Ayetoro community faces relentless threat from the Atlantic Ocean
The fishing community of Ayetoro in southern Nigeria is losing ground every year as the Atlantic Ocean steadily erodes its coastline. Once known as “The Happy Place,” the town now sees families rebuilding their homes repeatedly, only to have them destroyed again by the encroaching sea. Community members like Thompson Akingboye and Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi describe the devastation, with schools and health centres lost to the waves. Residents struggle with contaminated water, health issues, and the psychological toll of constant displacement.
Highlights
- The coastline of Ayetoro receded by an average of 15 metres annually between 1987 and 2022, according to spatial planning specialist Barnabas Ogirima James.
- In 2024, the journal Scientific Reports estimated the sea-level rise along the Gulf of Guinea at 3.9 millimetres per year, higher than the global average.
- Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi, the traditional king, has seen his palace reduced from 100 rooms to about a dozen due to coastal erosion.
- The community’s only health centre has been destroyed, forcing healthcare workers like Omomiye Oluwaseun to operate under harsh conditions.
- Teacher Sunday Akinjoye notes that frequent relocations of schools and homes are affecting children’s ability to concentrate and learn.
