Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria. Located on the south-facing coast, it is also the principal port for the country.

Lagos today covers 999.6 sq km (385.9 sq mi) and has a population of 8 million people (2012 estimate), within a metropolitan area of 18 million people. Along with Kinshasa, it is one of the biggest cities in Central Africa, and is also one of the fastest growing. Its metropolitan population is expected to reach 25 million people by 2015.

Lagos occupies islands fringing the mouth of the Lagos Lagoon. A line of sand pits forms a barrier protecting it from the open Atlantic Ocean. The city began around the 13th or 14th century as a war camp for the Benin Empire. It was originally called Eko, but was renamed Lagos, meaning "lakes" by the Portuguese when they established a settlement there in 1472.

The British colonized Lagos in 1861, creating the Lagos Colony. They then extended their control to cover the whole of Nigeria in 1887. Lagos became the colonial capital when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established in 1914. It continued to serve as the capital when Nigeria attained its independence from Britain in 1960.

By the 1970s, the overcrowding and squalid condition in Lagos made it necessary for the government to find a new location for the national capital. The choice has to be neutral to all ethnic groups. Eventually a site at the heart of Nigeria was chosen, and a purpose-built city called Abuja was designed. Instruments of government were moved to Abuja from Lagos in 1991. Since then, Lagos has continued to expand, being far and away the largest city in the country.

Lagos, Nigeria
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lagos,_Nigeria_57991.jpg
Author: Jrobin08

Visiting Lagos

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) is the airport serving Lagos. If departing from Lagos, be aware that security is very tight (due to a Dec 2009 terrorist incident, where the terrorist traveled out of this airport with liquid explosives), so expect long security queues.

Street market in Lagos
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PIC00019.JPG
Author: Handsomerudi

Places of Interest in Lagos

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