Bar Beach is a beach on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

along the shoreline of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, situated on

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the List of islands by area, eighth-largest island in the world, ...

. For a time, it was the most popular beach in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

especially when Lagos was the capital of the country.

1970s to 1990s: Firing squad venue

From the early 1970s to the late eighties, during the military regime, Bar Beach was a site where many convicted armed robbers and coup plotters were executed by firing squad. It was always a public spectacle, with thousands of spectators, including television cameras and print journalists. The first-ever public execution in Nigeria took place at Bar Beach in 1971. It was of Babatunde Folorunsho, for armed robbery. Others include Joseph Ilobo, Williams Alders Oyazimo, and Lawrence Anini and Dr. Oyenusi in the 90s. The convicted plotters of the coup of February 1976 that killed General

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

, including Major-General I D Bisalla and Col. Buka Suka Dimka, were also shot by firing squad on Bar Beach. 2013 Bar Beach Lagos Nigeria 12997530443

1980s to 2000s: Flooding

Over many years, Bar Beach developed a reputation for overflowing its banks and claiming lives and property. Many times, the Ahmadu Bello Way, the road closest to its banks, was closed for safety reasons. Studies showed that between eight and fourteen metres of beach-front was eroded annually along Bar Beach.

2000s to present: Eko Atlantic

In 2003, the idea for a modern city on the Atlantic coast was publicly discussed. It would be sited on what used to be Bar Beach, out of reclaimed land. It would be called

Eko Atlantic Eko Atlantic, officially Nigeria International Commerce city, also known as Eko Atlantic City, or the initials E.A.C. and E.A., is a planned city of Lagos State, Nigeria, being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. Upon completion ...

City, a residential and business district “standing on 10 million square metres of land reclaimed from the ocean and protected by an 8.5 kilometre-long sea wall" In 2008, the construction of the new city began. As of May 2009, while the site was being dredged, about 3,000,000 cubic metres (3,900,000 cu yd) of space had been sand-filled and placed in the reclamation area, while about 35,000 tonnes of rock have been delivered to the site. In 2016,

Eko Atlantic City Eko Atlantic, officially Nigeria International Commerce city, also known as Eko Atlantic City, or the initials E.A.C. and E.A., is a planned city of Lagos State, Nigeria, being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. Upon completion ...

was commissioned by Lagos governor Akinwumi Ambode.

Eko Atlantic and continuing flooding

The

project has been criticized for having a design flaw that may contribute to continuing flooding in Lagos because of its being "highly susceptible to rising tides, as it is based on an artificial sandbar directly adjacent to the ocean." A storm surge in the exact area where the Eko Atlantic's construction was taking place reportedly killed 16 people. There have been other equally dangerous flooding in Lagos blamed on the new construction project.

In popular culture

Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels ''Who Fears ...

's 2014 novel ''Lagoon'' is set in an alternative near future where Bar Beach is a thriving entertainment district and the site of first contact between humans and extraterrestrial visitors.

References