By Theophilus Tabuke
Lagos is located in the South-western part of Nigeria. It has borders to the west and south with Benin Republic and the Atlantic Ocean, to the north and west by Ogun State. Ever since its creation, it has been Nigeria’s foremost city for both economic and political factors. Lagos in terms of geographic size in comparison with other states in Nigeria is the smallest as it only covers 3,345km².
Upon Nigeria’s attainment of political independence in 1960, it became the capital of Nigeria until 1991, when this status was transferred to Abuja, due to its centrality in the country’s geographic outlook. Lagos leaders had to contend with the problem of a large influx of migrants from different parts of Nigeria and even the world resulting in outstripping the existing city services causing severe social problems.
It should also be noted that Lagos land surface is low-lying and highly prone to coastal flooding or erosion due to its nearness to the Atlantic Ocean. Lagos State and even the Nigerian government have also undertaken infrastructural schemes aimed at alleviating or mitigating the discomfort posed by this natural phenomenon since the 1970’s and these schemes have attained even more drastic forms since 2010 during the Babatunde Fashola administration in the state.
Slight modifications have been made and adoptions have been made by subsequent administration. These infrastructural schemes have featured the creation of flood barriers, coastline management and land reclamation, the crux of this discussion.
Land reclamation is the process of transforming submerged or waterlogged landed areas into socially and economically viable land for even more extensive social and economic uses such as residential, beach replenishment, farming or agricultural purposes, port expansion and the construction of economic bolstering industries. It may also involve the process of restoring landed areas that have been degraded by human actions.
There are two types of activities that are generally referred to as land reclamation. First, that done in forest areas and waterway areas with the aim of modifying and converted into usable land or sometimes to control mosquitoes or erosion.
The other type of land reclamation is for the restoration of damaged land to its original state, such as to restore beaches or coastal settlements that have been damaged by natural processes. Both activities may require additional processes such as soil remediation and restoration in order to adequately reclaim the land to the point that new uses can take places; as well as short-term settlement, the highly variable nature of reclaimed material can lead to long-term issues.
Land reclamation project involves the construction of earth structures, such as embankments and flood defences which can be an expensive challenge and requires deep foundations. Land reclamation as a developmental activity did not just emerge in the 20th/21st centuries but as early as the classic age, only that in recent times it has undergone certain modifications.
Land reclamation system using dams and drainage canals was used in the Greek Copaic Basin during the Middle Helladic Period (c. 1900–1600 BC). During the age of exploration the earliest large-scale projects was undertaken by Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, realized in 1612 adding 70 square kilometres (27 sq mi) of land. The city of Rio De Janeiro was largely built on reclaimed land, as was Wellington, New Zealand and many more.
As noted earlier, infrastructural schemes took even more drastic forms during the Fashola administration in Lagos. He succeeded Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinbu as the governor of Lagos State on the 14th of May 2007 as the flag bearer of the All Progressive Congress.
He was also reelected as the governor on the 27th of April 2011. During his administration, he undertook many infrastructural projects and land beautification projects. One of these projects is the Eko Atlantic City project which was commissioned on the 23rd of April 2008, it features the reclamation of land from the Atlantic Ocean and it is also expected to run through Iganmu, Ijora Olopa and Apapa.
The project is targeted at reclaiming over 1,037.763 hectares which would provide accommodation facilities to over 250,000 residents and also job creation for over 150,000 commuters. Towards the end of his first term in office, the first phase of the project was completed and inaugurated on the 17th of March 2011.
Notable reclamation projects were also launched by the Akinwunmi Ambode administration (2015-2019) which was targeted at not only changing the face of Lagos but also to serve as an inlet for revenue into the state through the expansion of the state’s tourism industry.
These projects are the Epe-Marina, Badagry-Marina and Oworonshoki. The Epe-Marina Lagoon reclamation project is a complete redevelopment of the project site to facilitate and enhance aquatic businesses in Epe, as well as the tourism potentials of the state, shoreline protection, and also the creation of recreational and children parks in the area.
