In the early hours of 15 February 2019, the Atlantic Ocean destroyed Arowo Victoria's livelihood. The 60-year-old retired midwife was asleep when neighbors banged on her door, shouting that the sea had started covering buildings along the nearby coastline.
By the time she reached her small shop, the Atlantic had already swept it away, destroying the business she had built with borrowed money after retirement.
"There was nothing I could save," she says, staring at the shoreline where her shop once stood. "The sea took everything away."
After retiring from decades of helping women give birth, Victoria had taken out a loan to start a business she hoped would support her through retirement. Instead, the sea left her with mounting debts and no business to repay them.
"I am paying for something that doesn't exist any more," she says. "They come to collect their money every month."
Ayetoro: From 'Happy City' to Eroded Community
Ayetoro was once known as Nigeria's "Happy City" after being founded by a Christian group in the 1940s who wanted it to operate as a communist-style society. Now, the historic coastal settlement in Nigeria's south-western Ondo state is gradually being eroded by tidal surges that have grown more severe over the past decade.
The Atlantic Ocean has already swallowed more than half of the community, washing away hundreds of homes, schools, and churches over the past two decades, according to residents.
While big cities such as Lagos often make headlines as some of the world's most vulnerable coastal places, small settlements like Ayetoro are already vanishing. Those who live here cannot rely on money for infrastructure such as sea walls—they simply rebuild each time they are flooded.
Residents Describe Loss and Uncertainty
Emmanuel Aralu, 35, remembers large stretches of empty land where children played football. "All that space is gone now," he says. "At times, it feels like the entire community is being erased." His uncle's house is now very close to the water, and each time the sea rises, it gets closer.
Motunrayo Asakasiki, 28, remembers the day her mother lost her grocery store to floods driven by the encroaching sea. "The water came very fast," she says. "People were screaming and trying to save what they could, but some things had already been washed away." The family moved the business to Alaba Street, considered safer, but the ocean continues to advance.
Lawrence Lemanu, 79, lost his 10-room house to the sea in 2023 after working on it all his life. "I raised my children there," he says. "Everything I've laboured for was inside." He watched helplessly as the waves ripped through the building. "You cannot fight the sea," he says. "You just watch it take everything."
Fishing and Public Services Under Threat
Fishing, once the lifeblood of Ayetoro's economy, has become more dangerous and unpredictable. Local fisher Egba Taiwo says the water no longer behaves as it used to. "Now the tides are very rough," he says. "There are times you fear going out fishing because the sea has become so dangerous." Even when fishers return safely, their hauls are smaller.
The crisis also threatens buildings housing vital public institutions. Hannah Olanrewaju, officer in charge of the Ayetoro primary health centre, describes how dangerously close the sea has come to the facility. "When you open the back door, you see the sea directly," she says. Health workers fear continued erosion may cut off access to essential health services.
At Ayetoro College, principal Ogungbure Isaac says students and teachers work under constant fear that the sea could one day submerge the entire building. "It breaks my heart watching our young people trying to plan their future in a town that is steadily losing land to the sea," he says.
Experts Call for Action
Environmental experts say Ayetoro represents one of Nigeria's starkest examples of climate vulnerability. Dr Nnimmo Bassey of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation describes the situation as a "profound injustice." He says the interests of communities like Ayetoro should be central to global discussions on loss and damage.
Dr Joseph Onoja of the Nigeria Conservation Foundation says weak environmental protections have accelerated the destruction. He points to the construction of the Commodore Channel, a 3km waterway built from the sea into Lagos's major ports, as an example of human interference that disrupts natural eastward currents and intensifies wave action.
Despite the threat, leaving Ayetoro is not a simple option for many. "This is our home," Aralu says. "Where do we go?"
