Lagos is situated in southwestern Nigeria, within the Yoruba cultural region. For much of the modern state’s history it served as the national capital, but the capital was transferred to Abuja in 1991. Foreign embassies and government agencies subsequently moved many offices inland, while Lagos retained major cultural and commercial functions.

The city is Nigeria’s principal population center and transportation hub. International and domestic air services connect it to other parts of the country and the wider world, while its port is a major trading point. The National Museum remains in Lagos and holds notable ivory and bronze sculpture from Benin, linking the city’s modern infrastructure to the country’s artistic heritage.

The source describes Lagos as a huge, violent, polluted, and crime-plagued city of more than thirteen million people. Much of the urban area occupies four islands connected by too few bridges, and streets are crowded with cars, buses, trucks, vans, and street vendors. Rapid growth was expected to place Lagos among the world’s ten largest cities by 2025.