Rethinking Cities

We had an engaging session yesterday with Lagos State candidates from various parties and Policy experts discussing ‘Lagos way forward’. We focused on sustainability transportation, waste management, water, flooding and wetlands, and housing for informal settlers.#Lagoswayforward

Rainy season is here! Take action to improve your neighborhood's flooding problems by filing a complaint at PublicTech.studio/flooding. Campaign partners: @EiENigeria @BudgITng @ludi_org @RethinkingCI @tomiadesina_ @CivicHive

Avoid traffic by taking the ferry. Explore the first comprehensive map of ferry routes in Lagos, including schedules and prices. LagosFerries.com

Rainy season is here! Take action to improve your neighborhood's flooding problems by filing a complaint at PublicTech.studio/flooding. Campaign partners: @EiENigeria @BudgITng @ludi_org @RethinkingCI @tomiadesina_ @CivicHive

@publictechstdio @ludi_org @EiENigeria @BudgITng @CivicHive @RethinkingCI

Day 1 of the Housing Movement was not just conversations. From legal realities of eviction to the deeper issue of land access, participants shared, challenged, and reflected on what housing justice truly means. #HousingJustice #Lagos #RethinkingCities #UrbanJustice #RightToHousing

To every worker rising each day with hope, grit, and purpose…this day is for you.💕🤗 Happy Workers’ Day #RethinkingLagos #WorkersDay #Informalworkers #Lagos #RethinkingCities

Representatives of the Nigeria Slum/Informal Settlement Federation and the Executive Director of the Shantytown Empowerment Foundation (SHEF) attended a social housing screening event organized by Rethinking Cities in collaboration with Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS).

Ajegunle Ikorodu of the Nigeria Slum/Informal Settlement Federation commissioned plastic collection points under the action research initiative of the African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) Waste-to-Wealth project, implemented by Rethinking Cities.

@gbenga_omo Govt’s 13k units and 20% low-income quota in Lagos Homes sound noble on paper, but they’ve completely failed low-wage earners earning up to 3× the ₦70k minimum wage. Tiny scale, sky-high costs, endless bureaucracy, and zero reach for informal workers. Real game-changer? Establish a private-sector inclusionary housing fund with tax relief benefits to ultra-luxury real estate companies and developers to construct homes that are genuinely affordable to a specific low-income group and provide clever, adaptable rent-to-own and rental options. Ten times more efficient, quicker, and cleaner. @drobafemihamzat

Why Lagos should rethink its waterfront strategy guardian.ng/opinion/editor… @jidesanwoolu @drobafemihamzat @GRVlagos @funsodoherty @_yemia @PGeeman @pastorpoju @GuardianNigeria

NEW | Dumpsites: A community-led study of waste accumulation in Mathare, Nairobi Informal waste workers are the unseen backbone of Nairobi’s waste value chain – filling the gaps left by formal systems.

Filmmakers and artists play a vital role in shaping society, using storytelling to advocate for affordable housing and justice for the urban poor. This week in Lagos🇳🇬, alongside @avocff and @RethinkingCI, we screened the award-winning documentary #MotherCity. This event fostered a powerful conversation about urban inequality and how film can help decision-makers better understand the realities of people living on the margins of rapidly growing cities. #inclusivecity

"What is essentially taking place in Lagos State regarding Makoko is a class war. The Lagos government wants to chase out the poor from waterfront areas in order to bring in the rich elite." - @HTSoweto

I had a good time speaking with young activists and nation builders, showing and teaching practical ways to make an impact. ANYWAY! THERE’S A HUGE SURPRISE AT THE END OF THIS VIDEO! ARE YOU READY??? 😄 Organized by: @boell_eu and @rethinkingcities @dejiakinpelu #abenol

Mission to Makoko: This Saturday (February 14), we will embark on another relief mission to #Makoko community in Lagos following the demolition of a large portion of the fishing community which rendered several thousands of people homeless and devastated families. Children were the most affected. The exercise led to the death of several persons especially children from alleged teargas attacks by police personnel. We will take food items, sanitary products, blankets, baby foods, clothings etc to affected families. Since January, we have had several relief outreaches to the community funded in large part by out friends, most prominently @EcoHomef. Makoko's displaced population, with nowhere to go, currently faces a humanitarian crisis. We welcome items from public spirited individuals towards the mission. The necessary contacts are on the flyer or you can DM me. Thanks so much in advance. -- CEE-HOPE's Management @ceehopenigeria Cc: @NnimmoB, @obyezeks, @sowore @mrmacaroni @InibeheEffiong @YarKafanchan @SavvyRinu @OlumideIDOWU, @justempower @OurFavOnlineDoc @afruca @_yemia @adequatehousing @NigeriainfoFM

