By Kayode Olabanji, Okitipupa

Youths in Ayetoro community, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have once again appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to declare a state of emergency over the incessant sea incursion ravaging the community.

According to the youths’ spokesperson, Comr. Thompson Akingboye, “More than 5,000 people have been displaced, landlords have become tenants in their hometown, and many people are left without a home, sleeping wherever they can.”

He said the ocean surge has wreaked havoc on the theocratic community, destroying properties worth billions of naira, including more than seven hundred residential houses, schools, maternity centres, and other small-scale factories established by the community.

“Ayetoro community is an autonomous Christian settlement founded in 1947 by a group of local fishermen. It is an oil-producing community located along the coastline of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State in Nigeria.

“The community, which is located 150km east of Lagos State, came into prominence in the 1950s and 1960s after achieving self-sustenance through sheer communitarian cooperation driven by an ideology rooted in the principle of faith and work.”

“Due to its landmark achievements in self-sustenance through communalism, it quickly became a national and international reference point for rapid development, thereby attracting visitors from within and outside Nigeria.”

“It is the most prominent and remarkable of all Ilaje towns and communities in Ondo State.”

“It is renowned for its tech-driven communal development, unique Christian living, and for putting Nigeria in the comity of boat-building nations. It was a hub of tourism before the discovery of oil.”

Ayetoro lived in peace and serenity until our oil attracted the government. The land was distorted, the sea rose, and began to intrude into the town. Houses have gone, people are dying.

In recent years, the community has faced incessant sea attacks, which have on many occasions resulted in the rapid destruction of properties worth billions of naira and the forceful relocation of several indigenes due to the destruction of over seven hundred houses, including schools, factories, and maternity centres.

“Despite the enormous importance of this community and the danger confronting it, no tangible respite has come.”

The land continues to be eroded, houses continue to collapse into the sea, and people continue to die.

“Well-meaning indigenes and groups have staged several protests and petitions to the government at all levels, yet nothing has been done.”

“Today, the story of Ayetoro community’s sea surge is a story of sorrow, tears, and blood. It is a sad story of fraud, neglect, losses, and death. It is a sad testament to the absence of government.”

“We have lost billions of naira in real and tangible terms to this sea incursion.”

“Every aspect of our lives has been greatly affected – economically, socially, educationally, and health-wise.”

“People are struggling to make ends meet as businesses have been paralysed, little children can no longer go to school, and numerous pathogens are causing diseases and sicknesses in the community as people can no longer afford sound healthcare due to the unavailability of the maternity centre.”

“On behalf of Ayetoro community, we therefore demand a shoreline protection project to extricate the community from sliding into extinction.”