‘The sea took everything away’: how Nigeria’s ‘Happy City’ is disappearing beneath the waves
The coastal town of Ayetoro in Nigeria is facing an existential threat as rising sea levels and erosion destroy homes and businesses. Once a prosperous community, residents are now struggling with the loss of their livelihoods and mounting debt.
Why it matters
This highlights the devastating real-world impact of climate change on vulnerable coastal communities in the Global South.
Stilt houses damaged by coastal erosion – just some of the homes, businesses and churches lost to the sea in Ayetoro, south-west Nigeria, April 2024. Photograph: Dan Ikpoyi/AP View image in fullscreen Stilt houses damaged by coastal erosion – just some of the homes, businesses and churches lost to the sea in Ayetoro, south-west Nigeria, April 2024. Photograph: Dan Ikpoyi/AP Seascape: the state of our oceans Endangered habitats ‘The sea took everything away’: how Nigeria’s ‘Happy City’ is disappearing beneath the waves More than half of Ayetoro – a Christian utopia founded in the 1940s – has been lost to the ocean, and its remaining people are running out of options
The article provides a factual, human-interest account of environmental displacement without overt political framing.
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