Coastal erosion threatens entire communities in Nigeria

DW (English)

Along the coastline of the commercial hub of Lagos, in Nigeria, communities are battling an ever-shrinking shoreline. Climate change and coastal development have both been blamed. DW's Olisa Chukwumah went to Apakin, where villagers fear extinction.

Transcript

00:00This is all that remains of Ajaye Adewale's home.

00:04In June, ocean surges swept through the village of Apakim,

00:10washing away his family's home.

00:12All properties, some properties go with the sea,

00:16because some happened in the midnight.

00:21I can't take anything.

00:23I was crying because the wounds are still in my body now,

00:27the shock of the building in the midnight.

00:31It was the latest event to hit this coastal community,

00:34one of over a dozen in Lagos,

00:37facing the existential threat of rising waters and coastal erosion.

00:42Standing in the ruins of what used to be a home

00:45and facing what used to be a coconut plantation

00:48stretching 50 metres within this community,

00:51a major source of economic livelihood for many,

00:54all that has now been washed away

00:56alongside their ancestral graves.

00:58Residents here say nothing was spared

01:00and they've had to endure unbearable loss.

01:03In some areas, the ocean swallows more than 2 metres of land each year.

01:08Lagos authorities point to climate change

01:11and rising sea levels as the cause.

01:14But environmentalists say government-backed commercial projects,

01:18like deep water ports and a new major refinery,

01:21have made matters worse.

01:23The cumulative reduction in, I mean, the rise in sea level,

01:29vis-a-vis the topography of Lagos,

01:33already tells us without being a profit.

01:35But there is problem ahead if we don't act.

01:37Local authorities say they need more funding to protect the coastline.

01:42They blame private illegal developments for part of the erosion.

01:47In this case, I think it's ridiculous to not even know the amount of sand

01:52that's being dredged on a daily basis.

01:55And certainly some people are gaining.

01:59It's a heavy industry.

02:02So with people benefiting from those illegalities,

02:06and we're saying no, we're not going to do that anymore.

02:10But for Ajaye and other members of Lagos's coastal communities,

02:15the risks they face from coastal erosion continue.

02:19They fear that without urgent action,

02:21they will lose their land to the sea.

02:24they have a full control in contact with you during the sea level.

02:42Absolutely.

02:43...

02:44...

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