EVICTIONS AND RELOCATIONS IN LAGOS: A WEBERIAN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL ACTION IN GENTRIFYING COMMUNITIES

Abstract

This paper investigates the processes of eviction and the relocation patterns of displaced residents in gentrifying communities of Lagos, Nigeria, with particular focus on Agege and Eti-Osa. The study contributes to gentrification scholarship in African cities by linking diverse eviction and relocation experiences to Weber’s typology of rational, value-driven, affectual, and traditional actions. Thus, drawing on Weber’s theory of social action, the study employed a qualitative design, using in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, life histories, and direct observation to capture the lived realities of both forced and voluntary displacement. Findings reveal sharp contrasts between private-induced evictions in Agege and state-led forced demolitions in Eti-Osa’s waterfront communities. While landlords and property developers frame evictions as rational investments or lawful redevelopment, tenants and long-term residents experience them as abrupt, destabilising, and emotionally painful. Voluntarily displaced landlords were found to relocate either within peri-urban Lagos or to neighbouring states, with decisions shaped by affordability, family obligations, gendered vulnerabilities, and investment aspirations. The study recommends that eviction and resettlement policies in Lagos should expand beyond property rights to include tenants and informal settlers, and calls for socially just relocation frameworks that secure housing, livelihoods, and community continuity.