Makoko means adaptation to climate impact, govt should give facelift, not threaten residents- Nnimmo Bassey

Foremost environmentalist, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey has been a leading voice addressing environmental issues around Africa. Bassey, one of the most decorated environmentalists from Africa recently received the 2024 Wallenberg Medal as the first Nigerian and fifth to get such award, recently unveiled his latest book he titled, ‘I see the Invisible’, a collection of poetry about environmental issues. The prolific writer, who is a regular visitor to Makoko courtesy of CEE-HOPE, a non governmental organisaton, in an interview session after the book presentation, said, he decided to present the book at the Makoko community in Lagos in solidarity with the plight of the rural people battling climate impact issues and government demolition threat. DAYO EMMANUEL was there and here reports.

Excerpts:

Why do you think your new book is relevant to Makoko residents?

It is because we have sea level rise, we have water pollution, we have sanitation problem, we have lack of portable water, everything that should not happen in the country is happening here and it is not because of the fault of the people here but because of neglect by the system, seeing that the poems are about environmental issues.

What do you think this particular book will be achieving?

We are hoping that it will have impacts in a number of aspects. First of all we have identified with the community that they are not alone. We have brought  up the issues the community is confronting; the threat of displacement always hanging in the air and we also hope that the children who performed here today will become writers in poetry, drama to stand up to defend their communities and project the image of our nation.

Where do you see Makoko in five to ten years from now?

Makoko is facing a complex of problems but it ought not to be so. I am looking for a situation where the government in Nigeria, the local government, will be sensitive to the fact that this community is symbolic in

Nigeria. So I will like to see a government that will invest in Makoko to provide all the facilities involved in living in development and living a life that it ought to be. Makoko should be like Venice in Italy to see how people live above water. We have a form of example here and I am hoping that politicians will open their ears and eyes and begin to support this community.

They represent this nation. We all have the factors of environmental impact in this community; climate change impact, lack of portable water, lack of power supply, sanitation issues that are all here. If you look at Makoko and you solve these problems, you are on the way to solving the problems in Nigeria.

The way houses in Makoko are built shows the way houses along the coastal areas in Nigeria are built. Nigeria has a shore line of about 845km, every community along the coast line represents different challenges and Makoko people have built their houses above the water. Those who are living above the water, those who are in the water, the houses are swimming, we should learn from them either in high time or low time. This is an adaptation to the climate impact.

When Nigerian government sees environmental impact, the first thing is demolition. Demolition is weakening our people, it is weakening our communities. That is what we are seeing. Resilience means supporting our communities, building their capacities with infrastructure that are climate proof. Stop sand filling and dredging. All these things people say about reclaiming land, you are destroying the place that soaks water when the rain falls. We should have a law that stops reclamation of land across the coast line of Nigeria.