Dear colleagues and friends, Registration is now open for the 4-week online course, Nature Education (March 2–29, 2026), offered by the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University. I warmly encourage interested participants to take advantage of this opportunity to deepen their knowledge and practice in nature-based learning and community engagement. Register via bit.ly/4quXAZp

Who is the city for? 🤔 What can Lagos learn from Cape Town? On March 8, 2026, we cordially invite you to a #filmscreening and discussion, hosted by @hbsNigeria, @RethinkingCI, and Africa's Voices of Change, at Silverbird Cinemas, Victoria Island, Lagos State. 📍Save the date and join the conversation! #InclusiveCities #MotherCityFilm #UrbanInclusion

Discover the key findings and recommendations from the study in this summary blog post – or read the full research report linked at the end 👇 african-cities.org/left-in-the-da…

@bettyabah @melonyishola

(2/2): Cont'd: Punch, Lagos State Government Vs #Makoko's Dead Babies ********* Finally, if the killing of innocent babies via teargases from Lagos State's sanctioned demolition squad means nothing to the editors and reporters at Punch and shouldn't warrant an in-depth and unbiased investigation by them, if they are so dedicated to throwing professionalism through the windows for whatever reason then it's an interesting time indeed to be alive. --BA Attached photos ( Posts 1 and 2):four of the dead victims of the eviction (out of 12) and screen shots of the referenced reports by Punch Newspaper.

Punch Newspaper, Lagos State Government Versus #Makoko's Dead Babies ******* I never knew I would see the day where @MobilePunch would become the official mouthpiece for a state government. What went wrong? What happened to the news organisation's tradition of objectivity and unbiased reporting for which is was well known and celebrated? For weeks now, Punch, previously Nigeria's most authoritative news medium, has been without fail, giddily parroting Lagos State's SOLE angle on the #Makoko demolition saga, downplaying the killings and amplifying the government's angle without due diligence or any thought for using reports from both angles. Punch's coverage of this grievous issue has been basically a dissemination of the state government's bulletin which justifies the state government's brutal attack on the improved fishing community and I guess that that justification extends to the murder of innocent babies. The reportage is so unprofessionally dished out you can't miss the awkwardness. News coverage should be about Truth, Objectivity and sprinkled with some Humanity. It should be, more than anything else, about public interest and in doing that, the interest of the society's most vulnerable should be closely abreast especially when the side with the upper hand is clearly in breach of stipulated, historical laws guiding such actions. About 12 people dead directly from this assault and what matters to you, Powerful Punch is how much effort you can put into projecting government's lies and putting a wool over the masses' eyes by painting the victims as the villains? What happens to going to Makoko to see the situation at hand, interviewing displaced residents, victims' relatives, lawyers, CSOs and experts on urban planning/Housing Justice? How come the only thing you do, and usually major headlines, is projecting Lagos Government justifying this gross injustice? And incase you don't bother to check with researching existing laws and provisions on this matter, have you, Punch editors and reporters, bothered to read reports by other local and even international news organisations some of which referenced international conventions and even Lagos State Government's own Urban Development laws and which the government has flagrantly violated with regards to the Makoko, Oworonshoki and other ongoing brutal forced eviction exercises? Is Punch aware of a 2024 ruling by a Federal High Court on Makoko Community Vs Lagos State Government which ruled against further demolition by the government and even ordering the state to pay for damages? Is Punch aware that Makoko is sited on Federal waterways and not under Lagos' jurisdiction much less subject to its forced eviction exercises? Did Punch reporters bother to visit Makoko or reach out to Barristers Femi Falana and Ayo Ademiluyi who are Makoko's counsels or other NGOs working in Makoko before running to town as the government's vuvuzela rather than probing and publishing unbiased truth so the public can demand accountability? This doesn't look like a coincidence anymore but a pointed and ready-made agenda to unprofessionally parrot a super power's agenda, to tweak public opinion lopsidedly and at the expense of society's weak and voiceless. Who are the new editors at Punch turning this historically acclaimed news reporting legacy to now favouring the powers that be against society's most powerless demographic? For what gain and to what essence? The recent reports reports (screenshots attached) didn't bother to include any other voice or positions except that extracted comprehensively from the govt's press statements. For a case currently attracting global attention? At what point did punch lose its punchy essence and starts to pander openly and shamelessly to powerful political elites? Have you bothered to borrow a leaf from other national dailies that choose to cover the news from both angles? #Thread Pix: Some of the victims (late). @obyezeks @NUJofficial @sowore @YarKafanchan