The demolition of parts of Makoko is not just a story about “illegal structures” or “public safety.” It is a familiar Lagos story, one that has unfolded repeatedly over decades: a city that modernises by erasing the poor, then calls the rubble progress. The recent demolitions are not a beginning. They are the latest chapter in a long history of threat, clearance, and insecurity that Makoko’s residents have lived with for generations.
For decades, Makoko has existed under the shadow
