The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has urged President Bola Tinubu to review the alignment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, warning that the exclusion of Ondo State’s coastal communities from the project could undermine regional development and deny the state significant economic opportunities.
In an open letter addressed to the President, Afenifere’s Secretary-General, Sola Ebiseni, who wrote on behalf of the Ilaje-Yoruba people and other coastal communities in Ondo State, expressed concern that the revised route departs from the original vision of the 700-kilometre highway, which was conceived to connect Nigeria’s coastal regions.
According to Ebiseni, the concept of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway dates back to around 1900, when the Ilaje coastal territory—now part of Ondo State—was under the Lagos Colony. He argued that excluding Ondo’s coastline from the project raises questions about whether the current alignment is serving broader national development objectives or primarily facilitating private real estate interests along the Lagos coastline.
Afenifere called on President Tinubu to restore the original coastal alignment by extending the highway through Ondo State’s coastal communities. The group proposed that the road should link Lagos to Oghoye in Warri before connecting with the Edo State section through an oxbow route beyond the confluence of the Kokotoro and Adabrasa creeks, and then continue through Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states.
The organisation maintained that opening up Ondo State’s largely undeveloped coastline would stimulate economic growth not only in the coastal communities but also in the state’s hinterland, including Owo and Akoko. It noted that investments along Lagos’ coastline have historically driven development in surrounding areas such as Agbara, Igbesa, Sango, and Sagamu in neighbouring Ogun State.
Ebiseni urged the Federal Government to ensure the coastal highway promotes balanced national development and stands as a lasting legacy rather than a project shaped by what he described as political expediency.
He added that the economic potential of coastal communities outside Lagos remains largely untapped, warning that excluding them from the highway corridor would deny several regions the opportunity to benefit from increased trade, investment, infrastructure expansion, and long-term economic growth.
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