Informal housing delivery dimensions in Nigeria
Abstract
Nigeria is a West African country that borders the Republic of Benin in the west, Cameroon in
the east and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the south and it borders
Lake Chad to the northeast. Noted geographical features in Nigeria include the Adamawa and
Jos Plateaus, and the Niger River and Niger Delta. The country's geographic coordinates are
10°00'N and 8°00'E. Its climate varies from equatorial in the south, tropical in centre (middle
belt), to arid in the north. As for vegetation, its rich variety confines rain forest covers the
coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. The Savannah covers Nigeria’s middle belt, especially around
the Niger and Benue river basins. Its extreme northern part is the Sahel semi-desert. Socially,
Nigeria’s population as at 2006 census stands at 135 million. The country is a multiplicity of
ethnic, religious and cultural groups. However, the population predominantly practices Islam and
Christianity. Paganism is rare among most of the rural peasant. Politically, Hausa, Igbo and
Yoruba are among the major languages in Nigeria. Practically, Islamic way of life is
synonymous with Hausa culture, as most non-Muslims associate themselves with the faith. Other
ethnic groups are Fualni (traditionally cattle rearers) Gbagyi (Gwari), Nupe, Ijaw, Kanuri,
Obibio, Igbira, etc. Abuja city lies between latitude 8.25 and 9.20 degrees north of the equator
and longitude 6.45 and 7.39 degrees east of the Greenwich meridian. It is strategically located
within the centre of Nigeria without a major tribal ownership. Gbagyi ethnic group is a minority
tribe in Nigeria, whereas the main ethnic groups are Hausa, Ibo, and Yoruba. A federal Capital
Territory, Abuja, carved out of four other states of Nigeria namely Kaduna, Plateau, Kogi, and
Benue states, with a landmass of about 8,000 sq. km out of which the city itself occupies about
250 sq. km. In December 1991, Abuja officially replaced Lagos as the capital and the seat of the
Federal Government of Nigeria.
This chapter outlines the problem of informal housing and its transformation within an urban
environment due to the effects of urbanization and globalization, within a major city in Nigeria.
It focuses on Gbagyi peri-urban settlements of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja,
from 1976-2006. This period is divided into three development era, namely incipient the era
(1976-1986), the intermediate era (1987-1991) and the consolidated (1992-2006).