Ayetoro, a coastal community in Nigeria's south-western Ondo state, is facing an unprecedented crisis as the Atlantic Ocean erodes its land, leaving residents without homes, businesses, and livelihoods. The town, once known as Nigeria's 'Happy City', was founded by a Christian group in the 1940s on communist-style principles.
According to residents, more than half of the community has been lost to the ocean over the past two decades, with hundreds of homes and buildings, including schools and churches, washed away by tidal surges. The crisis has left many residents, including retired midwife Arowo Victoria, struggling to rebuild their lives and businesses amidst frequent flooding.
Victoria, who had taken out a loan to start a business after retirement, lost her shop to the sea in 2019. 'The sea took everything away,' she says, staring at the shoreline where her shop once stood. 'I am paying for something that doesn't exist anymore.'
Other residents, such as 35-year-old Emmanuel Aralu, are also facing the threat of losing their homes. 'Each time the sea rises, it gets closer,' he says. 'We already know it may not survive another big tide.'
The crisis is not only affecting residents but also the town's economy and infrastructure. Fishing, once the lifeblood of Ayetoro's economy, has become more unpredictable and dangerous. 'Now the tides are very rough,' says local fisher Egba Taiwo. 'There are times you fear going out fishing because the sea has become so dangerous.'
The situation is so dire that the primary health centre in Ayetoro is struggling to function due to the encroaching sea. 'When you open the back door, you see the sea directly,' says Hannah Olanrewaju, the officer in charge of the PHC. 'We struggle to carry out immunisation and malaria tests because it is so difficult to walk on the community's wooden bridges.'