Urban poverty surge fuels Nigeria's youth bulge, violence, hypocrisy
Nigeria's rapid urbanisation has shifted poverty from rural areas to cities, as a growing youth bulge drives millions from villages to urban centres like Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kaduna and Kano. The influx has swollen informal settlements where daily needs—food, housing, health care and education—are unmet for most residents, pushing many into precarious informal work. At the same time, a tiny elite accumulates obscene wealth, widening inequality. The author notes rising violence: kidnappings for ransom, ritual killings, Boko Haram attacks, and the use of youth as suicide bombers, all occurring amid a society that professes deep religiosity yet exhibits widespread corruption, child abuse and theft of religious funds. Religious groups such as Sufi, Wahabi and Pentecostal churches fill gaps left by the state, offering shelter, medical aid and economic networks, while also sometimes enabling extremist interpretations. The result is a precarious, post-cosmopolitan urban life where survival increasingly depends on informal and sometimes criminal networks. The piece ends by questioning who is studying or acting to reverse this trend, implying a need for urgent policy and community action.