Kunle Awosiyan
According to a study, some parts of Lagos State may soon experience landslides due to erosion.
The study “Shoreline Erosion”, published by Scientific Research, says 84% of Lagos’ shoreline has retreated in the last 50 years at a rate of 2.64 meters per year. The study attributed the erosion to deepwater ports along the Bight of Benin, Illegal mining, Eko Atlantic construction, sea level rise, storm surges and urban growth.
Meanwhile, another study carried out by the state Ministry of Environment and Water Resources showed cases of widespread soil erosion in places like Alimosho, Mosan-Okunola, Isheri, Ojodu, Egbe-Idimu, Agbado Oke-Odo, Ifako-Ijaiye, Oke-Ira, threatening lives and properties of residents. The study attributed the erosion to unsustainable soil usage.
These are a few of several studies uncovered by Echonews during an investigation of soil erosion.
They observed several studies on soil erosion in Lagos, including studies on the shoreline and environmental decay.
A study on environmental degradation in the Ikorodu Sub-Urban Lagos found that built-up land use increased from 6.4% in 1980 to 19.16% in 2015. Light forest decreased from 81.33% in 1980 to 67.89% in 2015
The steepest slope ranges were mostly prone to soil erosion. The loamy soil that should be used for agricultural purposes is being eroded by 0.7 per cent daily. At the same time, 25.70% and 39.7% of the basin had a high and very high likelihood of being eroded.
Many residents live in the gully at Oke-Ira, the Ogba area of Lagos, which our correspondent visited. The community is not structured and widely open to gully erosion. It was observed that the residents hardly sleep in the community during the rainy season, and those on the upland are always afraid of landslides. Houses were built on the cliff.
In some areas in Magodo and Isheri, houses were built at the steep edge of the upland, making it prone to landsliding. However, a resident who refused to mention his name in the Shangosha area of Magodo told our correspondent that the state government approved the houses.
He said, “It has been assessed and found to be safe,”. He said the Lagos State Government officers came some time ago to look at the structures here and gave it a pass mark. “Note that the buildings here passed through certification by the government,” he said.
However, to a resident at Oke-Ira who identified herself as Mrs Morounkeji Alabi, staying in the lowland is destiny. , “This is where I have found myself after years of paying high rent as a tenant. I don’t mind the erosion as much as it will not kill me.”
Lagos State Government demolished over 300 buildings last year due to structural defects. The Special Adviser to the state governor on e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde, added that 354 distressed structures were identified, and 85 per cent were brought down.
:Some of these structures were weakened by perennial erosion of their foundations,” former Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, TP Ayodele Adejumo said.
He attributed the problem of urban development to a lack of proper regulation on the side of the government, adding that unapproved developments spring up in places not meant for such structures.
“When I was the chairman of NITP, Lagos Council, we wrote a letter to the governor to let him know about the activities of “Developers” in some parts of the state who indiscriminately build and disrupt the original setting of the town development.
“When you build across the path of water, or you dig a foundation where it’s not supposed to be, it is soil pollution and, of course, abnormal features on the ground,” he said.
In its bid to find a lasting solution to soil erosion, the Lagos State Government has urged residents to halt the destruction of its soil, describing soil erosion as pollution and a significant threat of serious global concern.
Reacting to the threat, the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, drew attention to the importance of soil health and raised awareness of the use and management of soil resources sustainably.
Wahab said that the government is collating data on soil usage to allow regulators to make informed decisions on sustainable soil management for food security.
“The importance of healthy soil cannot be overemphasised as they are essential for healthy plant growth, soil filtration processes, human nutrition through resilient agrifood systems, carbon sequestration and overall ecosystem health considering that it serves as habitat for billions of organisms serving different purposes within the ecosystem”, he said.
He mentioned some of the biggest threats facing soil health in the State as unsustainable sand mining and dredging practices, indiscriminate land reclamation activities, soil erosion, deforestation, and indiscriminate solid waste disposal practices, urging communities and individuals to be environmentally mindful of the soil and give deserved attention to preserve it.
Wahab stated that raising awareness and seeking solutions to these increasing challenges raised by polluting the soil was essential.
According to him, the state is aware of issues of soil and land degradation, adding, “Loss of forest and wetland areas in the state is rampant, more than ever and with a study conducted by the Ministry, cases of widespread soil erosion were reported in places like Alimosho, Mosan-Okunola, Isheri, Ojodu, Egbe-Idimu, Agbado Oke-Odo, Ifako-Ijaiye, Oke-Ira, threatening lives and properties of residents in these areas. These were mostly attributed to unsustainable soil usage,” he said.
The Commissioner stressed that the State Government has continued to take proactive steps in stopping and reversing these trends over the years through regular, targeted tree-planting exercises to forestall soil erosion, monitoring of degraded and erosion-prone areas, and protection of wetland areas from indiscriminate reclamation.
He listed other measures, including monitoring sand mining, dredging activities, and regular stakeholder consultation, which will ensure compliance with sustainable and global best practices and identify oil-impacted or contaminated areas specifically to conserve the state’s soil integrity.
“Soil management requires a concerted effort from both Government and the general public, and it is for this reason that Lagosians are hereby enjoined to join hands with the Government in ensuring wise use of the soil and the resources within it for sustainability purposes while shunning all acts that may be inimical to their natural use and functions”, he said.
He urged residents to eschew all activities that could lead to soil degradation and encouraged society to conduct activities that improve soil health.