NIGERIA’S 853-kilometre coastline is littered with a very large number of disused ships and all sorts of seagoing vessels floating or partially submerged.

The phenomenon is most prevalent along the Lagos coastline, particularly the Lagos Marina, where ships discharge their cargo, partially a reflection of the high volume of shipping in the area. Many of them at the end of their useful lives are simply abandoned by their owners to constitute untold environmental nightmares.

Desmond Majekodunmi, an environmentalist with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, has for years, talked about the neglect of basic environmental care of the coastlines. Abandoned ships and coastal erosion have worsened.

The Silverbird Television, which has its Lagos studios within the threatened zone, has run series of features drawing attention to the problem without  any meaningful action from government.

Lagos State Government issued an ultimatum to ship owners to remove them from the Alpha and Maiyegun beaches.

The 21-day order was  issued last February. The Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, ISAN, in its reaction said the State had no powers to issue such an order, arguing it was the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, that had powers to remove the ships. They also consider the operations too expensive for them to handle.

All the agencies that are involved in the safety of the coastline must collaborate to effect a more sustainable programme for their preservation. The piecemeal approach of removing abandoned ships and ignoring coastal erosion is not helpful. It is no longer enough to talk of these matters without doing anything about them.

The large presence of these wrecked vessels  and unattended coastal erosion show these agencies are not up to their duties. As a result, many of the low-lying coastal communities are faced with the imminent disappearance of their ancestral lands. Nigerians no longer feel safe and protected from the presence of these hazardous vessels, some of which could contain dangerous chemical wastes loaded in industrialised countries and simply dumped on our coastlines.

We call on the Federal Ministry of Transport and all agencies with the responsibilities of protecting our coastline to do so with urgency. There ought to be established a standing monitoring mechanism to ensure that abandoned vessels are removed from our waters.

The issue is too urgent for the usual bickering over constitutional powers that can take a back seat if the intention is to make the waters safer, even for smaller vessels involved in fishing and water transportation.

Immediate action is required. There has been too much talk about improving the safety of our waters. Both the state and federal governments must work together to enforce the regulations guiding the safety of our coastline and territorial waters.