Defending housing rights in Lagos. A historical perspective on state-citizen contestations and emerging opportunities for housing policy reform

There is a long history of the state violating the housing rights of citizens in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria and its most populous city. Despite the frequency of these violations, there is a dearth of critical academic discourse on this topic to trigger evidence-informed changes in urban policy and governance. 

This paper contributes to the discourse by critically analysing the postcolonial trajectory of housing policy and urban planning in the city. The analysis uncovers strategies for advancing housing rights when scarce resources and powerful interests combine to dispossess ordinary citizens of those rights.