Lagos, Nigeria Essay, Research Paper
Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria. In 1989 the population was
1,274,000. It is still growing immensely as we speak. It is the former capital of
Nigeria. It is located on the Gulf of Guinea. It occupies four islands(Lagos,
Ikoyi, Victoria, and Ido). Lagos is Nigeria’s largest city. It is the administrative
and economic center of Lagos and also its main port. Main Industries include
railroad repair, motor vehicle assembly, food processing, and the manufacture
of metal products, textiles, beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, soap, and
furniture. The city is a road and railroad center and has an international
airport. In Lagos, education is usually private. There are both Boarding
Schools and Home schooling and both cost a lot of money. Public Schools
are not that common in Lagos like they are here. The main source of
transportation in Lagos is Buses and ?tracks." Tracks are a simple version of
street cars. In Lagos, power failures, water-supply interruptions and traffic
jams is very common due to the huge population. Pollution is a very serious
problem because of the surrounding lagoons have been used as dumps for the
past few years and the increase in factories and cars. There are many national
institutions located in Lagos, among them are the National Museum, the
National Library, the University of Nigeria, and the University of Lagos. Brief
History The Portuguese, was the first to visit Lagos in 1472. It was later
established as a slave-trading center. The area was under the rule of the
Kingdom of Benin from the late-16th to the mid-19th century then in 1861. It
was later taken over by the British. The city became the capital of the Colony
and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914 and the capital of independent Nigeria in
1960. A new Federal Capital Territory was then created in the central part of
the country in 1976 as a symbol of national unity. In December 1991,
Nigeria’s capital was formally transferred from Lagos to Abuja but some
government offices stayed in Lagos.