Resource information
Nigeria's urban infrastructure is
crumbling. Water supply, sewerage, sanitation, drainage,
roads, electricity, and waste disposal-all suffer from years
of serious neglect. Periodic and routine maintenance, by far
the most cost-effective infrastructure spending, is almost
zero. It has become the norm in Nigeria to wait for a
capital infusion to rehabilitate, replacing instead of
maintaining the infrastructure. But declining financial
resources are making this less feasible, and the
deterioration is accelerating. Compounding the situation is
the rapid urbanization, mostly migration from rural areas.
The number of people living in Nigeria's towns and
cities is expected to double to 80 million in the next 13
years and reach 100 million by 2010.