Sunday (May 12, 2024) afternoon found me exploring Victoria Island, Lagos. Overwhelmed by the sheer scale of EbonyLife Place on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, I sought guidance from a customer service associate. Billed as “Nigeria’s first luxury lifestyle and entertainment resort,” the complex boasts a 20-room boutique hotel, a modern five-theater cinema, a variety of restaurants, and unique meeting spaces.
After some deliberation, I opted to explore one of the restaurants. Reaching the rooftop, I discovered Túraká, a casual eatery offering a delightful fusion of local and international dishes. Over two dozen signature cocktails and mocktails completed the enticing picture. The pièce de résistance, however, was the expansive view. From my vantage point, I could see much of EKO Hotels and Suites, the luxurious Kuramo Beach Residences, and even glimpses of the ongoing construction on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, a project that has dominated recent headlines. This vista sparked a train of thought about Victoria Island’s remarkable transformation over the years.
Having witnessed Lagos’ evolution first-hand for many years, I’ve observed the relentless sprawl of the metropolis, the rise of towering structures in once-low-rise neighborhoods, and the fascinating shift of waterfront communities from peri-urban zones to high-end havens. Victoria Island exemplifies this metamorphosis. Historically, it was an island governed by the Oniru of Iru Land, a traditional Lagos chieftaincy. Surrounded by water, the island’s borders were defined by the Atlantic Ocean to the south, the mouth of the Lagos Lagoon to the west, the Five Cowrie Creek to the north, and mangrove swamps to the east.
The government’s acquisition of the land from the Oniru Family marked a turning point. They filled the eastern swamps with sand, creating a land bridge to the Lekki Peninsula. As demand for housing surged with Nigerians migrating to Lagos for a better life, Victoria Island transformed, with new residential estates springing up across the island.
In subsequent years, real estate developers and dredging firms have aggressively reclaimed land from the Lagos Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean to accommodate further development. Consequently, Victoria Island is now an island in name only, functioning more as a western extension of the Lekki Peninsula.
During my formative years in the 1990s and early 2000s, Victoria Island was synonymous with Bar Beach, once Nigeria’s most popular beach. Revelers flocked there, while white-garment church congregations regularly held prayer vigils and Sunday services on the shore. It was also the go-to spot for New Year’s Eve fireworks with family and friends. However, the beach was also notorious for its strong waves and severe coastal erosion, threatening structures along what is now Ahmadu Bello Way.
Bar Beach is now a relic of the past, replaced by Eko Atlantic City, a planned 10-square-kilometer megaproject envisioned to house at least 250,000 residents with a daily flow of 150,000 commuters. A key feature of this ambitious undertaking is the Great Wall of Lagos, an artificial barrier constructed from dredged sand and concrete accropodes, which will eventually stretch an impressive 8.5 kilometers.
Witnessing these developments, I can’t help but wonder what the future holds for Victoria Island. Change, as the saying goes, is inevitable. Perhaps the island will become a global financial hub, or maybe it will transform into an ecological marvel, successfully combating the challenges of rising sea levels. Only time will tell.
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