AUTHOR=Eyita-Okon Ekeminiabasi 

TITLE=Urbanization and human security in post-colonial Africa

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Cities

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-cities/articles/10.3389/frsc.2022.917764

DOI=10.3389/frsc.2022.917764

ISSN=2624-9634

ABSTRACT=Urbanisation has been unprecedented in post-colonial Africa. As African economies grow and become active participants in the global economy, cities and towns (urban areas) become attractive to bolster economic activities. While urbanisation is crucial to economic growth, if left unchecked, it fosters inequality between rich and poor, rural and urban, skilled and unskilled; poverty; and economic and social degradation – all of which have implications on human security. These realities are evident in most urban areas in post-colonial Africa. Cognisant of the challenges of [rapid] urbanisation, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 aim to make cities more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive. This paper argues that achieving this goal on a continental scale, presents capacity issues defined in terms of the lack of coordination, continued existence of systemic/structural violence, [external] visions for Africa’s development, and policy implementation gaps. It equally presents opportunities to build capacity by prioritizing the challenges of urbanisation as high politics problem, rethinking the region’s approach to development – from interest-driven to people-centered development, and creating incentives to facilitate compliance at a continental level.