With ongoing work, we face threat of eviction; can no longer fish, farm –Communities around Dangote Refinery

Idasho community, a coastal town in Lekki Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, is located by the entrance of the site of the Dangote Refinery, which is currently under construction.

However, the days of the village, which has a population of about 3,000 inhabitants, appear to be numbered as a result of the massive development which is taking place around it.

Every new day that brings the gigantic refinery nearer to its completion date also brings the residents of the community closer to a day when they could be displaced from the area that had been their homes for years.

Life has not been the same for members of Idasho community since construction work started on the site of the private refinery – already, the villagers can no longer engage in fishing, their major means of livelihood, as dredging activities along their coast, for the purpose of sand-filling the construction site, have resulted in fish scarcity. Farming and hunting, the other major economic activities in the coastal community, have also suffered as a result of the ongoing construction. The site of the refinery used to be communal lands which served as the main farmlands, and hunting fields, for the villagers.

During the visit, The PUNCH correspondent observed that thick dust, emanating from the massive cement and concrete works going on at the site nearby, covered most of the houses, shops, wares and even people in the sleepy community.

The PUNCH, December 1, 2018

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