In the voyage towards informing the public of the negative happenings at Eti-Osa coastline communities and the need for urgent attention to be paid to same, Associate Professor in Geography from Ecole normale superieure of Paris and head of research unit at LAVUE, Dr. Paulina Guinard, and a sound artist, Oluwaseyi Eniayo organized a roundtable stakeholder event where they displayed a visual and sound mapping of the Lagos coastline. In the remark of Paulina Guinard, she highlighted the importance of the occasion and emphasized the need for the people of the affected coastline communities to tell their stories as it is.
In expressing his admiration for the commendable steps taken by the duo, the Majority Leader of the Lagos State Youth Parliament representing Eti-Osa Constituency 1, Hon. Olasupo Jubril Adedimeji, appreciated the organizers of the event for remembering the people of Eti-Osa and paying great concern towards the issues affecting the local government area coastline communities. In his speech, the honourable member recounted how the ocean surge had taken several lives and destroyed billions of properties in his jurisdiction. He emphasized the need for the government to put in place protective, accommodating, and retreating measures to protect and defend the coastlines communities from the hazards of the Ocean. The honourable member also called for the construction of a drainage system and discouragement of inappropriate infrastructural development in areas at risk of flooding and coastal erosion.
Ayoola Odubona, a professional artist, in his address also commended the thoughtful steps taken by the organizers of the event and expressed his desire for art to be put to use in informing the public of what is going on in these coastline communities to draw more attention and for these areas to receive the needed attention it deserves from the government and other appropriate and concerned bodies.
In addition, Africana, a participant at the event, also called for the provision of shelter for the displaced people affected by the ocean surge in these coastline communities.
In a closing statement, the organizers reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the coastline communities’ people in raising awareness and implementing measures to safeguard the coastline communities and also appreciated the sponsors of the event for their concern for the betterment of the coastline communities in Lagos. This event was attended by various concerned stakeholders in Eti-Osa, including the Chairman of the Eti-Osa Local Government Ocean Surge Communities, Hon. Prince Sheriff Elegushi, Mr. Samuel Omoho (aka Papapa), Adricana, Juliette Refle, Labelle, among others.
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