The community of Ayetoro, nicknamed the Happy City, finds itself confronted with an insidious enemy: the inexorable advance of the sea which is gradually devouring its land, its homes and its memory. Founded in 1947 as a utopian Christian community, Ayetoro was once a true paradise, where joy and happiness reigned in everyday life. Victoria Mofeoluwa Arowolo, a retired civil servant and long-time resident, remembers with nostalgia the days when Ayetoro was a place of fulfillment and peace.
However, the idyllic picture grew darker over the years, and residents had to face traumatic events, including forced displacement of their homes on several occasions. The ravenous sea has swallowed up much of the city, leaving behind remnants of sunken buildings and lost memories. Children are now struggling to access education, deprived of schools swept away by the raging floods.
Stephen Tunlese, a trader who lost his clothing store to rising waters, talks about his significant financial loss and his adaptation to this aquatic reality by retraining in the repair of fiberglass boats. The coastal erosion hitting Ayetoro is the result of a combination of factors, including offshore oil exploration, deforestation of stabilizing mangroves and erosion caused by ocean waves.
The consequences of this transformation are devastating: the freshwater ecosystem is transformed into a saline marine environment, compromising access to drinking water for inhabitants who depend on natural sources that are now altered. Despite sporadic efforts by authorities to find lasting solutions, Ayetoro’s inexorable decline appears impossible to halt.
The inhabitants, attached to their ancestral land, refuse to abandon a territory full of history and meaning. Global awareness of the consequences of climate change and rising sea levels seems to have little resonance in Nigeria, which is faced with multiple political, economic and environmental challenges.
This ecological and human tragedy reveals the limits of the authorities’ response to the challenges posed by coastal erosion and environmental degradation. The lack of in-depth research and effective initiatives to preserve endangered communities highlights the urgency of collective action to protect our planet and its inhabitants, wherever they may be. Ayetoro, a poignant symbol of the fight against the forces of unleashed nature, calls for international mobilization to counter the ravages of the voracious sea.