In June, an ocean surge ravaged Apakin, one of Lagos’ last indigenous coastal communities, where 3,000 residents already battling rising seas now fear losing their ancestral land despite unfulfilled Commonwealth pledges of support.
“We only have two graves left from my father’s lineage. “We’ve been trying to move them, but we haven’t found the place to move them to,” Iyowun said, pointing into the ocean where his house and that of his father once stood.
About 80% of the Lagos shoreline has been washed away in the past five decades, according to a 2022 report in the Journal of African Earth Sciences. The study blamed deepwater ports along the Bight of Benin as the main reason for erosion.
Lagos has more than a dozen coastal communities battling ocean surges, but Apakin’s residents say they’re among the worst hit. On land once known for coconut farming, a final 50-metre stretch of trees vanished four years ago.
Iyowun said the building he used as a palace when he was appointed the village head three years ago had also gone.
Long-Term Climate Threat
Lagos State says rising seas pose the biggest long-term climate threat, but environmentalist Philip Jakpor argues that government-backed projects like the massive Dangote oil refinery and deep-sea ports are equally damaging to coastal communities.
“A lot of dredging is happening, which is pushing water in the direction of communities, swallowing communities,” said Jakpor.
Meanwhile, Nigerian activist Akinbode Oluwafemi pointed out that the ‘Living Lands Charter’ adopted by leaders at the 2022 Commonwealth summit in Kigali, Rwanda, was non-binding, unenforced and failing to deliver a concrete plan to protect coastal communities.
“The Kigali Declaration acknowledges human factors that will worsen climate change. However, it did not expressly adopt any clear resolution in terms of bringing corporations that are causing climate change into accountability,” he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
