The Lagos Lagoonal Economy up to the Present Time:

Dredging, Sand Mining, Water Transportation and the Rise of Waterfront Cities

Abstract

This paper examines the economy of Lagos State in Nigeria as the product of a lagoonal construct. From colony status in 1861 which served the British Raj as a beachhead for penetrating the hinterland, the Lagos lagoonal system aided the steady rise of the city to assume ever-increasing sociopolitical significance, including the capital of the Colony as well as the newly independent Nigeria in 1960. These developments consolidated its lead in internally generated revenue (IGR) over other sub-national authorities. Primary and secondary data sources were used with qualitative analytical methodology, including quantitative illustrations and tables, to study the role of the lagoon system in the city’s overall morphology. The findings show that the lagoonal system critically supported the major productive sectors such as inland transportation, manufacturing, sand mining, real estate development, and mercantilism. The conclusion includes an analysis of two critical issues in the future of the megacity, namely, harnessing the waterways to ease longstanding commuting difficulties in a N41 trillion market touted as Africa’s 5^th richest economy and the likely impact of emergent societal factors on its decline as a historic political and economic powerhouse.