Lekki was a blossoming town of aquatic splendour blessed with green vegetation and rich biodiversity. But the government would endorse a multi-billion naira seaport to grow the national treasury, create thousands of jobs and enable the development of a semi-urban community. It now appears that that is at the expense of the environment and local fishing communities.
On 23 January, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Lekki seaport, described as the deepest in sub-Saharan Africa. On a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) basis, the seaport project, a 45-year concession, was awarded to the Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL) by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Occupying 90 hectares of the 830 hectares of land reserved for the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), the port was constructed by the China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC).
Life used to be good on the Lekki shore, residents said. Fathers fed their families with proceeds from fishing. Children looked up to their successful fishermen-fathers. Fishes in the Lekki streams beckoned on the people, and fish vendors smiled at one another at different points of sale.
But this rural life was disrupted for the people when the deep seaport emerged, causing many people deep pain. Now, the port has stripped the Lekki community of its charm and the people of their wealth. Catfish, tilapia and crabs were easy to catch; Chinese fish and sharks were the pride of a successful fisherman. But these aquatic blessings are disappearing, ruining the livelihood of the people, many of whom want to continue fishing.
One common thing the fishermen told PREMIUM TIMES: The dredging activities by the seaport engineers are destroying their fishery resources and chasing the fish away. The more they dredge, the farther the fishes run.
The locals’ claim seems sensational, but the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Pacific (UNESCAP) confirmed it in a report, saying dredging removes marine habitat, leading to a gross loss of fishery resources. The report also said disturbance from construction activities on a port site terrorises fishes, displacing them while dredging removes plants and animals living in the sea.
However, Mr Ajibola of the seaport management insisted that they have cordial relationships and engagements with the affected communities, through the village chiefs. He said several fishermen had been compensated for the damage caused by the construction of the port.
But Suleiman Arigbabu, a Lagos-based environmentalist and the executive secretary of the Heda Resource Centre, argued that the seaport authorities must be transparent with the compensations. He said the fishermen and other villagers in the affected communities deserve due compensation for the damage caused to the environment and their livelihood. He said compensations in such cases are given based on the worth of the losses.