18. The Islands of Lagos

Coastal landforms have long attracted mankind to exploit and modify the coast. The lagoon system in the Lagos area runs parallel to the sea, with intricate networks of creeks in some places, creating many small and large islands which are together referred to as the Islands of Lagos. The Islands of Lagos are part of the 200 km barrier-lagoon coast of southwest Nigeria and show considerable geodiversity, including beaches, mangroves and sand. The Islands are occupied by the Lagos Megacity—the largest human agglomeration in Sub-Saharan Africa. Large population and heavy industrial facilities including ports and associated infrastructures have made the Islands one of the most stressed. The historical land–water interphase has shifted significantly, and geoheritage sites have been significantly impacted. The Lagos Harbour/Commodore Channel and the Victoria Island Bar Beach have experienced significant alteration in the last hundred years, including the construction of groynes and dredging of the Lagos Harbour entrance, leading to massive erosion and loss of economic assets. A thousand hectare of reclaimed land—the Eko Atlantic City—protected by the Great Lagos Sea Wall has emerged on the Victoria Island coast. Although the nostalgic Lagos Bar Beach may have gone forever, the sea wall is expected to finally stop erosion on the coast. However, the nature of the ultimate impact of the Great Lagos Sea Wall on the entire barrier-lagoon coast in the future is still unknown.