The project comes with sand filling to the lagoon up to about 200 meters and dualization of the network of roads in the axis with functional walkways. The project would stretch from the Erepoto area to Oluwo market on the Marina at Epe.
The Badagry-Marina project involves the construction of nine jetties with shelter and shoreline protection and the channelization of four new ferry routes as part of efforts to boost water transportation in line with the multi-modal transport policy across the State, the four channelization projects include; Ijede-Badore route, Baiyeku-Ajah route, Ebute Ojo-Marina, and Ijede-Marina.
Speaking on why the Epe-Marina and Badagry-Marina projects were embarked upon by the state government, Governor Ambode on a tour of these sites said: “We want to actually duplicate what you see in Dubai-Marina. This is a whole stretch of two kilometers of real estate and new tourist centres that we are putting in Epe and Badagry at the same time.
He also noted that upon completion of these projects the Internally Generated Revenue of Lagos State will grow from N30 billion in 2017 to N50 billion in 2018. In August 2017, the Oworonshoki waterfront was flagged off and targeted at the improvement of the security of the environment and attract investments in water transport as it would divert heavy human and vehicular traffic away from Lagos Island.
The project is in three phases. The phase one is the reclamation of the 29.5 hectares of the project site. Phase two involves the provision of shoreline protection and reconstruction of 2.8-kilometre Ariyo Street as an alternative road that will run under the Third Mainland Bridge along with other infrastructure.
The third phase will be financed by the private sector and involves the construction of the mega jetty and bus terminal with entertainment and tourism facilities like boutiques, and hotels, as well as a 1,000-capacity car park. Other reclamation projects include the Lekki Foreshore scheme, Orange Island and Alaguntan/Okunkobo/Olomometa in Ojo local government which have been completed.
Though major forms of land reclamation projects have not been launched during the Sanwo-Olu-led administration only a continuation of some of the projects laid down by his predecessors but restoration of wasteland for even extensive use have been launched and also environmental protection projects have been launched by the State Governor.
The Governor having undergone a firsthand assessment of the waterlogged roads, clogged drainage and muddy streets directed the Ministry of Environment to immediately start a comprehensive cleanup operation to clear unapproved structures built on water channels which have made Idunmagbo and adjoining areas of Lagos island an eyesore.
Disturbed by high-level pollution and facility decay in the entire area, he further disclosed that an urban renewal project would commence in the area and will be done by Julius Berger. The areas to undergo this urban renewal projects include Jankara market, Pelewura market, Bombata market and other streets linking to these markets.
And this is targeted at providing lasting solutions to problems posed by the perennial flooding in the area and also, open up the area to even more profitable commercial interaction with investors and also reduce the level of environmental pollution which are hazardous to healthy living.
With the intention of proffering lasting solution to the frequency of flooding incident, the governor commence the construction of pumping stations at Illubrin which would facilitate the automatic discharge of flood water from the residential areas in Lagos Island into the lagoon.
The project consists of three stations and two major drainage systems. One of the drainage systems would be from Thomas and the other from Idumagbo. Both of them will flow into the lagoon through these stations. Each of the pumps will be automatically activated once the water level gets to 4 metres high; Pump 2 kicks off at 5.5 metre water level.
In conclusion, omission of the detriments and benefits of land reclamation projects results in an incomplete work. some of the implications posed by this soil management techniques includes; the loss of employment opportunities for people who earn their living from the sea or water bodies, propulsion of global warming events which leads to change in climatic conditions, increase cases of loss in biodiversity as a result of disturbance and destruction of some organism natural habitat and expansion of the gap between the poor and rich class in the society which is a breeding ground for social unrest.
Land reclamation projects have proven to be the surest way of reversing the damage done by overuse, erosion, or other forms of environmental degradation and also to improve projects regions for even further use.
The United Nations predicts that two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050 (currently it is just over half). As many cities are next to coasts or rivers, reclamation will continue to be one of the primary methods of creating more land to meet increasing demand for space.
Utilizing this UN prediction for a parting purpose, is land reclamation projects worth undertaking, evaluating from its detrimental effects?
Tabuke writes from the department of History and International Studies, Lagos State University
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