Lost homes and rising seas: A Nigerian coastal community fears extinction

In Akodo-Ise in Lagos, homes, livelihoods and even graves have been lost to ocean encroachment as a result of climate change. “If we don’t go to sea, how can we feed our family?” Last year, he had made more than 500,000 naira in monthly profits by September, but he says this year his income has depleted as he has been making fewer trips to reduce the chances of losing his boat. Chukwumerije Okereke, the director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, told Al Jazeera that “the government has to learn to rise up and protect the livelihoods of these people and put up measures that can help to cushion the impact of the erosion on the local people.” ‘Heartbreaking’ Forty-five-year-old Oluwaseyi Obadiya and her family have been in dire straits recently. “With which mouth will we say we can no longer find the graves of our forefathers?” Future ‘in jeopardy’ Though resilient, the community is helpless in the face of an ocean coming very quickly to take everything they know and love, said Doyinsola Ogunye, a coastal restoration expert who has been working to highlight the community’s plight. Adesemolu of The Green Institute believes “it’s the result of unchecked development that overlooks the vulnerability of communities dependent on these lands.” According to the World Bank, up to 70 percent of the world’s sandy beaches are expected to erode significantly by 2100 if current coastal practices continue, and 100 million people worldwide may face displacement by 2050 due to climate-related erosion.