By Samuel Ogunsona
Thousands of residents of Ayetoro Community, in Ondo State, including traditional leaders, youths, women, and children poured into the streets, Wednesday, to protest government neglect in curbing persistent Atlantic Ocean surges that have been threatening to wash the community away.
Ayetoro, a strategic community located in the Ilaje Local Government Area of the state, is known for its communal living, fishing business, canoe-making ,farming, and other commercial activities.
Despite its richness in oil and gas, both the state and federal governments have failed to protect the community from perennial surges that had made life unbearable for residents.
The protest was led by the community’s King, Oba Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi, the Ogeleyinbo of Ayetoro.
Displaying placards with inscriptions like: “Reclamation is not impossible”, “Oil corporations are smiling, local people are crying”, and “Save our Souls’’, the protesters lamented that recurring sea incursions had claimed over 85 per cent of their land.
According to them, past efforts by the government to address the situation never yielded any tangible results.
Th5e initiatives, they said, included a shoreline project contract worth billions allegedly awarded to one Gallet Nigeria Limited to protect the community from the devastating ocean surges in 2003; and an allocation of N6.5 billion to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the construction of a shoreline protective wall in 2006, but that none of them worked.
For the alleged Gallet Nigeria Limited contract, all that was seen were temporary geo-tubes set across the shores’ boundaries, which yielded no meaningful use or impact. Subsequently, the project was abandoned by the contractors due to alleged lack of technical know-how.
According to the Oba Ojagbohunmi, “We only hear, in the news, of promises to intervene, and the billions of naira awarded for reclamation projects. But nothing has happened so far. None of the people or companies in charge of these projects has ever shown up in the community. Those who came only made our situation worse by digging holes without follow-up measures.”
A female protester lamented the loss of economic livelihood for many in the community whose primary source of income came from fish processing.
She explained that following the disruption of fishing activities by the ocean surge, fish processing as a primary economic activity for women in the community has almost disappeared. Another woman complained of the increasing health risks associated with daily exposure to petroleum-contaminated water.
Hundreds of schoolchildren participating in the protest raised concerns about how their schools have had to be relocated several times due to the challenges posed by the ocean surge. As a result of this, many of them have dropped out of school due to transportation problems. They described how the often-unexpected surges have disrupted their learning process and calendar.
The protesters called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, and the Ondo State government to save their community from extinction by building embankments to halt the surges. They also urged the NDDC, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, and other relevant agencies to come to their aid.
They demanded a comprehensive audit and urgent probe of the multi-billion naira funds voted for the community’s coastline protection and the immediate return of contractors to the site.
They also requested a massive, fit-for-purpose embankment along the shoreline, informed by the community’s recommendations and scientific research conducted by universities and environmental experts both within and outside the country.
The residents further expressed willingness to support the government’s rebuilding efforts by providing manual labour, if needed, to expedite the process. They appealed to state authorities to speedily mitigate the burden of ocean surge on vulnerable residents, particularly the elderly, who have now reached the limits of their coping capacities.
The protest was observed by civil society organisation, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).