The study focusses on the dynamics of power relations influencing informal economic policies at the city level, utilising the political settlements theory to do so. The case study rests on the understanding of political settlements as an ongoing, conflict-ending agreement among powerful groups. Key actors in this study are policy-makers, and operators of okada motorcycles (a very popular informal transportation option) in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital. The relationship between these actors intricately lies between tensions and opportunities. Operators of okada motorcycles provide much needed flexible transportation options in a city bedevilled by long hours of traffic congestion and unmotorable, physically hard to reach communities. The demand for okada services in Lagos is therefore sustained by residents themselves, who often ignore the precarious meandering of its operators on busy highways. On the other hand, policy makers allude to this inherent lack of safety and additionally, security risks to maintain a policy of restriction and then, total ban on operators much to outcry from operators and the public. As okada-riders tend to be from a specific ethnic, migrant group, scholars have previously studied the issues from the lens of migration and the rights to the city, while the Lagos State Government has been accused of perpetuating a modernisation agenda at the expense of the informal sector operators. The government’s past actions in ignoring its own restrictive policies close to election periods also lends credence for understanding the political settlement processes at play in this sector. The political settlements framework therefore presents a strong analytical opportunity to understand the negotiations, trade-offs and power shifting that underscore inclusive policy for the informal transportation sector in Lagos. It recognises the power wielded by the policy actors as elected officials and by the okada riders as powerful service operators whose options supplants the formal transportation sector for many residents. This study traces these processes through media analysis, interviews and surveys with both actors, seeking to present a balance between the realities of governing a mega city, the rights of migrants to legitimately seek employment in the city and the responsibility of both government and people to make their city work for all. Although focussed on the Lagos informal sector, the study provides pathways for inclusive policy in other, similar contexts.
Citation : Igudia, E., Oyalowo, B., Olusanya, O. and Ackrill, R. (2022) The right to the city in an era of modernization: Exploring Lagos’ restrictive informal transportation policy through a political settlements lens. 16th Annual International Conference on Global Studies:Business, Economic, Political, Social and Cultural Aspects.
URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2086/22939
Research Institute : Institute for Applied Economics and Social Value (IAESV)
Peer Reviewed : Yes
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