You’re viewing a text-only version of this website that uses less data. View the main version of the website including all images and videos.
Nigeria island community wey ocean don chop dia land and houses
Written by Andrew Gift
Ayetoro pipo for southwest Nigeria say dem dey sleep wit one eye open as ocean water dey visit dem evri night, carri dia houses, destroy dia property and torment dem.
Ayetoro na oil producing community for Ilaje Local Goment Area of Ondo state. Di community tell BBC Pidgin say "ocean incursion palava don kill two pikins and pursue plenti families from dia ancestral homes.
Residents claim say di only football field for di community don disappear into di ocean. Plus di ocean don carri thousand's of houses according to di pipo.
Wen BBC pidgin visit di community, we confam say dem don move di community school four times as di ocean don carri di school from di previous three locations. Skul pikins dey study for make shift structures under unconducive environment.
Di sea don chop about five kilometers of land wia dem build houses.
"My house now dey inside di ocean, if you look deep inside di ocean you go see di pillar of my house," 70 years old papa tell BBC Pidgin.
Di ocean don carri di major worship centre for di community, di local roads and electricity installations don go down too.
Traditional ruler of di community tell BBC pidgin say dem don resort to 'prayers and fasting' to beg God for intervention.
"We don reach out to authorities from di LGA, state and Federal and oda stakeholders but no major response don happun and di ocean still dey come by force" na so di king tok.
Tori be say di ocean incursion begin some decades ago but e bin no too harsh until di last decade wen di tin begin eat residents houses.
Wetin goment dey do about Ayetoro situation?
Ondo state goment tok say dem no fit do anytin about am as di mata big pass wetin state goment fit carri.
Commissioner for information for Ondo state Donald Ojogo tell BBC Pidgin say di Ayetoro shore line protection project wey di pipo dey ask for na federal goment matter. E say dem don reach out to world bank to intervene.
Di Ilaje local goment chairman Fred Goke Jatuwade say "dem no fit put hand for dat kain project say na national disaster." Im say dem don alert all goment agencies wey suppose handle am including NDDC, NIMASA, NEMA.
Im add say: "world bank don award di contract sometime in 2020, but say di contractors no fit move dia equipment to di community as di community no get access road except through di sea".
Wetin NDDC dey do about di matter?
Wen BBC pidgin visit project catalog of di Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, we notice di shore protection project dey among contracts wey NDDC don award over a decade ago but nothing dey ground to show.
Wen BBC visit NDDC office for di area, dem claim say dia oga no dey on seat to respond to why di contract wey dem award neva happun.
Wen we call am by phone e no respond.
Tins to sabi about Ayetoro
Aiyetoro community na one of di communities for Nigeria wey develop dia own electricity as dem no dey connected to di national grid, but di ocean incursion don badly affect di electricity project. Residents of Ayetoro na fishermen and women dem be.
Aiyetoro, Mese and Awoye na di worst hit by di flood for di bigger Ilaje local goment of Ondo state. Di three communities dey suffer similar fate as plenti of community pipo don dey perch for different locations dey wait goment action.
