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 due to climate change.

Lagos, Nigeria – As a child growing up in Akodo-Ise, Kadiri Malik would pass a boulevard of coconut trees on his way down to the shore with his father to start the fishing day.

The two would walk, sometimes hand in hand, past lush vegetation before settling down to gather a bountiful harvest of fish. But that’s now a distant memory in the coastal village in Nigeria’s Lagos.

“This place used to be very beautiful,” the 40-year-old fisherman laments, sitting on the verandah of his house from where he can see the ocean in its blue, choppy glory. “[Now] all the coconut trees are no more, they have been taken by the water. The ocean used to be very far away, but now it is just a stone’s throw from us.”

The coconut belt used to be part of a scenic shoreline that brought economic gains for the fishing community and served as a natural buffer against the weather and natural disasters. But now, thousands of trees have been swallowed by the ocean.

Globally, coastal communities are grappling with the consequences of rising sea levels brought on by worsening climate change. Villages along Nigeria’s 853km (530-mile) coastline are no different, battling extreme weather events and accelerated sea level rise. Among the worst hit is Akodo-Ise, as it loses land to ocean encroachment.