In a Tale of Lions, Gazelles and Survival, Could Lagos’ Reputation for Disarray Make it a More Attractive Investment Destination?
Drinking from Muddy Streams, the University of Oxford and a Special Adviser to Nigeria’s President
In the remote hills of southwest Togo, Komi, a tour guide, squatted by a muddy stream, cupped his hands full of water, and proceeded to drink. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the United Kingdom, some of Africa's elite were gathering at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government for the latest edition of the Africa Oxford Conference. Bottled water was plentiful.
Delegates included Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim and Nigerian economist Arunma Oteh, former Treasurer of the World Bank and Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A question up for discussion was whether Africa can survive in an increasingly developed world.
A Ghanaian civil servant told the conference such a question was redundant as Africa had “no choice” but to “get on the moving train” of development in order to survive. A Special Adviser to Nigeria’s president told a proverbial story about lions, gazelles and survival. The message of the adviser's tale was that Africa must never get off the development train.
However, one overlooked perspective was that Africa may have a better chance of survival by remaining on the metaphorical station platform, rather than boarding a non-stop train. The continent’s comparative lack of development may mean that many Africans - like Togolese tour guide Komi - are well adapted to survive in a world where scarcity and sustainability could become more pronounced causes of concern. On the other hand, more developed nations’ role as the seeming conductors of the development train could mean that their populations have become accustomed to and dependent on unsustainable behaviours – inhabiting a vulnerable development bubble.
Day-to-day, just like most people in more developed nations, Komi drinks treated water because he lives in the city where clean water is readily available. Unlike many people living in more developed nations, however, he can readily adapt when clean water is scarce. He grew up in a remote area where the main source of water was from a muddy stream. He learned at a young age how to filter stream water with his hands, and his body can readily cope with impurities without suffering any immediate, significant ill effects.
It may appear that Komi — the tour guide — is living proof of an interpretation of the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, which would stipulate that societies reach a tipping point, beyond which, the more developed they are, the less their survival is assured. No one knows when this point will come for some nations, or whether it has already been reached.
Anyone watching Komi move seamlessly between worlds, could question the adviser's assertion that African countries’ best hope of survival is to book back-to-back tickets on the development train. Komi’s resourcefulness and adaptability suggests that the continent's best hope may be to find a suitable disembarkation point on its own development journey.
Lagos: Imperfect Systems and Strength in Imperfection
For some investors, especially those living in the diaspora, Lagos’ infrastructural shortcomings make real estate investment seem too risky and unattractive. The challenges are visible and, in some cases, audible: the rumble of diesel generators filling the air during power outages, the open gutters lining major roads and the traffic gridlock that can turn a short commute into a marathon. With some residents depending on privately operated water tankers for access to potable water, seasonal flooding is also a concern, alongside waste management.
Yet, there is another way to interpret this landscape.
Whilst not trying to champion mediocrity or substandard systems, beneath this seeming disorder may lie a quiet kind of durability — a survival mechanism that is rare in more developed cities and countries. In places where development has reached certain levels, efficiency often replaces resilience. Systems work flawlessly — until they don’t. When a single link breaks, the whole chain falters.
For example, one afternoon at a secondary school in London, there was an issue with the water system; the toilets stopped working, so the school decided to send some students home. Lagos, by contrast, has been forged in the habit of improvisation. In the vast majority — if not all — schools in Lagos, toilets suddenly not working would be unlikely to stop operations.
Lagos is, in many ways, already living in the future that some more developed societies might be unprepared for — a world where scarcity, uncertainty and adaptability are constant companions. As the saying goes: if you can survive in Lagos, you can survive anywhere.
Real Estate: Investing in Resilience
Just as Komi — the tour guide in Togo — can survive both the purity of bottled water and the murk of a muddy stream, Lagosians navigate worlds that would overwhelm even some of the most advanced urban systems. For Lagosians who can afford it, when the grid fails, they turn on their generator, or their inverter automatically switches on. For those who cannot — and even for some who can but have simply adapted — they manage without power for that period and make the most of it when it becomes available.
In a sense, investing in Lagos real estate may not only be an investment in property — it may also be an investment in adaptability. Perhaps the value of land and property in Lagos is not just linked to the objective fundamentals like location and the price of cement; perhaps it is also linked to human adaptability and tenacity.
Contrary to the suggestion of the adviser to Nigeria’s president, Lagos may not have back-to-back tickets on the development train, but perhaps that is precisely its advantage. In a world hurtling toward uncertain futures, it may be those kinds of cities that will ultimately endure.
About Rootstone Homes
Rootstone Homes is a British–Nigerian real estate agency and consultancy focused on helping the Nigerian diaspora invest in Lagos’ real estate with trust, professionalism and greater peace of mind. Accredited by the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA), we bridge the gap between international buyers and Lagos’ rewarding yet intricate property landscape — mitigating risk and enabling sound, well-informed acquisition decisions.
About the Author
Naomi Chika is the Founder of Rootstone Homes, bringing together a blend of real estate, investment and legal expertise with a deep understanding of the Nigerian diaspora experience. Formerly a private equity and principal investing consultant at McKinsey & Company in London, she once solo across West Africa for five months — travelling by road from Senegal to Nigeria — to deepen her knowledge of the region.
