By Adeola Ogunlade
The Labour Party Governorship Candidate in Lagos State in 2023, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has also raise his concern over the possible demolition of 1.5 km Landmark Beach to pave way for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar highway as over 20, 000 job will be lost, and tourism will be greatly affected in the state.
Rhodes-Vivour said this to journalists recently at the Beach where sand filling of the Landmark beach is ongoing, said that we all know that there’s a coastal road being built and for some reason the design of that coastal road is now supposed to take over this part of the coast, the beach of Lagos State. This is a one kilometer stretch and originally on the design, the coastal road was supposed to go on Water Corporation Road which was actually called the African Coastal Road but now it is going to endanger and takeover of this beach”, he said.
Vivour who is concerned at the fast pace of the project, noted that overnight we have seen the amounts of sand filling done here and the real danger to loss of jobs and loss to very important tourist destination that sees over 3.5 million visitors.
He pointed out that the beach was set up as far back as 2007 and has generated so much revenue that they pay taxes to the state over a billion naira a year and that’s aside from the employment of people about 4,000 people directly and over 20,000 people indirectly and a place where families come to enjoy leisurely activities.
He stressed that government is supposed to work for the people and if the plan was originally for this road to be on water cooperation road why must so many jobs be sacrificed in a situation where the economy is not creating jobs, adding that people are suffering, there is high youths’ unemployment and high levels of poverty.
“Why would a road that is supposed to ease the lives of Lagosians also now create so much detriment to them”, he said.
“Government must put the interest of businesses first. Demolishing the beach does not send a good signal to the international community where over a hundred million dollars of international direct investment is coming. Investors will see that their property rights are not safe. Investment is not safe in Nigeria and more worrisome is when there’s an alternative that can be done that will preserve the leisure activities of Lagosians”, he said.