Yaba is a suburb located on
Lagos Mainland
Lagos Mainland Local Government is a local government area in the Lagos Division of Lagos State, Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Repu ...
,
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
in
Lagos State
Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. There are several federal government institutions in the area, which include
Queen's College, the
Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria is a medical research institute established by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the research institute establishment act of 1977, to promote National health a ...
, the
Yaba College of Technology
Yaba College of Technology, popularly known as YABATECH, was founded in 1947, and is Nigeria's first higher educational institution. It is located in Yaba, Lagos. It has a student enrollment of over 16,000.
Overview
Yaba College of Technology ...
,
Igbobi College
Igbobi College is a college established by the Methodist and Anglican Churches in 1932, in the Yaba suburb of Lagos, Lagos State, South-western Nigeria. It is still on its original site and most of the original buildings are intact. It is one ...
, the
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...
, the Federal Science and Technical College, and the
Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka.
Yaba has one of the busiest market sites in Lagos, known as
Tejuosho Market. The old Tejuosho market was demolished in 2008 and rebuilt into a modern shopping complex by the end of 2014. Directly opposite the Yaba market is a psychiatric hospital popularly known by many Lagosians as
Yaba Left
The Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, also known as Yaba Psychiatric Hospital or Yaba Left, is a Nigerian Federal psychiatric hospital in Yaba, a suburb of Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the ...
.
Yaba is one of the go-to places for technology renaissance in Africa, with tech startups such as
Hotels.ng
Hotels.ng is a Nigerian online hotels booking agency which was launched in 2013. The platform was founded by Mark Essien who hails from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and claims to list over 7,138 hotels from 320 cities in Nigeria.
History
In 20 ...
,
Andela
Andela is a global job placement network for software developers. Andela focuses on sustainable careers, connecting technologists with long-term engagements, access to international roles, competitive compensation, and career coaching through the ...
,
Cc-Hub and many others with a positive impact on the economy. The redevelopment of the Tejuosho Market, which was undertaken as part of the Lagos Megacity Project, has transformed it into a major shopping center for Lagosians. The market complex houses various facilities including boutiques, food stores, and a sports center.
History
Yaba Local council Development area was carved out of the old
Lagos Mainland
Lagos Mainland Local Government is a local government area in the Lagos Division of Lagos State, Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Repu ...
Local government area, which was created in 1977 as a separate Local government following the national reform of Local governments in September 1976. Lagos Mainland was carved out of Lagos city council which administered the Lagos Metropolitan city consisting of Lagos Island and Lagos Mainland. With the creation of three more Local governments on 27 August 1991, the former Lagos mainland was re-constituted with Surulere carved out of it. Yaba Local council Development area was one of the 37 newly created Local council Development areas created out of Lagos Mainland by the administration of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, after the state assembly passed a law creating new Local council Development areas.
Notable institutions
*
University of Lagos
The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...
*
Yaba College of Technology
Yaba College of Technology, popularly known as YABATECH, was founded in 1947, and is Nigeria's first higher educational institution. It is located in Yaba, Lagos. It has a student enrollment of over 16,000.
Overview
Yaba College of Technology ...
*
Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria is a medical research institute established by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the research institute establishment act of 1977, to promote National health a ...
*
Nigeria Centre For Disease Control
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is the national public health institute for Nigeria. It is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria), with its headquarters in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory.
The ...
Central Public Health Library
* Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba
* 68 Nigeria Army Reference Hospital
*
Lagos University Teaching Hospital
Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) is a tertiary hospital established in 1961 and is located in Idi-Araba, Surulere, Lagos State, the administrative division of Nigeria. The teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Lagos Coll ...
Annex
* Federal College of Education, Yaba
*
West African Examination Council
*
West African College of Surgeons
The West African College of Surgeons is a professional organization that promotes education, training, examinations and research in surgery in Africa. The college is the first organization to organize surgical subspecialty training in the region.B ...
*
Methodist Girls High School
Methodist Girls High School, formerly Government Girls Secondary School is a private, all-female high school in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Ea ...
, Yaba
* Ozone Cinemas
*
Queen's College Yaba
* All Saints Anglican Church, Yaba
* St. Finbarr's College
* Our Lady of Apostle Secondary School, Yaba
Yabacon Valley
Yabacon Valley is a nickname for an area within Yaba. It is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[electronic computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These program ...](_blank)
s. The name is an imitation of America's
Silicon valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...
.
It is not known if the term ''Yabacon Valley'' has been mentioned or used in reference of this tech cluster in the past, but its first published use is credited to The Business Aim. According to Google search results, the name was first used by ''Blaise Aboh'' as part of a title for an article on a new technology startup.
The emergence of Yaba as a startup cluster
In 2011, Wennovation Hub in partnership with
African Leadership Forum started incubating startups in the tech ecosystem.
The tech space in yaba became popular in late 2011 when
Bosun Tijani and colleagues founded
Cc-HUB, and it became one of Nigeria's pioneer startup incubator. With investment and support from organisations such as the Indigo Trust, Omidyar Network, MainOne Cable Company and the Lagos State government, it soon gained momentum and proceeded to install a fibre-optic-powered information superhighway. In 2011, former banker Seun Onigbinde co-founded
BudgIT, a fiscal transparency project, on the third floor of CC Hub's six-storey building in Yaba. As one of the first early-stage startups to benefit from CC Hub's incubation drive in 2011, it received $5,000 of its $90,000 seed funding from billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu. Big names like Konga, eCommerce company valued at approximately $200 million as after raising $20 million in Series C rounds, arrived in 2013, while Africa Internet Group which has $469 million in 4 Rounds from six investors transferred six of its companies to Yaba in 2014. In same 2014 BudgIT received $400,000 grant from Omidyar. Mid 2016, Andela – a Nigerian-founded talent accelerator for programmers that has campuses in Lagos, Nairobi and New York – received $24 million in investment from the
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organization established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of 99 percent of the couple's wealth from their Facebook shares over their lifet ...
. In 2015, Hotels.ng, a hotel booking site in Nigeria secured $1.2 million in funding from Omidyar Network to expand its listings across Africa.
In August 2016,
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), of ...
visited Nigeria, and specifically Yaba. A day after Zuckerberg's visit to Yaba, local and international media went agog as to why Yaba is 'Nigeria's Silicon Valley'.
Photo gallery
File:Sabo Round about at Yaba.jpg, Sabo Roundabout at Yaba
File:Road directional at Sabo Yaba.jpg, Road directional at Sabo Yaba
File:2013 Yaba Lagos Nigeria 12998105744.jpg, Yaba, Lagos, 2013
File:Psychiatric Hospital Yaba.jpg, Psychiatric Hospital Yaba
File:Reagan Girls Memorial Secondary School.jpg, Reagan Girls Memorial Secondary School
File:Yaba Baptist Church.jpg, Yaba Baptist Church
File:All Saints Anglican Church Yaba.jpg, All Saints Anglican Church Yaba
File:A view of Ojuelegba Under bridge, Yaba, Lagos-Nigeria.jpg
File:Layout of Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba COVID-19 isolation centre (cropped).jpg, Layout of the COVID-19 isolation centre, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Yaba.
See also
*
Yabacon Valley
*
Yaba monkey tumor virus
The Yaba monkey tumor virus is a type of poxvirus. The first case of the virus was obtained from a colony of rhesus monkeys in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. The virus caused the formation of tumors on the bodies of the monkeys. From these tumors the vi ...
References
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Geography of Lagos
Neighborhoods of Lagos