‘There is nowhere to fish any more’: life in the shadow

The oil refinery and fertiliser plant just outside Lagos promised jobs and prosperity, but people complain of evictions, loss of livelihoods and health effects

On the outskirts of Lagos sits Africa’s largest oil refinery, and beside it, the continent’s biggest fertiliser plant. Armed men guard the gates and the perimeters are lined with floodlights and security cameras.

Owned by Dangote Industries, a multinational conglomerate founded by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest person, the compounds are in the Lekki free trade zone, abutting the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles outside Nigeria’s commercial capital. The zone was designated by the federal government to develop industry and jobs.