URE Island ies flourish
as it cannot boast of basic amenities.
As big as the community is, it doesn’t have a single public toilet. The only one that exists only serves the beach at a fee paid by users. According to James, “We have electricity problems though we have met with the governor and he is looking into it.”
Narrating the history of the community, he added, “This community is as old as Nigeria. I was born here. I can say Takwa Bay is even older than Nigeria. You know Nigeria got its independence in 1960 and Takwa Bay has been existing before independence.
“This community is a historic community. Lord Lugard once lived there. When Queen Elizabeth came to Nigeria, she visited Takwa Bay beach. You can see her house there.”
James who was one-time Supervisory Councilor in the LCDA said the community is not happy that the area is only accessible by road, adding that they look forward to a day when government would construct a bridge linking the island to the town. This, he noted, would improve the economic fortunes of the people of the area.
The major sources of livelihood of the people are boat transportation, fishing and coconut processing, while some engage in petty trading to survive.
For those who are familiar with the community, it is often described as an island of sin and a hideout for criminals. But this description doesn’t seem to go down well with the community leaders who insist the island is very peaceful.
The Secretary said, “Everywhere, you go you have the good ones and the bad ones. The way people are painting it is not the way Takwa Bay is. We have a police station here and this community is a peaceful community.”
Mr. Ben Boco is the Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA), Takwa Bay Onisiwo Island. According to him, it is extremely unfair to describe Takwa Bay as an island for criminals.
“It would be unfair to say this community is an island for criminals. It would be extremely unfair. We have a police station here, there are military formations here. We have the navy watching over the Atlas Cove. When you come here around mid-night you can walk around without anybody harassing you. This is to tell you there is peace here.”
Giving insight into the community, Boco described it as a mini ECOWAS. However, he lamented years of neglect by successive governments despite its rich tourism potentials.
He said, “We have challenges in terms of general infrastructure, necessities like water, light, and health facilities. We have one health centre now which is not much of a structure in itself without personnel.
“We have a Senior Secondary School now, but not many personnel to manage it. The teachers are not adequate.
My own grand parents came to this island over 100 years ago.We have a very huge number of aliens. Takwa Bay is like a mini ECOWAS. We have people from Liberia, Niger, Ghanaians, Togolese, Beninoise, among others.”
A traditional leader of the community, Chief Fatai Olusese who is the Olopa of Onisiwo Land Takwa Bay, recalled that Takwa Bay was considered peaceful and serene for tourists by the then GovernorGeneral who took over most of the island to camp the British soldiers during the colonial era.
“If you look around, you see different government chalets. Majority of the British army were camped here, and that was why when Queen Elizabeth came to Nigeria, she insisted on visiting Takwa Bay,” Olusese stated.
He highlighted the challenges being faced by the community especially the lack of electricity, saying the community had written a letter to the government requesting to be connected to the national grid. The chief also debunked insinuations that the island harbours criminals, saying the traditional council had passed an unwritten decree to banish and ostracize anyone with criminal tendencies.
“It is wrong to say this is an island for criminals. The leaders of the community comprising the Chiefs and Baales, don’t allow strangers in this place. If anybody misbehaves or has criminal tendencies, we deport the person immediately, that’s the traditional order, we don’t take such person to court,” he said.
Mr. Christian George who resides in the area with his wife, described Takwa Bay as the best place to be. “I have been here for the past five years, the place is very calm and quiet though things are very expensive here, because they mostly bring goods from town”.
To galvanize the community to use their intrinsic ability to meet their needs, CTS appointed some indigenes of the communities that make up Takwa Bay as ambassadors.
Mr. Olufemi Adabale who is the Chairman of the NGO said the CTS is on ground in Takwa Bay “to create an organized structure of young folks, women folks, etc.”
Adabale who expressed regret at the neglect of Takwa Bay despite its huge tourism potentials, observed that the problem shows lack of responsiveness on the part of the government.
He said, “Our leaders are not responsive because if they were most of the sites you have seen there directly relate to the Federal Government. So Federal Government should see the need to come back to Lagos and tap into all those potentials.
“Thankfully, the Lagos Government has gotten a part of the museum to develop it and make it attractive. So the same thing can be replicated in Takwa Bay because just like you have seen, we have been to the site of Lord Lugard’s house, what you could see there is a well and some shanty houses that have been destroyed and pulled down.
“You can see that government does not seem to engage the people. If they are engaging the people, they would see the need to preserve those historical sites. The reason for such demolition could be because those people are ignorant of such structures. Then the same thing applies to that of Queen Elizabeth, perhaps maybe if the people know the values that are in this, they would see it as their own, government would get their buy-in and tourists would start coming to Takwa Bay. They would not only be touring the place, it would equally bring about economic empowerment even to those that reside in Takwa Bay.
The youths that seem to be idle and commit crimes and use this place as a hideout as it was being claimed, would see the need to venture into arts and crafts. When tourists are trooping into this place, they would see the need to be more creative when they see people from other parts of the country and they are having interaction with them.”