The people of Ayetoro are restless. For years, promises have come and gone—plans of government projects to protect our coast, announcements of future works that never arrive. But while we wait, the sea does not. Each month, its waves grow bolder. Each tide claims more of our homes, our shops, and our memories.
Now, the sea has advanced to the very doorstep of our greatest heritage: the ancestral palace.
The Palace Under Threat
Built in 1960 at a cost of nearly £200,000, the palace of the Oba Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi JP. of Ayetoro was once a wonder of the Niger Delta. With about 100 rooms, it stood as a proud monument of the community’s golden years of unity and vision in the 1950s and 60s. It is today the only surviving edifice from that era.
But today, the sea threatens to swallow it.
A Community That Refuses to Give Up
Faced with destruction, the people have decided: we cannot wait any longer. While official projects remain on paper, Ayetoro has begun its own communal effort to fight back.
Men, women, and youth are working together to build wave breakers—protective walls that can shield the palace and what remains of Broad Street. Concretes salvaged from old factories have been carried by hand. Tons of sand have been piled. Money has been raised in church to buy cement.
The plan is ambitious but urgent: to construct a wave breaker 4 feet high and 100 feet long. The first line of defence for our heritage and our survival.
Not Enough, But Never Hopeless
Still, the cement is not enough. The materials we have gathered are only the beginning. The waves are strong, and the cost of survival is heavy. But the spirit of Ayetoro has always been stronger.
“We were once called Small London, and we shall not let the sea erase that memory,” said His Royal Majesty, the Oba Oluwambe Ojagbohunmi JP. of Ayetoro. “With faith, unity, and help from all our sons and daughters, we will protect this palace. It is not just a building—it is the heart of our history.”
The Ogeloyinbo of Ayetoro
A Call to All Lovers of Ayetoro
This is more than a local struggle. The palace is not only a home of kings—it is a monument of Nigerian history, a testament to what a united people once achieved. Losing it would mean losing one of the last links to the vision of Ayetoro’s founders.
We call on all indigenes, near and far. We call on all lovers of this great city. Support us. Donate cement. Give what you can. Stand with us as we build our own line of defence against the sea.
The things we have already gathered—sand, concrete, courage—will be seen at the end of this video. With your help, Aiyetoro will rise once more against the waves.
