Young People in West Africa Can Barely Afford Their Cities
As Lagos, Accra and Dakar gain global cultural prominence, local youth face rising rents and dollar-pegged housing markets that price them out of their neighborhoods.
Cars are parked near apartment buildings in Dakar on February 6, 2020, where rising rents have become a headache for tenants.
Since the mid-2010s, cities in West Africa, such as Lagos, Accra and Dakar, have become popular destinations for various international events. These include famous art fairs, globally anticipated fashion shows, and music festivals that people plan their lives around. The cultural scene in these countries is teeming with creative young people rebuilding the reputation of their homes.
Countries like Ghana and Senegal, which provide strong spiritual and cultural connections for Africans in the diaspora, have also become vital, raising their profiles and redefining how we think of African cities as cultural capitals.
But one big problem persists. Many people born and living in these cities can barely afford to make a life there. This issue is especially prevalent among the younger demographic, who tend to make up a large portion of the population in these cities and consistently face the challenge of upward mobility due to the varied socioeconomic conditions in these countries.
OkayAfrica heard from more than 20 young renters in Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, who attest to the increasing difficulties of finding affordable housing and, by extension, building community and financial stability.
Writer Nana Kojo Mula says renting in Accra as a young person has been a frustrating experience. "People are asking for two years rent-advance so that agents can get their commission. The places you will get for a year are often outside the heart of the city with bad roads, unstable water and poor security. Then there are the house rules, which sometimes invade your privacy." Mula says one prospective flat he looked at required disclosing his relationship status, among other personal details. "We spent a little over 1,000 GHS ($64) just for viewing fees."
Aside from a scarcity of affordable housing, many young people in Ghana say there has been a rise in real estate agents pricing homes in dollars, a currency whose power is much stronger and less accessible in a country where the average monthly wage is just 1,000 GHS ($64). A recent Nuembo report ranked Lagos first and Accra fifth as themost expensive cities in Africa to live in.
"The average Ghanaian youth can't improve their socioeconomic status because everything we earn at the end of the month goes towards rents and transport ( which also is nothing to write home about), leaving us with little to nothing to invest," Mabel Odoom, an administrator at a security company in Ghana, tells OkayAfrica.Different city, same story
In Lagos and Dakar, two major cultural hubs in West Africa, and Accra, young people are increasingly being priced out of the rental market. Senegal, in particular, registers a high cost of living. In Dakar, the cost of living is 23 percent higher than the national average. "Dakar is not a place where you can wing stuff or rely on vibes," says Sileola Asaaju, a Dakar-based analyst for a tech company. "Opportunities are still developing, and it's not a big country. Your best bet at comfortably living here is working at a multinational company here or abroad, NGOs or just any big corporation, which isn't the easiest to attain."
Agents in Dakar have a monthly rental structure, which young people say adds pressure to their already thinning finances. And while Nigeria's most popular rental structure is annual, the exorbitant rates also take a toll.
Omowunmi Kolawole, a Nigerian fashion entrepreneur who has been house hunting for a while, says the annual cost of rent in mid-to-low cost areas has been around 4 million naira ($2,700) and around 7 million naira ($4,700) in semi-high brow areas. With an average salary of 1.2 million naira annually, many young people have to live far from central areas or stay with family.
"Everyone I know looking to move houses since 2024 has been facing the same issues, and it wasn't like that about three years ago," Kolawole says. "I paid a 1.3 million [naira] total package for a three-bedroom in Surulere (a middle-income neighborhood) about five years ago. Now, the rent alone is 2.5 million [naira]."
"People are unable to move out, and for a lot of people, adulthood starts at being under your own roof," Zubaida Abdel-Rahman, a Ghana-based Food and Travel blogger, says. "It's ridiculous. Because rent aside, there are a lot of bills to take care of, and if you spend all your money on rent, what happens to the rest?"A two-pronged issue
For real estate agents, the issue is often beyond their control and dictated by various factors. "Limited availability of lands" is one factor, says Abbey Joy Oko, a Ghana-based realtor. The economy also plays a major role in determining land prices and even a place to rent. Urbanization in many areas is now leading to a shortage of rooms for rent, causing prices to skyrocket."
However, many young people say this issue could be resolved by increased government involvement in establishing policies for rent control and commissioning affordable housing. "Flexible payment plans, in this case, landlords should encourage monthly payments instead of taking a lump sum of money for the year upwards."
Other young people say that the decentralization of investment in major cities could encourage young people to move out of already overpopulated big cities. "There needs to be more development in other states to drive young people there in search of a career," Victor Kalu, a sales representative at a tech company, explains.
For many young people in these cities, the increasing inability to build a life in their countries of birth is at the heart of the matter.
