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They are located in various parts of Lagos and are synonymous with alcohol, drugs and fun in all ramifications

Nigeria is endowed with an array of beaches. The bulk of these beaches are located in Lagos, a city known for its aquatic splendour. The beaches are relatively quiet most weekdays, but are besieged on weekends and public holidays. Bar Beach is the main beach and runs from the Institute of Oceanography, Ahmadu Bello Way, to the Eko Hotel on Ademola Adetokumbo street, Victoria Island.  Named after the sand bars that characterise the coastline of Lagos, it is the most popular and accessible beach. It attracts the highest number of tourists and fun seekers. Recently, the bar beach has lost most of its attractions to the massive concrete embankment built along the coastline, ostensibly to contain the ocean surge.

But those who do not mind its artificiality still find the environment soothing. Horse riding, swimming, beach football and picnic activities still go on at the beach. Leisure providers at the beach still set up beach seats which they rent out to willing visitors. The Eko Hotel end of the Bar Beach is fenced off by the Lagos State government  to create a more organised beach called Kuramo Beach, named after the small lake which lies behind it. For entry into the beach, a minimum of N100 unofficial is paid to tough-talking, fierce-looking young men who cluster at the entrance. A uniform range of beach huts are rented to operators of bars and restaurants. The beach is synonymous with alcohol, weeds, drugs and prostitutes.

Some of the young men that collect toll at Kuramo also act as pimps for the commercial sex workers and in some cases, provide protection for them. Some of the commercial sex workers have plied their trade at Kuramo for more than five years. A woman identified only as Ekaette, who said she is 26 years, stated that she came to Kuramo, in 2005, shortly after her father’s death. “After my father’s death, there was nobody to cater for my needs. I had to come to Kuramo to keep body and soul together,” she said. She and her colleagues-in-trade make arrangements with some of the bar owners at the beach, so that their makeshift shanties could be used as abode for sex. According to her, “business” starts at about 7.00 p.m. and gets to its peaks between 8.00 p.m. and 12 p.m.

Customers are charged between N1000 and N3000 on a good day, but the charge could be as low as N300, when business is dull. Kuramo is also known as a hideout for criminals, who use it as their operational base.

In contrast, Oniru private beach, located at the back of the highbrow Oniru Estate, Victoria Island extension, presents a different outlook. Clean and noiseless, it has adequate security, which gives visitors rest of mind. Gate fee is N1000, but when there is a show like a music fiesta, the fee could go up to N4,000. Some of the notable artistes in Nigeria are said to have performed at the Oniru Estate, at one time or the other. They include D’Banj, Wande Coal, Don Jazzy, Tu Face, Terry G, Sound Sultan and A.Y.  A bottle of beer costs N300. To sit under a canopy with four chairs and a table, one would have to pay about N1,600. At the popular G12 bar, a bottle of moet champaigne costs N11,000, VSOP brand of Hennesy costs N10,000, while the Ox brand costs as much as N49,000. At the barbeque  stand, fish costs between N1,500 and N3,000 

Tarkwa Bay is a man-made beach created during the formation of Lagos Harbour. It is accessible from Tarzan jetty at Maroko, under Falomo bridge, Ikoyi, or Bonny camp on the Island. It takes about 13 minutes boat ride to get there. Being an island, it is not a place to go, for the faint-hearted, especially when the sea waves are violent and the visitor cannot swim. There is little or no sign of government presence. It is unorganised, as shanties dot the landscape. Only a few buildings are made of block, most of which were erected by European sailors or slave merchants, who used the place either for leisure or as transit camp. The buildings are now in decrepit condition. Popularly known as the island of fun, Tarkwa Bay attracts fun seekers from the metropolis, especially at weekends.

At Takwa Bay, sex is hawked in the open. The women woo men, offering their body to any willing man at an agreed price. The island is also a haven for criminals, as hard drugs are sold there.  A pinch of cocaine is sold for N500, while a wrap of cannabis costs N50. Ibiyemi Olosun, a resident on the island, said: “Tarkwa Bay is a manifestation of system failure. It is a manifestation of failure of government to live up to its responsibility. We are living in the worst condition, but we are managing to smile.”

Close to Tarkwa Bay, is the Lighthouse beach, which is named after the 110-year-old lighthouse that guards the entrance to the harbour. It is a quite beach, which is restricted to people, for security reasons. Security operatives monitor ships entering the port from there.