The rate at which young people are trooping to the cities is alarming. Cities have become so congested that there is little or no more space for more development. Have you ever imagined why young people are trooping out of their villages? What is so special about life in the city? Is city the best place to be? What are the challenges facing city dwellers?
A city is expected to be a large human settlement with extensive space for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land use, and communication. The most beautiful thing about city is its ability to harbour people from different tribes, culture and religion. It is amazing seeing people from different works of life living together in a peaceful and harmonious environment. More so, variety remains the spice of life!
One of the things that make city so attractive is its level of development. In most cities there is regular power supply with good network system. There is also a well organized transportation and communication system. City is a place where one has the greatest exposure in life, a place with the highest job opportunities. It is a place where one gets access to education, industries and political activities.
Considering the importance of city dwellers and its indispensable place in the society, the United Nations General Assembly has declared October 31st as World Cities Day. This Day is meant to promote a better Life through a better City. The theme of this year’s World Cities Day is “Building Sustainable and Resilient Cities.”
A sustainable city is one that can stand the taste of time. It is a well designed city that is large enough to accommodate future development and possible increase in population. A sustainable city has all the necessary amenities in place. It is a city with enough regular and constant supply of energy, water, and food. It is a city that makes provision for waste, output of heat, air and water pollution, with a good road network and drainage system.
Most of the cities in Nigeria are yet to meet these criteria for sustainable and Resilient cities. The cities are so congested with poor drainage system. That is why most of the cities are experiencing constant flooding and other natural disasters. Energy, inadequate water and power supply remains a major challenge facing most our cities.
Bad roads and poor road network is the major cause of traffic jam in the cities. People spend hours on the road, some even sleep on the road due to traffic jam. This is common in almost all the cities in Nigeria. The high cost of transportation is also a major challenge facing the city dwellers. City is a place with a high cost of living. Without money one cannot survive in the city. One has to pay for accommodation (rent), electricity, water, and other bills.
These challenges notwithstanding, young people prefer to live in the cities. Most of them are sharing rooms in the cities. You will be surprise to see about four people living in a room. Some of them are even living under the bridge and even market places due to lack of accommodation and lack of money to pay for descent accommodation.
One of the ways to decongest the existing cities is to create more cities. The rural areas can as well be developed. If there is regular power and water supply, with good communication and network system, I can assure you that a good number of young people will prefer to stay in the rural areas. I wish all our city dwellers happy world cities day!
