.

1. Impact of road construction
on market and street trade in Lagos,
Nigeria.
Faith Ikioda
Research Fellow
University Of Hertfordshire
f.ikioda@herts.ac.uk

2. ABSTRACT
In 2009, the Lagos state government commenced the construction of a ten-lane
highway incorporating a light rail track along the existing Lagos-Badagry expressway.
With the assistance of the World Bank and at a cost of about US$1.5 billion, when
complete, the road will link Lagos with the Republic of Benin and other West African
countries as part of the ECOWAS transit Corridor. While the proposed development is
intended to potentially improve the business and international status of the city of
Lagos, the expansion of the road has had implications for a variety of activities
adjoining locations around the proposed highway. To fulfil the conditions for
expanding the road, the government has had to acquire rights of way to adjoining
areas of the existing expressway. Through this process, places of worship, residential
buildings, motor parks, schools, markets, mechanic workshops, to mention a few
activities, have been displaced in order to fulfil the project. This study explores the
impact of such displacement arising from the road construction on the livelihood of
market and street traders at two markets located along the expressway; the Agboju
Market and New Alayabiagba market. Primary data collected by the researcher
through interviews, photographs and observation research with traders in both
markets in 2010 and 2012 is used to explore the detrimental and often ignored
implications that development initiatives, albeit well intentioned, can have on the
livelihoods of urban residents.

3. Short author biography
Faith Ikioda is a Human geographer and obtained a BSc
degree in Geography from the University of Lagos, Nigeria in
2005, an MA degree in Human Geography from the University
of Manchester in 2006 and a PhD (Human geography) from
the University of Sheffield in 2012. Her PhD explored the role
that Communities of practice play in the lives of market
traders in Lagos and she continues to research on the social
organisation of everyday practices, food systems and markets;
and especially has a keen interest in market trading in Nigeria.
She is currently a research fellow at the University of
Hertfordshire where she is the lead investigator on a two
year study funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council (ESRC) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to
investigate the views and experiences of people aged over
sixty in terms of how they acquire food in Hertfordshire and
the surrounding area

4. Presentation outline
 An overview of road transport planning in
Lagos
 The blue line rail project’s impact on
livelihoods on the Lagos-Badagry
expressway
 Study area and methods
 Marketing activities at New Alayabiagba
Market and Agboju 2nd Gate Market
 Implications on marketing activities from
road redevelopment

5. Transport in Lagos
Non-consistent investment in government
owned transport facilities (Olukoju 2004)
Tiered management of roads and
unorganised operation of private minibuses
Poor traffic regulation and unmanaged car
ownership (Oni 1999)
Poor integration between urban
development and transport planning
(LAMATA, 2010)
Urban growth outside the metropolis has
gone unchecked

6. Roads and
traffic congestion in Lagos
In Lagos, currently almost all
movements are made by road, while
water and rail transport account for
1% capacity (Oni and Asenime,
2008)
Of the 7 million trips made daily in
Lagos, only 8000 are by rail
(LAMATA 2010)
Reconstruction and expansion of
major routes
Resurfacing untarred road
Creating Bus Rapid transit routes
Investment in light rail
Traffic radio station in 2012 etc.

7. The Blue Line Rail Project
Project started in 2009- Redevelop
the 50km Lagos-Badagry expressway
into 10 lanes at a cost of N220 billion
(about US$ 1.5 billion).
Eastern section
From Eric Moore to Mile 2 - 7.2km
Central section
From Mile 2 to Agbara - 24.5km
Western section
From Agbara to Badagry -28.5km.
Issues arising from acquiring rights of
way to fulfil the extension raise
questions for livelihoods
Source : Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport
Authority (LAMATA)

8. Impact of road developments
“Clash of rationalities”, between techno-managerial systems of government
planning and increasingly marginalised urban populations surviving in
informality (Watson 2009)
Improving traffic management, improvement in network connectivity,
reduction in journey times, political achievements etc
Adjoining locations to expressways such as places of worship, residential
buildings, motor parks, schools, markets, mechanic workshops have been
affected in diverse ways in order to acquire rights of way for reconstruction.
Degen et al (2010) have argued for an attention to how urban design and
large–scale projects and interventions transform the everyday experiences
of urban residents.

