Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg and Cape City are typically competing with Lagos to declare control of Last Frontier Africa, the continent of the 21st century. Lagos, Nigeria seems such as an unlikely place for Africa's major tech hub. The city's estimated population is 21 million people, and 30,000 more Africans are arriving every day. Ten years ago, architect and author Rem Koolhaas co-wrote Mutation. After studying Nigeria's biggest city, he says,
"Lagos isn't catching up with us; rather, we may be catching up with Lagos." He might have been right.
It seems fanciful to equate Lagos with a 21st century New York, as Koolhaas does. For several intents and purposes, the city shouldn't operate at all. Its chaos outstrips that of Cairo or New Delhi.
But within the insanity, a fresh kind of region is emerging. In an area gridlocked by traffic after 6 a.m. and rampant with crime, Lagos offers non-mobile Internet. Wi-Fi is gut-enchantingly slow. But despite its weak infrastructure, it stands because of its innovative residents and their hunger to achieve the most competitive of environments.
