Nigeria wants a road to rival the Pacific Coast highway: Nigerian business magnate Paul Onwuanibe received a shocking ultimatum in late March from Lagos state authorities: abandon his multimillion-dollar beach resort within seven days as it was in the way of a proposed coastal roadway. Onwuanibe compared the first shock of receiving this letter to an early April Fools’ Day joke.
With around a million visitors in the past year alone, the Landmark Beach resort—the jewel in Onwuanibe’s real estate empire—has become a popular tourist attraction for both domestic and foreign visitors. Concerns regarding the resort’s impending demolition were raised by the government’s letter, which mentioned that the resort’s site is within the right of way intended for a 700-kilometer coastal route connecting Lagos to Calabar.
When Onwuanibe received the command, he described a range of feelings, from shock to fear, and doubted the legitimacy of the announcement. The fact that he acquired the land before the coastal highway plans were created adds layers of intricacy to the current state of affairs.
In charge of the Landmark Group, a major force in Nigeria’s real estate and tourist industries, Onwuanibe has painstakingly transformed the Landmark property into a bustling center that includes a popular recreational beach and a variety of companies. Landmark Beach, which the Lonely Planet travel book named one of Nigeria’s best seven beaches in 2023, is evidence of Onwuanibe’s vision and business skill.
But the planned demolition poses a threat not only to a beach resort but also to a whole ecosystem that is essential to Lagos’s economy. The impact of the closure of the Landmark site, which is home to over 80 firms, goes beyond the loss of infrastructure and could potentially affect thousands of employment and significant tax revenues that support the local economy.
The federal government has hailed the proposed coastal highway as a game-changing infrastructure initiative that will improve communication and spur economic growth throughout Nigeria’s nine coastal states. Supported as an extraordinary achievement on par with globally recognized coastal routes, the project is expected to yield substantial socioeconomic advantages. Environmentalists, however, warn against ignoring the ecological cost, pointing out possible consequences including habitat loss and wetland degradation.
Stakeholders such as Onwuanibe acknowledge the potential benefits of the coastal road, but stress the need for thorough planning and stakeholder participation to minimize negative effects. Concerns regarding stakeholder consultation and policy coherence are echoed by larger issues impeding foreign investment in Nigeria’s economy, highlighting the necessity of transparent decision-making procedures and cogent regulatory frameworks.
In line with the demands of environmental consultant Similade Adeodun for thorough impact assessments, Onwuanibe promotes a well-rounded strategy that protects both business interests and long-term environmental viability. He emphasizes the value of communication and cooperation with impacted companies and expresses optimism about creating win-win solutions.
In the end, Landmark Beach’s destiny acts as a yardstick for how well Nigeria can strike a balance between its ambitions for growth and its responsibility to the environment. While interested parties wait for additional information, the story highlights the difficulties in balancing conflicting interests in the pursuit of advancement.
