Lagos’ Apakin Village Battles Rising Seas as Ancestral Land Disappears

One morning in June, a powerful ocean surge swept through Apakin, one of Lagos’ last surviving indigenous coastal communities, washing away fishing boats, nets, and even ancestral graves. For the settlement’s roughly 3,000 residents, it was only the latest blow in a decades-long struggle against rising seas that are eroding homes, livelihoods, and heritage.

Despite pledges of support from Commonwealth leaders, worsening surges have left the centuries-old community feeling abandoned and powerless. Local chief Abimbola Iyowun, whose family has lived in Apakin for generations, fears that their ancestral land may soon be lost entirely. “We only have two graves left from my father’s lineage. We’ve been trying to move them, but we haven’t found a place yet,” he said, pointing to the waters where his family’s home once stood.

The scale of coastal erosion in Lagos is stark. According to a 2022 study published in the Journal of African Earth Sciences, about 80 percent of the city’s shoreline has been washed away over the past five decades, with deepwater ports along the Bight of Benin cited as a major cause.

Apakin is among more than a dozen Lagos communities battling relentless ocean surges, but residents say theirs is one of the hardest hit. Land once renowned for coconut farming has nearly vanished, with the final 50-metre stretch of trees swallowed by the sea four years ago. The building Iyowun used as his palace when he became village head just three years ago has also been lost.

While Lagos State authorities acknowledge that rising seas represent the city’s greatest long-term climate threat, environmentalists argue that government-backed projects are accelerating the destruction. “A lot of dredging is happening, which is pushing water toward communities and swallowing them,” said environmental campaigner Philip Jakpor, pointing to large-scale developments such as the Dangote oil refinery and deep-sea ports.

Activists also warn that international pledges have not translated into meaningful protection. Nigerian campaigner Akinbode Oluwafemi criticized the Living Lands Charter adopted at the 2022 Commonwealth Summit in Kigali as symbolic but ineffective. “The Kigali Declaration acknowledges human factors that worsen climate change. However, it failed to adopt any clear resolution to hold corporations accountable for the damage they cause,” he said.

For Apakin’s residents, the lack of concrete action means an uncertain future as the sea continues its advance—claiming homes, livelihoods, and the very graves that anchor their history.