Rigon, A; ABAH, S; Dangoji, S; Walker, J; apsan frediani, A; Ogunleye, OJ; Hirst, L; (2015) Well-being and citizenship in urban Nigeria. ICF International, UCL Development Planning Unit: London, UK.

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Abstract

Well-being is increasingly used as a criterion to measure development outcomes, in the light of the now established critique of income as a satisfactory measure (UNDP, 1990). The aim of the key development policy document in Nigeria, Nigerian Vision 20:2020, is to improve the well-being of Nigerians. However, as well-being is an emerging and contested concept, this report explores how the well-being of urban citizens is understood specifically in Nigeria, and identifies the key issues for urban well-being as expressed by a selection of key stakeholders in Nigerian society. This is an important task in the Nigerian context, which is characterised by impressive and sustained growth rates juxtaposed alongside increasing rates of both income poverty and subjective poverty. This study analyses the discourses and views of 45 urban stakeholders strategically positioned at different levels of Nigerian society, as well as existing literature and documents. Based on White’s (2010) framework for the analysis of well-being and contemporary conceptualisations of citizenship, the analysis reveals three main trends affecting urban well-being: (i) rapid demographic changes that make it difficult for government to respond with adequate planning and interventions; (ii) a number of governance issues, particularly regarding power distribution, lack of city-level governance and the role of the state; (iii) the existence of stratified citizenship characterised by unequal access to services and rights based on socio-spatial discrimination and notions of indigeneity. Electricity, congestion, housing, youth unemployment, security and health are a number of key areas which were raised during interviews in which the inadequate and unequal provision of goods and services, underpinned by these three trends, affect urban well-being. An analysis of stakeholders’ conceptualisations of well-being showed how it is viewed in terms of basic needs to be achieved through economic growth, and how well-being is itself considered fundamental for productivity. Well-being was also understood through the broad notion of security, emphasising different dimensions beyond the material aspect. Finally, another understanding of well-being was as ‘social order’, a problematic idea at the root of existing and proposed policies. Policies for urban well-being present three characteristics: (i) policies are underpinned by the notion of restoring social order, with chaos and disorder (often associated with informality) seen as a cause of ill-being; (ii) the prominence of middle-class concerns and the exclusion of non- indigenes and those living in poverty; (iii) government being seen as a provider of the enabling environment and infrastructure needed for private sector actors to deliver economic growth which purportedly lead to improved well-being. These characteristics were present in a number of policy concerns raised by stakeholders, including: decongestion policies; transport and road infrastructure; social security for unemployed; education and food security. A generally negative view of urbanisation emerges with a strong emphasis on stopping rural-urban migration as a way to halt urban growth. The research has highlighted a range of very important citizenship practices to deliver goods and services essential to citizens’ well-being. These practices reveal the importance of autonomous collective action in the achievement of well-being. They also show the role that income levels and other social identities such as indigeneity play in such processes. While these processes mostly focus on the delivery of goods and services, in the context of a democratic government still in transition, they also become a platform for voice and the claiming of rights. A key problem that emerges and requires further research is the issue of the inappropriate planning taking place, which serves particular interests and further entrenches inequalities. The report encourages an open discussion on the current urban governance arrangements in Nigeria, particularly the division of roles between different tiers of government, and also on how city-level governance may enable citizenship practices that complement public interventions. The report also questions the effectiveness of strategies for urban well- being solely focused on creating an enabling environment for investment and economic growth to address the concerns of the large majority of low- income residents. In particular, the report indicates that policies often exclude the urban poor and non-indigenes and the removal of these discriminations is necessary for the achievement of well-being for all in Nigerian cities and towns. Finally the report acknowledges the importance of the state in providing or regulating the provision of a number of goods, services and infrastructure, whose provision in urban areas is still inadequate.

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