By Abbas Nazil
More than 600 houses and critical community structures in Ayetoro, a coastal settlement in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, have been destroyed as an aggressive ocean surge continues to swallow homes, streets and farmlands, leaving hundreds of families displaced.
A video shared on X by a civic accountability organisation captured scenes of collapsed buildings, washed-out roads and makeshift concrete barriers hurriedly erected by residents struggling to protect what remains of their homes, including the community’s historic block palace.
In the footage, an unidentified resident lamented that the once-thriving settlement had been left “at the mercy of the sea,” noting that the shoreline has advanced to within five metres of the palace.
He added that vast portions of the community’s layout had already vanished.
“Eighty percent of the broad streets have been destroyed by the ravaging ocean surge,” he said.
He further explained that both residential houses and factories had been swept away by the relentless waves.
“Just now, Ayetoro has lost more than 600 residential buildings, including critical infrastructures and factories established by the community,” the resident added.
Starnews reports that the devastation has extended beyond homes to farmlands, markets, churches, schools and other key public structures, worsening the humanitarian crisis and forcing families to seek refuge in neighboring areas.
Residents expressed deep frustration over what they described as repeated government inaction despite years of warnings from climate experts and disaster-management agencies about rising sea levels and worsening coastal erosion.
“If we can’t do it, nobody will do it for us. We have no choice but to protect our land and our people,” another resident said, noting that multiple appeals to local and state authorities had yielded little meaningful support.
Community members questioned why ecological funds meant for shoreline protection were not deployed early enough, especially after federal early-warning systems issued alerts predicting severe coastal erosion and encroaching ocean levels.
They criticized the failure to implement long-term protective measures, such as shoreline reinforcement, proper drainage systems and coastal-buffer projects, which they said could have prevented the scale of destruction now being experienced.
The civic organisation that posted the video called for immediate intervention from both federal and state governments, urging authorities to prioritize shoreline protection, emergency land reclamation and comprehensive coastal resilience planning to shield Ayetoro from further destruction.
It warned that without urgent and sustained action, the ocean could wipe out the entire community, which has faced recurring surges for more than a decade.
The group also urged transparency in the use of ecological funds and requested that residents be included in future planning processes to ensure long-term solutions.