What a severe jolt “ThisDay” newspaper delivered on its front page on October 24, 2022.”
Headline: “CRY FOR HELP FOR LAGOS SINKING ALPHA BEACH COMMUNITY”
“Like all beaches in Lagos, the Alpha Beach, located in a community called Okun Alfa, is a famous tourist attraction in Nigeria known for guaranteed enjoyment and relaxation. But today, not much is heard about the once bubbling beach anymore, as the community has been submerged by the rising Atlantic Ocean, rendering residents homeless. In a cry for help, the affected persons who spoke with Sunday Ehigiator charged government to come to their aid
“My name is Azizat Oluwagbenga. I am an indigene of Okun Alfa and have lived here all my life. I used to own a big provision store in front of my house, but the water has carried the entire place away, including the house. It has turned landlords into tenants. I now sell in front of my uncle’s house. We don’t own a house here anymore; I now live as a tenant in another person’s house.
There was wealth in this town- women in this village were all gainfully employed just as men. Our men used to be fishermen and the majority of our women sell the fish to the public. But all that is no more. We now rely on menial jobs outside here to survive.
This problem began gradually about 12 years ago. Shops and houses have been destroyed; a lot of people have become homeless and now sleep in wood houses.
A few days ago, the sea flooded again and you needed to see the sand packed with it everywhere. It happened just before this year’s Eid Mubarak celebration. The seawater overran its shores again and entered our homes while a majority of us were asleep.
Observers claim that the project (Eko Atlantic City) does not follow the needed due diligence process, an allegation the builders continuously rebutt
Everyone was scared; the tension still lives (sic) in them. We all thought we would be completely washed away, especially people who were just experiencing it for the first time. We need help, the government should please help us.”
Okun Alfa Community
Okun Alfa is a coastal community located in Lagos, South-West Nigeria, on the coastline by the Atlantic Ocean. The Aworis’ are believed to be the first settlers of the area.
The most recent official population census in 2007, put the population of residents of Okun Alfa at 7000, a figure believed to have since grown to over 10,000 by the Baale (Traditional Ruler) of the area, Yusuf Elegushi Atewolara
The community’s beach, known as Alpha Beach, used to be a popular tourist destination for many fun seekers at weekends and festive periods.
Like every riverine community, the Okun Alfa people were predominantly fishermen and women who go as far as Ghana, and Togo by water to trade their fish and likewise host fish traders from every part of Nigeria and Africa on their shore, where fish trading activities also take place.
However, an increasingly worrisome ocean surge and shoreline erosion in recent years have claimed the beach and are now threatening the existence of the community, with massive flooding which has destroyed property worth millions of Naira, including power lines, electricity poles, tarred roads, residential buildings and hotels, shops, palm plantations and fish farms, all submerged.
Alpha Before Sea Invasion
With open skies, sparkling waters and warm sands, the Alpha Beach is known especially for its cleanliness, serenity, well-structured management, and secured environment which allow a healthy environment for people of all ages to make the most out of their time.
It was a perfect playground for children, and love birds, and the family weekend outing was a beehive of socio-economic activities ranging from coconut farming, food and restaurants, hospitality and hotels, amusement games and arcades, seafood trading, horse riding, and family picnic among others.
Located in the Lekki area of Lagos state, Alpha Beach used to be the darling of many residents of the state and visitors alike in those days when it had all the paraphernalia of a place of tourism. In fact, in the past, it had hosted one of the best parties, social activities and corporate events. But the beach has lost its past glory.
Present State
Still basking in past glory, the Alpha Beach still attracts some visitors to what is left, but the experience is no longer the same. The beach is now a veritable inhabitant (sic) for hooligans and all street urchins in Lagos State, creating a sense of insecurity among visitors and residents alike.
Visitors to the beach are now made to part with some money before parking their vehicles and also before entering the beach at a makeshift gate manned by agents of ‘Omo Oniles’ (landowners), with no justification for the funds being extorted from the visitors within the uninviting environment of the beach.
The beach is now occupied by fierce-looking young men, who have turned the place into a home and allegedly torment members of the public, most especially at night.
The bad road leading to the beach, which is under repairs, has also become an avenue for hoodlums to operate freely as they take advantage of this to double-cross vehicles with okada (motorcycles) and dispossess their victims of money, phones and other valuable items.
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“Coastline Invasion”
Sharing the same shoreline with Okun Alfa is the Lagos Atlantic City, arguable the most expensive and beautiful city in Lagos State, some residents of Okun Alfa believe that the unrelenting surges of water from the Atlantic were a consequence of the multi-billion-dollar Eko Atlantic project being undertaken by the Lagos State government across an adjourning area of the Lagos coastline.
The project is the development and construction of a high-brow mixed-use development proposed to inhabit some 250,000 residents among other commercial property ventures on lands that are currently being reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean.
The project involves the reclamation of 10km of land from the ocean which would be used for the construction of a Dubai-like city in Nigeria’s economic capital.
The state government is reported to have embarked on the project in a bid to protect Bar Beach (where the reclamation is ongoing) and the adjourning Ahmadu Bello Road on Victoria Island, as well as the entire island, which experiences flooding when the ocean water surges.
Observers claim that the project (Eko Atlantic City) does not follow the needed due diligence process, an allegation the builders continuously rebutt.
The purported Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project has never been made public amid claims by civil society practitioners such as Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), that the undisclosed EIA is either incomplete or does not exist.
But state officials insist that the project is an adaptation measure designed to restore what has been lost to the Atlantic Ocean in the past and then prevent future losses.
