In the coastal Nigerian community of Ayetoro, founded decades ago and known as “Happy City,” residents face a daunting challenge as the sea levels rise.
Buildings have sunk into the Atlantic Ocean, a frequent occurrence along the vulnerable West African coast. Weathered timber sticks out from the waves like decayed teeth, while broken foundations litter the shoreline.
Abandoned electrical poles stand as reminders of the community’s battle against the advancing sea.
For years, low-lying nations have sounded the alarm about rising seas, but Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, grapples with inadequate responses.
Thompson Akingboye, a youth leader, notes that prayers against the rising sea are a weekly fixture in churches, yet acknowledges that effective solutions demand much more.
“The church has been relocated away from the sea twice,” Akingboye stated. “Even the present location is now under threat, with the sea just 30 meters (98 feet) away.”
Despite thousands leaving Ayetoro, Stephen Tunlese remains steadfast, gazing from a distance at the remnants of his clothing shop.
He laments losing an investment of eight million Naira, roughly $5,500, to the sea. Now, he adjusts to a future entwined with water by repairing canoes.
“I will stay in Ayetoro because this is my father’s land, this is heritage land,” he affirmed.
Over the past three decades, the Mahin mud coast, where the community is located, has lost more than 10 square kilometers of land—nearly 60% of its total area—to the ocean.
Researchers studying satellite imagery of Nigeria’s coastline identify several factors contributing to the erosion affecting Ayetoro.
Marine geologist Olusegun Dada, a professor at the Federal University of Technology in Akure, who has extensively studied years of satellite imagery, cites underwater oil drilling as a contributing factor.
He explains that the extraction of resources can lead to subsidence of the ground.
However, he and his colleagues also point to other reasons such as the deforestation of mangroves, which play a crucial role in anchoring the soil, and erosion caused by ocean waves.
“When we first started visiting this community, we used to find fresh water,” Dada remarked.
“Today, the freshwater ecosystem is gradually transforming into a saline, marine environment.”
The changes are imposing substantial costs on Nigeria. A 2020 World Bank report estimated that coastal degradation in nearby Lagos, Delta, and Cross River states alone amounted to $9.7 billion, exceeding 2% of the country’s GDP.
The report analysed issues including erosion, flooding, mangrove depletion, pollution, and emphasised the rapid urbanisation in these regions.
Despite dramatic images of coastal communities slipping away, Nigeria’s attention is often fleeting, typically drawn only during annual flooding, another consequence of climate change.
However, for residents of Ayetoro, the situation is urgent and ever-present.
“Ayetoro was like a paradise, a city where everyone lived joyfully, happily,” reflected Arowolo Mofeoluwa, a retired civil servant.
According to her estimation, two-thirds of the community has slowly succumbed to submersion, despite residents’ persistent efforts to rebuild.
“This is our third house, and some have already moved on to their fourth. We no longer have enough space for ourselves.”
“Imagine four or five people living in a small room; you can just imagine how painful it is,” Mofeoluwa lamented.
“If you look at where the sea is now, that marks the end of the old Ayetoro,” said Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi, the community’s traditional leader and head of the local church. For him, the anguish extends beyond the loss of land to include “what we are losing in our socio-cultural and religious identity.”
As per some residents, even burial grounds have been washed away.
Earlier this year, the Ondo state government pledged to seek “lasting solutions” to the threat facing Ayetoro.
However, residents expressed skepticism, noting similar promises made in the past without meaningful outcomes.
Dada expressed concern that efforts might now be too late to be effective. He has long advocated for an environmental survey to be conducted to gain better insights into the factors contributing to the community’s disappearance.
However, his hopes for such a survey have yet to materialise.
The Niger Delta Development Commission, responsible for addressing environmental and oil exploration-related challenges, did not respond to inquiries from AP news agency correspondents about efforts to protect the community’s shoreline.
On its website, the commission lists a shoreline protection project in Ayetoro, accompanied by a photo displaying a sign that reads, “Determined to make a difference!”
The project was awarded two decades ago and remains listed as “Ongoing”. However, residents assert that no progress has been made.
“We hold onto hope that help will come one day,” said youth leader Akingboye.
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