Restoring Urban Infrastructure and Services in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria's urban infrastructure is crumbling. Water supply, sewerage, sanitation, drainage, roads, electricity, and waste disposal-all suffer from years of serious neglect. Periodic and routine maintenance, by far the most cost-effective infrastructure spending, is almost zero. It has become the norm in Nigeria to wait for a capital infusion to rehabilitate, replacing instead of maintaining the infrastructure. But declining financial resources are making this less feasible, and the deterioration is accelerating. Compounding the situation is the rapid urbanization, mostly migration from rural areas. The number of people living in Nigeria's towns and cities is expected to double to 80 million in the next 13 years and reach 100 million by 2010.