Olarotimi Ogungbemi

This dissertation investigates water sovereignty and environmental politics in Lagos, Nigeria, where rising sea levels and recurrent flooding impact vulnerable coastal communities. Analyzing colonial archives, oral histories, and digital maps, the study explores how historical water governance legacies intersect with present-day climate challenges, uncovering a landscape where political, cultural, and spiritual dimensions converge. Centering "water intimacies" as an analytical concept, the dissertation reveals how Lagosians navigate perpetual water crises while resisting marginalization. The project uniquely integrates African cosmologies and postcolonial ecocriticism, advancing an interdisciplinary, decolonial approach to water governance that highlights Lagos as a nexus of local and global environmental struggles.