Tokunbo Wahab: Great Wall Of Lagos Must Be Extended To Protect Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway

By On Jun 26, 2026

Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has said the Great Wall of Lagos will need to be extended to protect the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway from the impact of the Atlantic Ocean, arguing that the new coastal infrastructure requires additional shoreline protection.

Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Friday, Wahab said while the Great Wall of Lagos has successfully protected the coastline it was designed to defend, the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has created the need to extend that protection along the new coastal corridor.

Responding to questions about whether the Eko Atlantic reclamation project could pose future environmental challenges, Wahab defended the project, saying, “That was scientifically done in a way that would save the stretch.”

He added, “With the coastal road running parallel, that wall will go parallel.”

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When asked if more needed to be done to safeguard the coastline, Wahab replied, “Yes.”

Asked whether the Great Wall of Lagos would have to be extended along the Coastal Highway, he responded, “Because the coastal stretch must be protected.”

Wahab said the need for additional coastal protection is underscored by drainage challenges that have emerged following the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. He attributed flooding in parts of the Lekki corridor, including Ologolo, to changes in stormwater discharge caused by the project.

“Before the coastal road, there was no flooding at Ologolo. But the coastal road had to separate the downstream from the outlet into the lagoon,” he said.

According to the commissioner, the Lagos State Government has already provided its drainage master plan to the relevant federal authorities to address the challenge.

“We’ve given the master plan to the Federal Ministry. They have to discharge it under the coastal road into the lagoon, not to the right of it,” he said.

The Great Wall of Lagos is an approximately 8.5-kilometre sea revetment built to protect Victoria Island, Eko Atlantic and surrounding coastal areas from Atlantic Ocean erosion and storm surges. Constructed with millions of tonnes of rock and specially designed concrete accropodes, it forms the coastal defence system for the Eko Atlantic development.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a proposed 700-kilometre federal highway linking Lagos to Calabar through nine coastal states. The project is expected to improve connectivity, facilitate trade and strengthen economic integration along Nigeria’s southern coastline, with sections of the road currently under construction.

Ademide Adebayo