9. Study Areas
Two Markets along the Lagos Badagry expressway:
New Alayabiagba Market (Alaba Market)
Agboju 2nd Gate Market at Festac Town

10. Methods
PhD Research 2010 – 6 months fieldwork in New Alayabiagba Market – everyday
practices come to constitute communities of practice
Scoping study 2012 - Daleko Market, New Alayabiagba Markets, Agboju 2nD
Market, FESTAC and sought to identify market infrastructure serve as
constraints and avenues for inefficiency in marketing commodities
Catfish trade is singled out for consideration-unstructured interviews, visual images
and observation (15 catfish traders at Agboju market and two traders in
Alayabiagba market )

11. As market trade expands to the
roadside....
Difficult and narrow market inlets, better
reach passersby and pedestrians, more
traders than available spaces and small
scale traders unable to afford/get stall
space etc
Implicated in illegal refuse dumping, traffic
congestions and general urban
inefficiencies threat to public health (Lawal,
2004)
Market expansion in this way has clashed
with urban politics, curbing its illegality and
expansion to street trade has been
common (Fourchard and Olukoju, 2007;
Ikioda, 2013)

12. Catfish trade in perspective

13. Implications for road transport
development on market trade
For any transport plan to be beneficial to
the wider population there is need to
consider in detail the economic, social
and political environment the transport
intervention is being made (Porter 2007) .
Displacement /exit for trade
Less customer patronage
Multiple levies
Business uncertainty
Lack of alternatives – normal laws of
relocation may not apply
Reduction in scale of business
Health implications - death and
depression
 Fuels informality (Ikioda 2012a,
2012b)

14. Key issues
 Critical to explore mobility alongside
the perspective of the everyday
tangible experiences of
marginalised urban poor
 Voices of those who depend on
roads for livelihood, albeit being
informal and invisible are important
– but lost in a bigger story of
developing efficient transport
network befitting a world class
urban centre
 Political, ethical and practical
challenges/implications for
detailing everyday experiences of
marginalised urban poor

15. References
Degen, M., Rose, G., & Basdas, B. (2010). Bodies and everyday practices in designed urban
environments. Science Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Science and Technology
Studies, 23(2), 60-76.
Ikioda F. (2012a) Limits to Communities of Practice in an Open Air Market-The Case of the Alaba-Suru
Market, Lagos, Nigeria. Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Sheffield
Ikioda F (2012b) . Unpublished Scoping Study report.
Ikioda Faith (2013) ‘Urban daily Markets in Lagos, Nigeria’. Geography Compass; Vol 7, Issue 7, 517-526
Fourchard, L., & Olukoju, A. (2007). State, local governments and the management of markets in Lagos
and Ibadan since the 1950s. Gouverner les villes d'Afrique: état, gouvernement local et acteurs
privés, 107.
LAMATA. (2010) Improving Standards and Safety of Transportation in Lagos. Lagos: Lagos metropolitan
Area Transport Authority.
Lawal AA. (2004) Markets and Street Trading in Lagos. Nigerian Cities. African World Press, Inc. Trenton,
NJ: 237-254.
Olukoju, A. (2004). Urban Transport in Metropolitan Lagos. Nigerian Cities, 211-36.
Oni, S. I. (1999). Urban transportation at State and Local Government levels.Department of Geography-
University Of Lagos, Akoka-Lagos.
Oni S and Asenime C. (2008) A Daily Flow Profile of Traffic in an Urban Traffic Corridor: The Nigerian
Experience.
Porter, G. (2007). Transport planning in sub-Saharan Africa. Progress in development studies., 7(3), 251-
257.
Watson, V. (2009). Seeing from the South: Refocusing urban planning on the globe’s central urban
issues. Urban Studies, 46(11), 2259-2275.

16. Thank you