Lagos beach break becoming too expensive for locals

Weekends for Mukthar Oladunmade typically featured a visit to the beach since he was a child. Living in the bustle of Lagos, he prefers unwinding on the breezy Atlantic shoreline that surrounds the city.

But these days, a beach break away from Nigeria’s commercial hub is becoming too expensive for many of the people who live there.

Costs include fees for entry, chairs, food, drink, and activities as the local government increasingly hands over more of the shore to private developers.

“By virtue of my job, I've been to Somone, Dakar, Lome, Accra, and Cotonou, several West African countries. And there, it's way easier to just wake up and walk onto the beach because it's free,” said the 27-year-old writer.

In Lagos, however, much of the coastline is no longer free public space.

In addition to the ticket to get onto the beach, a whole economy has grown around them with items costing a lot as they are privatised.

“On average, I spend $18 when I think of coming to the beach. So, having to factor that into my expenses, it makes it difficult to want to get up in the morning to come here,” Oladunmade said.

He said these costs are creating a class barrier where some people that can experience the nature and the beauty of Lagos, while others cannot.

“The minimum wage here is around 70,000 naira and today alone I've spent more than half of that just coming to the beach for one day out of 30 days in the month,” he said.

For more than a decade, the city’s government has set its sights on making Lagos a “megacity” in the light of Dubai or New York, attracting tourists and international businesses.

Much of the 180-kilometre-long coastline is being privatised for exclusive urban residences and public-private enterprise.

As a result, going to the beach has become a very costly endeavour for Lagos residents, most of whom work in the informal sector

“There are people that can unplug from the stress of Lagos. They can go to beaches, to very expensive restaurants, go around and just try to deplug from everything, whereas there are people that can't do that,” said Oladunmade.

For Lagos state, however, the gamble is paying off. It generated $1.9 billion in internal revenues last year, a 16 per cent increase from 2024.