Lekki beach
A few years ago, Lekki Beach was one of the biggest tourist attractions in Lagos State. It was quite popular with musicians, entertainment promoters, and film producers, who always found it convenient to stage shows and shoot movies there.
On weekends and public holidays, fun lovers out on picnic, especially the foreigners having their first real taste of leisure on Nigerian soil, flocked to the beach in large numbers. To say that it was the prime spot for merrymakers, some of who came from other parts of the country in those days, would be admitting the obvious.
Located just a short distance from the busy Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lekki Beach is, no doubt, a natural and an unspoiled resort; so serene and lined by tall palm trees that it served as a perfect locale for Lagosians desiring to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Unfortunately, Lekki Beach, which used to be the venue of one of the most important music festivals in Nigeria – the Reggae Sunsplash – is now deserted and dreaded by many Lagosians, including those that are resident on the peninsular.
During a visit to the beach last Saturday, S&S discovered that it had become a den of criminals. “Be very careful, there are many bad boys hanging around that place,” an okada rider warned.
On that Saturday, the beach was literally deserted and so quiet one could hear the waves crashing on the shores loudly. Gone were the familiar scenes of merrymaking, the loud music blaring from the loudspeakers, the giggling mass of picnickers, the dancing, and clowning. The tall palm trees might have seemed even taller, yet they looked neglected.
“I used to come here often. There was no weekend that you visited here and you didn’t find a music show taking place and a huge crowd of fun lovers in attendance. Now it is no longer like that. The bad boys have taken over and they rob decent people of their belongings,” Sola, who lives close to the beach, tells S&S.
Apart from the presence of criminals, most of who seem to have taken up residence in the abandoned raffia and tin sheds on the beach, it is also littered with rubbish.
Lamenting the development, Sola continues, “‘This beach used to be very neat. In those days, it was almost impossible to find it overgrown with weeds or plagued by refuse dumps. But the times have changed and things are no longer what they used to be. Now people dump their refuse anywhere they like on the beach and grasses are growing unchecked on the beach.”
While beach lovers groan and wring their hands over the state of affairs at the beach and walk away in disappointment, it seems they are alone in their grief. Stall owners, who give out tents and chairs on the beach, seem unperturbed.
Beatrice runs a beer parlour on the beach. She tells S&S, “Business is fine. We do have shows here and movie producers still come to shoot movies. I am inviting you to come back next month. There will be a big concert here during the first week of December.”
Betty, as she is called, obviously did not see anything wrong with the heaps of refuse and weeds. She adds, “The grasses are just there to allow people to park. You know it is only jeeps that can move on beach sand. The smaller cars will sink in the sand without the grass.”
For her and many others, it is business as usual. In the absence of genuine merrymakers, she could always count on the hoodlums that loiter around the beach for patronage, to buy her barbecued meat and cold drinks.
“There are some 419 boys who live just close here. After they trick people into a scheme, they do meet with their victims in my bar when it is time to collect the cash. There are even some militants who live in one of the guest houses here. Anytime they come into some money, they come down here to spend it. I would sell drinks in cartons and weeds,” she says with enthusiasm. Talk about different strokes for different folks.
While the men of the underworld use the beach as their hideout for nefarious activities, the lovers of Lekki Beach, it seems, would have to find themselves another vacation spot.
Source:punchng.com
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