Already in colonial times, Nigeria was an important timber exporter, especially of redwood and mahogany. The material was shipped from the outskirts of the port city of
Lagos, in the suburb of Oko Baba. With the rapid growth of Lagos, however, the peripheral location became central and the timber industry increasingly became a hindrance to daily life in the big city. Moreover, fires broke out regularly in Oko Baba, posing a threat to the entire city. Moreover, Oko Baba merges into the drifting slum
Makoko, which can only be called the "
Venice of Africa" with a lot of good will and which, for example, largely eludes police measures. In addition to the social component, another problem is the environmental pollution caused by large amounts of released sawdust, which turns to rot where it lands on the water surface. For the above reasons, many state governments in
Lagos State were already planning to relocate the "Timber City" to a more favourable location. This was realised under the neoliberal administration of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola near the fishing village of Ikosi and was quickly named "Timberville". == The new location ==