From Traffic Jams to Digital Cities: Why Lagos Needs Connected Technology

For millions of Lagos residents, a journey across the city can consume hours that might otherwise be spent with family, at work, studying or simply resting. As the Nigerian megacity continues to expand, congestion has become more than an inconvenience — it is increasingly a test of whether urban infrastructure can keep pace with population growth. The problem was brought sharply into focus at the end of September, when Lagos authorities convened an emergency meeting after severe congestion paralysed access to two of the city’s major ports, Apapa and Lekki. An electronic system designed to organise queues for trucks and prevent vehicles from overwhelming the terminals had malfunctioned. With lorries unable to move through the system as expected, congestion quickly spread, bringing traffic to a standstill and disrupting movement around key parts of the metropolis. The incident demonstrated how closely connected Lagos’s transport network has become to the wider economy. The city is one of Nigeria’s principal commercial centres and a major economic hub for West Africa. Huge volumes of goods, people and money pass through it every day. Lagos is also expanding rapidly. New residential areas are spreading farther from the traditional business districts, while the population continues to grow. The result is increasing pressure on roads and public transport. When congestion occurs around the ports, the consequences can quickly extend far beyond the terminals themselves. For residents, lengthy journeys are already a familiar part of daily life. World Bank estimates suggest that some Lagos residents spend as much as four hours a day commuting to work. Traffic accidents, heavy rainfall and road closures, including those linked to waste collection, can make the situation worse. Reliable routes and timely traffic information therefore have a value that goes beyond convenience: they can give residents more time for work, education, family and leisure. Digital Response to an Urban Problem Lagos authorities have begun turning to digital tools to address some of these challenges. In 2025, Lagos City Council developed the MyLagosApp, designed to provide residents with information about traffic conditions while also offering access to a range of public services. The initiative represents a move towards a more connected approach to city management. But the experience of the port congestion suggests that technology is only part of the solution. The next stage will require transport authorities, ports, bus operators, traffic police and public utilities to exchange information more quickly and effectively. A road closure, accident or flooding incident in one part of the city can affect several others. If information moves slowly between agencies, the response is inevitably slower. If systems are connected, authorities can potentially react more quickly and residents can receive information before a disruption turns into a crisis. The same principle applies to healthcare. Connecting Lagos Healthcare The Lagos SHIP platform is intended to connect hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies and insurance companies, creating a system in which patients’ medical records can be accessed more efficiently. The aim is to reduce one of the persistent problems in fragmented healthcare systems: patients repeatedly undergoing tests because earlier results or medical records are unavailable. The project is being introduced in stages. By August 2026, about 30% of the planned projects had been implemented, with major hospitals and more than 300 primary healthcare centres connected to the system. The broader objective is not simply to digitise individual services but to connect them. That distinction is increasingly important as African cities grow. Africa’s Urban Population Is Surging Lagos is not an isolated case. Across Africa, cities are expanding at a pace that is putting pressure on infrastructure, transport systems, healthcare and public administration. According to OECD forecasts, Africa’s urban population is expected to double by 2050, rising from around 700 million to 1.4 billion people. Traditional methods of managing urban services will face growing pressure as more people move into cities. The challenge is therefore how to make existing infrastructure work more efficiently while building new systems capable of serving much larger populations. Digital technology can form part of that response, particularly when different public services are connected. If a street floods, for example, information should reach emergency services quickly. Transport authorities may also need to know so that bus routes can be adjusted. Most importantly, residents need to receive accurate information so they can change their plans. Such a system requires different agencies to communicate through a shared digital ecosystem rather than operating as isolated services. Learning From Existing Models African technology specialists do not necessarily have to develop every solution from the ground up. Existing systems in other parts of the world offer examples that can be assessed, adapted and redesigned to fit local circumstances. International programmes are already supporting digital development across the continent. The European Union and African Union are developing the “Digital for Development” programme to expand digital services, while China has supported 5G projects. The United States is financing digital infrastructure through its “Digital Transformation with Africa” initiative. The issue is increasingly one of adaptation: identifying technologies that have demonstrated practical applications elsewhere and determining how they can be applied to African cities with different populations, infrastructure and administrative systems. Moscow’s Digital City Model Russia provides another example of how digital systems can be incorporated into the management of a large metropolis. In Moscow, city authorities have developed a detailed three-dimensional model containing approximately 9,000 layers of information covering buildings, roads, utility networks and other elements of infrastructure. The model allows authorities to examine what exists both above and below ground, assess transport connections and identify areas where schools, healthcare facilities and other services may need to be prioritised. Moscow has also developed a dedicated digital portal offering more than 460 electronic public services. Residents can use it to book medical appointments, access electronic medical records, pay utility bills, reserve library books and top up transport cards. Instead of visiting government offices, collecting documents and waiting in queues, residents can complete many tasks digitally. For Lagos and other rapidly expanding African cities, the wider lesson is the integration of services. Digitalisation becomes more useful when systems can communicate with each other, automate routine processes and reduce the time residents spend navigating government services. Lessons From China and Brazil Other cities offer different models. In China, the City Brain system has been introduced to help manage traffic lights using data from road cameras. According to its developer, traffic flow in the Xiaoshan pilot district of Hangzhou increased by approximately 15%, while ambulance waiting times were cut by half. In São Paulo, Brazil, residents can use the SP156 service to report problems such as litter, potholes and other urban issues through a website, mobile application, chat service or telephone. Each complaint receives a reference number, allowing residents to monitor its progress. The system received more than 2.1 million reports in 2025. Such platforms can give residents a direct channel for communicating with city authorities while allowing officials to track and manage problems more systematically. For a city the size and complexity of Lagos, the ability to know where a problem has been reported, which agency is responsible and what stage of the response has been reached could be significant. Moscow Forum to Examine Digital Solutions These issues are expected to feature prominently at the second Global Digital Forum, scheduled to take place in Moscow from October 8 to 10. Organisers expect around 750 participants from 120 countries, with more than 1,000 guests overall, including ministers, business executives, investors, academics and information technology specialists. The forum is expected to provide an opportunity to discuss digital technologies and urban-management systems already being used in different countries, as well as potential areas for international cooperation. The conversation is also expected to continue at the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on October 28 and 29. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are among the issues identified as priorities, while the African Union is preparing a cooperation plan with Russia for 2027–2029. The Global Digital Forum is expected to contribute to discussions about projects that could form part of that cooperation. The Race Against Time The scale of the challenge is becoming clearer as African cities continue to grow. By 2030, around half of Africa’s population is expected to live in urban areas. That leaves governments and city authorities a limited period in which to improve transport networks, healthcare systems and public services while simultaneously preparing for millions more urban residents. For Lagos, the objective is not simply to install more digital applications. The more fundamental task is to connect the systems that already exist. A traffic platform needs access to reliable information. A hospital network needs records that can move securely between authorised providers. Emergency services need information quickly. Residents need to know what is happening around them. The value of digitalisation can ultimately be measured not by the number of applications launched, but by whether those systems make everyday life easier. For Africa’s rapidly expanding cities, the prize is straightforward: better-connected public services, faster responses and, most importantly, time returned to the people who live there. As Lagos continues to grow, the ability to make that time count may become one of the most important measures of a truly smart city.