The Lagos Environment Story: Seven Years of Rethinking How a Megacity is Living

Seven years after Babajide Sanwo-Olu became Governor of Lagos State on May 29, 2019, the city's environmental challenges remain, but the administration's approach to managing them has shifted significantly. Instead of simply addressing the old problems, the focus has expanded to building systems capable of coping with the demands of a rapidly growing megacity.

Victoria Ojiako reports that when Sanwo-Olu took office, he inherited a city facing economic growth and increasing environmental pressures. The population continued to rise, developments encroached upon wetlands and waterways, daily waste generation increased, and infrastructure replaced permeable land. Climate change added another layer of complexity, with rainfall patterns becoming unpredictable, and coastal geography ensuring the Atlantic, lagoons, rivers, and tides remained integral to the city's development.

While many environmental issues persist, such as flooding, inadequate waste collection, pollution, and tension around drainage corridors and wetlands, there is growing evidence that Lagos has changed how it thinks about these problems. Drainage management is no longer merely about clearing gutters; waste is discussed in terms of recycling, recovery, and circular economy; trees are geo-tagged and monitored; and climate change has moved from conferences to planning documents and infrastructure discussions.

The numbers behind these changes are promising. In 2025, the state reported that 12 primary drainage channels covering 32.5 kilometers were restored, and 84 secondary channels totaling 96 kilometers were restored in 2024. Additionally, 1,141 violations affecting drainage rights of way were removed. When extreme rainfall occurred in June 2026, causing widespread flash flooding, Sanwo-Olu approved the dredging and maintenance of 28 more primary drainage channels.

Although flooding cannot be entirely eliminated, these figures demonstrate that the state views drainage as permanent urban infrastructure rather than seasonal housekeeping.

Waste management has also evolved from a linear model of collecting waste and disposing of it to a circular economy approach. The Lagos Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan identifies inadequate waste collection, uncontrolled dumping, and pressure on ageing landfill infrastructure as serious challenges, proposing waste conversion and treatment as part of the long-term response.

This shift could become a significant environmental change for the period, as plastic ceases to be merely rubbish, organic material becomes compost, recovered materials return to manufacturing, and landfill is reserved for items with no further productive use.

Climate policy in Lagos has become more structured, with the Lagos Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan identifying sea-level rise, extreme rainfall, and extreme heat as the major climate-impact drivers. The plan outlines 33 adaptation projects around infrastructure, communities, and crisis response. In August 2026, Lagos introduced a Climate Defence and Catalytic Fund to attract private investment into climate-resilient and low-carbon projects, highlighting the shift from climate advocacy to climate financing.

Urban greening efforts are also underway. By June 30, 2026, LASPARK reported that 13,401 trees had been planted towards an annual target of 20,000, with local councils involved in their subsequent care. The important metric, however, will not be the number of trees planted but how many survive five years later, capturing the durability of environmental legacy.

Environmental enforcement remains a controversial aspect of the city's environmental management. Properties have been affected, structures have come down, and businesses have been sealed for noise and pollution violations. However, the distinction between activity and durability is crucial for measuring environmental success.