BY ChARLES KUMOLU

LOCATED in between Obalende and Third Mainland Bridge. On its right is the popular Isale Eko, an area believed to be the aboriginal home of Lagos indigines.

From left: Comrade Tayo Aboyeji, South-west PRO of Petroleum Tankers Drivers Association, explain somethings to Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state and others look on. during the Working visit to Apapa/Oshodi express road Wharf and Creek road in Apapa as part of continued effort to address the problem of traffic gridlock caused by Tanker drivers .

This community which was water-logged is located between the bridge that connects to the Third Mainland Bridge. Until recently, Ilubirin as the settlement was called, was inhabited by petty traders who traded on commodities  that riverine dwellers are known for.

Specifically, their men fished while the women supply fish to the major markets in Lagos.
Like similar habitats scattered across Lagos, the areas until recently was inhabited by migrants from Benin  Republic and Togo. There were also Ijaws, Ilajes and others of Badagry ethnic background.

Though, the environment is not conducive for habitation, those who lived there found the place normal until the Lagos State government demolished the settlement.

The demolition led to the displacement of the inhabitants, while the government embarked upon reclaiming the place from the sea through the process of sand filling.

The government said that it planned to build on the reclaimed land, a total number of 1,254 flats comprising two and three bedroom apartments on eight floors. The project was penciled down as part of the Lagos State Homes Housing Scheme.

While the removal of people from the environment which was uncondusive for its inhabitants, was generally hailed, the reclaiming of land from the sea, has continued to attract condemnations.

Those who frowned at the sand filling argued that constant encroachment on the ocean and lagoon does not augur well for the state ecologically and environmentally. They maintained that the damage to the ecosystem by excessive reclamation of land is gradual, accumulative and imperceptible, noting that the effects are irreversible.

Environmental impact assessment

Given that the act of reclaiming land from the sea is a global practice, it is surprising that the latest one by the state government has generated much controversies. With the expertise employed by the government in all its sand filling projects , the existence of fears about ecological and environmental impact assessment of the projects, has somewhat been sustained.

An environmentalist, Chief Osawe Irabor said he saw nothing wrong with the exercise.  ‘’I see nothing wrong in sand filling or perhaps reclaiming land from the sea. If done in an organised manner, I believe no body will complain. But when it becomes rampant and reckless, the people must resist it because usurping natural settings could be disastrous in the long run,” he said.

Backing his argument with contemporary examples Osawe said: ‘’Nearly every part of the Netherlands was reclaimed from the sea. What is happening in Lagos should not be different. I have this example for you. Statistics have it that China reclaimed 13,455 hectares of land from the sea in 2010, resulting in earnings of more than 7.82 billion yuan.”

Despite sounding this way, Osawe has fears about the practice in Lagos. ‘’With every sense of purpose, I will say that what is happening in Lagos is being driven by the desire to make money. It is business on the part of those doing it because poor people don’t benefit from the houses being built on the reclaimed land. I hope they are being done according to the best practices in order to protect the ecosystem,” he stated.

Still on his worries, he said: ‘’There are possibilities of buildings erected there to sink while the state stands the risk of being swept off by earthquakes and tsunamis.”
Having expressed his concerns, Osawe declared: ‘’land reclamation for the purpose of constructing properties in commercial quantities is risky.”

In his own reaction, a professor of Geography, Prof Kaine Amikpume told Vanguard Features, VF that the current fears about the rate of reclaiming land from the sea in the state, are not unfounded. He stated that the anger is in order, given the inherent dangers associated with sand filling.

‘’We must tell ourselves the truth that this is a coastal state. And we are not immune to natural disasters associated with littoral states. It is just that we have been lucky not have experienced something beyond an ocean surge.

The state is vulnerable to natural disasters. Continuous reclamation of land from the sea distorts the ecosystem. But if done in an orderly manner with proper environmental impact assessment, the possibilities of failure will be minimal,”he stated.

Buttressing this, he said: ‘’I understand what the state government is going through in trying to meet up with population explosion, but the future of those you are trying to cater for should not be endangered by the same process. What I am saying here is that if there are alternatives to sand filling, they should be explored so as to prevent the long term effect.”

When prodded on the alternatives to sand filling, Amikpume said: ‘’A city that was ranked by the United Nations World Urbanisation Prospects in 2007 as among the 28 current and prospective megacities in the world deserves expansion.

But that should be carried out with careful regard to the ecosystem. The terrain of Lagos is not as difficult as Bayelsa, yet some areas were opened up in addition to the reclamation from the sea. Therefore, tablelands should be opened up because you pay less to open up tablelands . But when you reclaim, you pay much and that informs the high cost of properties on reclaimed lands.”

VF recalls that the state Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had called on the Federal Government to halt the sand filling of the ocean and lagoons in the state in the overall interest of the country. The party also berated the Lagos State Government over what it described as “deceptive and diversionary evacuation of occupants from areas which direct government negligence has caused calamities.”

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Gani Taofik, the party said the call came on the heels of the frequent ocean surges which recently claimed lives and property at the beaches.

It alleged that the unnecessary loss of lives and property should be blamed on the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN-led administration which has “remained adamant, irresponsible and only pursuing business interest that it chose to sand fill the ocean in its purported Eko Atlantic Project where a plot of land is being sold for N350 million.”

The ACN had in its reaction through the state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe said: ‘’We take it that Lagos PDP is far gone in mischief or it is on its well known antics of conning Nigerians for sympathy when it blamed the ocean surge on the laudable Eko Atlantic City, which is generating worldwide attention.’’

“We feel that PDP’s greedy inclination which sees every opportunity as fat cow to be milked by greedy party men is leading it into reading such negative meanings into great projects that promise to lift Nigeria from the quagmire it had sank the country into.’’

‘’It is laughable and awkward that the PDP, which has led a historical rule of rogues and vermin in Nigeria is seeking for means of sabotaging such a gigantic and ambitious project as the Eko Atlantic City based on its greedy instincts and selfish tendencies.

“We are very pained by the wanton loss of lives and property prevalent only along the coastal lines of Lagos beaches. We sincerely sympathise with the affected families. We are, however, vindicated because we had continually criticised the unprofessional manner the state government particularly encroaches the ocean and lagoon without due ecological and environmental impact assessment. The Lagos State Government has abandoned the welfare of the residents and embarked on all sorts of misplaced, bourgeoisie projects at the expense of the majority of ordinary Lagosians,” the party alleged.

Continuing, the party said; “One of such projects is the Eko Atlantic Project, where the ocean is being sandfilled to build another Dubai in Lagos and currently a plot there is being sold at N350 million with minimum of two plots to be purchased.

“The effect of the project is the recurrent ocean surge and flooding around the state after every rainfall and which has led to frequent loss of lives and property.”
Warning of the dire consequences for the state, the party said it may lead to extinction if not checked by the Federal Government.