Coastal Communities Decry Diversion of Lagos-Calabar Road Project

In a significant outcry against national infrastructure planning, the Warri Reclamation Thrust and the Itsekiri National Youths Council (INYC) have condemned the recent decision to reroute the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road away from vital coastal areas. This decision, which sees the road diverting inland through Edo State, has been described as an affront to the Itsekiri, Ilaje, and Ijaw communities whose resources are crucial to the nation's economy.

Tsaye Mene, a prominent figure in the Warri Reclamation Thrust and former INYC executive, articulated the community's outrage, stating, "It is shocking and insulting that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road... will now detour inland. This decision has largely destroyed the major purpose of the Coastal Road, which is to open up the coastal, oil-producing and most marginalized communities in Nigeria." Mene emphasized that the coastal communities have long been neglected, despite contributing significantly to the nation's wealth.

Critics argue that the rerouting of the road disregards the economic and social needs of these communities, which have historically been marginalized. Mene further articulated that such a decision not only perpetuates poverty but also heightens feelings of exclusion among residents. He remarked, "To use our resources to build a road and then deliberately bypass our communities is the highest form of injustice. It is unacceptable."

While the government may frame the diversion as a strategic engineering choice, local leaders assert that it represents a grave social and economic miscalculation that threatens to deepen existing inequalities. The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road was envisioned as a lifeline to connect and develop these oil-rich coastal areas, and its alteration raises critical questions about national priorities and the equitable distribution of infrastructure resources.