An environmentalist, Desmond Majekodunmi and other conservationist, including communities along the horrendous erosion occurring just after Alpha beach, before Lafiagi village on the Lekki coast south of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation reserve on Saturday embarked on SAVE THE LEKKI COAST rally.
Dozens of the last remaining aged coconut trees in this region have been torn from the shoreline, where their dense root zone were affording crucial protection.
The efforts of the Lagos state government to protect the shoreline from VI all the way to Alpha beach by erecting granite sea groins is highly commendable indeed, especially when one considers that this has been financed solely by the LSG despite entreaties made to the federal authorities over SEVEN YEARS AGO! However the erosion will always continue eastward of the groins, due to the west to east ocean current flow. It is imperative that these groins are erected all the way down the coast or we shall be courting a disaster of unprecedented proportions on this fragile coastline where the shoreline beach buffer between the ocean and the low lying inland area of Lekki is now only 30 metres in some places. Global warming and climate change that are causing sea level rise and more violent storms are making the situation even more of an emergency that must be addressed URGENTLY.
By Ijeoma Nwachukwu
