There are places where environmental change can be measured in statistics. In Agge, it can be measured in missing land.
The Atlantic Ocean has become one of the most serious threats facing this Ijaw coastal community. For residents, coastal erosion is not an abstract environmental issue discussed in reports and conferences. It is a physical force that has taken land, altered the settlement and raised questions about whether parts of the community can survive where they have stood for generations.
Agge sits around the Ramos River estuary, where the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean. That geographical position has sustained fishing and commerce for generations, but it has also left the community exposed to tidal forces, waves, ocean surge and shoreline erosion. The result is a community living with an uncomfortable reality. The sea is part of Agge's identity, but it is also threatening its physical existence.
The scale of the problem becomes clearer through the memories of residents. An elderly resident told us that he remembered the shore where he and his parents landed and the ground where he first set foot on Agge soil. That place no longer exists in the same form. He said the community had moved three times to its present location as the ocean continued to encroach.
His testimony is significant because it turns coastal erosion from an environmental statistic into a personal history. A generation can remember a particular piece of land as home, only to watch that land disappear. For younger residents, some of the places they hear about from their parents and elders may exist only in memory. That is what makes the situation in Agge different from ordinary shoreline erosion.
A concerned Agge youth, Comr. Keku Christopher, speaking to ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐บ, said:
"๐๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ด, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ท๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฑ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ข ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐บ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ. ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ข๐ต๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ข ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข% ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ.
๐๐ช๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ-๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ช ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ซ, ๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ค, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ. ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐บ ๐ท๐ถ๐ญ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
๐๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ค ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ-๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฐ, ๐๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ.
๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ง-๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ช๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ-๐ฑ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ'๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.
๐๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ง ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต๐ข ๐๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ด ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด."
The question is no longer simply how much land is being lost. It is how much of the homeland can remain. When erosion removes land, it does not remove only empty ground. Homes can disappear. Markets can be displaced. Places of worship can become vulnerable. Paths and walkways can be destroyed. Fishing grounds can change. Community institutions can lose the land around them. The emotional effect is equally serious. These are the realities currently being experienced by the people of Agge Community.
The environmental pressure for decades has moved beyond the outer edges of the settlement. The sea is no longer simply a distant threat. It has reached spaces where people sleep, rest, worship, work and conduct their daily lives. For families that have remained in Agge, this creates a difficult choice. Leave and abandon ancestral land, or remain and continue living with the danger. Neither option is easy.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐
The truth is some indigenes have already left areas of their ancestral land because of the danger posed by the advancing water. Some displaced persons have not returned because promised or expected sand-filling and shoreline-protection work remained incomplete.
This creates a second layer of loss. First, people lose land. Then they lose the ability to return to it. A community can survive the loss of a building. It becomes far more difficult when families begin losing the physical spaces that connect them to their ancestral homeland.
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
For years, Agge residents and community leaders have demanded stronger protection against the sea. Their demands have included shoreline protection, sand filling and land reclamation. One of the major projects associated with this struggle is the N4 billion sand-filling and shoreline-protection project linked to the Niger Delta Development Commission. The project was expected to protect the community and create additional land.
But according to Agge's leadership, the project was abandoned after work commenced. The monarch at the time, David Giant Isiaye, Amanayabo II, called on the NDDC to ensure that the contractor, Beks Kemes Nig Ltd, returned to the site and completed the project. The traditional ruler expressed concern that a project originally expected to be completed within a year had remained unfinished for years.
๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐
The contractorโs side of the story was also reported at the time. In a report published by ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ on September 11, 2019, Kerry Asari, identified as a media aide to Mr Okoko, said Beks Kemes Nig Ltd was owed money by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) after mobilising to the site without receiving its mobilisation fee. According to Asari, the financial dispute forced the contractor to demobilise from the site. He said the company would return when funds became available.
This creates an uncomfortable situation for Agge. The community sees an urgent environmental emergency. The contractor points to unpaid obligations. The agency responsible for the project is expected to address the funding problem. Meanwhile, the sea continues to move. For residents, the administrative and contractual dispute does not stop the erosion.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ง ๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐ ๐ช๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ง
Frustration eventually reached the waterfront. In an earlier protest, Agge residents mobilised under their traditional leadership to demand action over the condition of their homeland. The protesters included youths, women and elderly residents gathered along the waterfront with placards. Their messages included demands for the completion of shoreline protection work and reconstruction of the community.
One of the placards referred to an NDDC shoreline-protection contract that had allegedly been awarded but abandoned since 2010. Another called for the Federal Government to rebuild Agge and compensate residents for losses dating back to 2008.
The protest was significant because it demonstrated that the erosion crisis had become a community-wide concern. It was not limited to fishermen or families living closest to the shoreline. Young people, women and elders all had a stake in the future of the community.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ก๐๐
The waterfront protest also took place against the backdrop of a strong security presence around Agge. Historical reporting documented two Joint Military Task Force houseboats with gunboats stationed nearby. A Nigerian Navy supply ship was also reported around the shores of the community, while crude-bearing barges moved along the Ramos River.
A dredging vessel was also operating in the vicinity. The presence of security and industrial vessels demonstrates the strategic nature of Agge's waterways. But it also creates a striking contrast. The waterways are important enough to attract military, naval and commercial activity, yet the community itself has continued to struggle for basic protection against the sea.
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ก
The loss of land also means the loss of economic opportunity. Fishing depends on a healthy marine environment. Fish processing requires stable places where people can live and work. Trading requires markets and accessible spaces. When erosion destroys community land, all of these activities become more difficult.
Anslem Megwa, an indigene of Imo State who had been buying fish bladders from Agge for about 20 years, previously described how the business had declined because of the danger posed by erosion and ocean surge. In a report published by The Nation on September 11, 2019, Megwa said he had been buying fish bladder from Agge for the past 20 years and spoke about the danger posed to the business by erosion caused by ocean surge.
His experience shows that the economic consequences of Agge's environmental crisis extend beyond the community's indigenes.
People from outside the community who depend on Agge's fishing economy are also affected.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฅ๐
The environmental challenge facing Agge is not limited to erosion. Community representatives have also raised concerns about pollution and activities in the Agge/Ramos River. Oil-servicing activities have generated frequent spills connected to crude handling have been affecting the marine environment.
These concerns matter because the same ecosystem that supports fishing also supports the wider community economy.
When marine life declines, fishermen lose income. When fish stocks are affected, traders and processors also feel the impact. Environmental degradation therefore becomes an economic problem.
In Part Three, we will train more light on Agge Erosion.
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
ยฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐๐
