Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Lagos Global: Epicentre of West Africa?
February 7, 2019 at 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
| Location: | Kroeger College Boardroom (D199) Loeb Building |
| Cost: | Free |
Elizabeth Cobbett has been a lecturer of international relations and international political economy at the University of East Anglia since 2013. Her current research focuses on contemporary developments in banking and finance within Africa. More specifically, her work examines the different ways in which global finance seeks profitable opportunities within localized social structures.
This talk draws on a chapter in Dr. Cobbett’s forthcoming book, The Political Economy of African Financial Centres: The New Realm of Global Finance. Lagos State is positioning the city as West Africa’s political, economic and social gateway/hub. Lagos is a financial centre in the making, it has free trade zones, deep-sea water ports and Africa’s richest man is building the world’s largest single petrochemical refinery along the Lekki coastline. It is a city of billionaires with private jets and yachts that will be home to Africa’s new Dubai, Eko Atlantic City. As one of the fastest growing urban agglomerations in the world, the city will have a predicted population of over 80 million by 2100. With 75 people migrating to Lagos per hour, it also conjures dystopian visions of environmental apartheid as its indelible flipside is the mega-slum. Lagos, in other words, is at the heart of global capital development in a continent undergoing seismic changes.
This is event is open to the public, faculty members and students. Please register in advance by filling out the form below.