. The plan was submitted to the Lagos State Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning in January 2014.
Gallery
1962 Makoko map detail Lagos Nigeria txu-oclc-441966035-lagos-1962.jpg|Detail of map of Lagos, 1962, showing Makoko and Lagos Mainland
Makoko auf dem Wasser (5208472599).jpg
Makoko auf dem Wasser (5209071738).jpg
Makoko auf dem Wasser (5208471435).jpg
CEE-HOPE NIGERIA FOR WIKI LOVES WOMEN"S PROJECT IN NIGERIA 16.jpg|Makoko: A girl and her sister in a canoe
'The People of Makoko Community'.jpg|Boys paddling a canoe is a common view at Makoko
2010 Lagos Nigeria by Rainer Wozny 5342608955.jpg|Makoko, 2010
About to roast makoko.jpg|Fish caught at Makoko
After roasting makoko 3.jpg|Fish roasting in Makoko
After roasting makoko 4.jpg|After fish roasting in Makoko
Fish for sale at makoko Lagos.jpg
Fishers boat after work at makoko Lagos.jpg
Standby canoe.jpg
Women at work at makoko Lagos.jpg
Women at work at Makoko.jpg
Women at work at makoko Lagos 2.jpg
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{cite news |author=Iwan Baan |authorlink=Iwan Baan |date=26 May 2013 |title=School at Sea |work=The New York Times Magazine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/26/magazine/26look-lagos.htm}}(Photos of Makoko)
- [https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-45736981/lagos-floating-slum-makoko-what-s-it-like-to-live-there Lagos' floating slum Makoko – what's it like to live there?]
- [https://www.excelman.com/en/galerie/afrique/nigeria/makoko.html Makoko：The "Floating Town" of Lagos, Nigeria：An entire town on stilts]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NTIY8Qy2f0 Inside Nigeria's Biggest Slum] - video by Indigo Traveler
Category:Fishing communities in Nigeria