KEY POINTS

• Rhodes-Vivour warns Lagos Mainland residents about severe flooding risks that would emerge from the practice of sand-filling.
• Wetlands serve critical natural drainage functions in the environment and environmentalists strongly support this vital ecological process.
• Community leaders in Makoko believe that land reclamation operations may result in their forced relocation from their land.

Labor Party candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour who ran for Lagos governorship in 2023 criticizes current Makoko sand-filling operations which he claims threaten to cause waterfront flooding across Lagos Mainland.

Displacement and flooding threats loom

During his interview Rhodes-Vivour explained how hazardous land development projects raise flood risks through his observation of the coastal sand expansion in Makoko.

Environmental specialists and community leaders together voice their concern because wetlands perform as essential drainage mechanisms in nature.

Expert studies indicate that changes made to such environments might lead to increased water flow issues which would result in higher future flood risks for Lagos.