AYETORO, Nigeria — Faith Aluko was asleep when she was suddenly jolted awake by a roar around 4 a.m. on the morning of April 19, 2023. She tottered to the door and saw her neighbors, all wet, scampering to safety as the ocean surge destroyed properties in a violent rage, some carrying bits of their belongings.
She jumped out in a frenzy, still clad in her blue nightgown, and started running toward her shop where she sold phones and clothes and also operated a mobile agent service. When she got there, it had crumbled in half, its goods washed away, almost unrecognizable.
“It was a real sad moment to see everything that I have worked for washed away,” Aluko told Devex, glints of hurt still evident in her eyes. “I graduated but without no job, I had to look for money to set up myself, and all of a sudden the sea just destroyed everything.”
About the author
Pelumi Salako
Pelumi Salako is a Nigerian journalist covering culture, technology, inclusive economies, and development. His works have appeared in Al Jazeera, The Guardian, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, NPR, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere. He holds a B.A. in History and International Studies from the University of Ilorin.
