Reimagining the Lagosian Landscape in Lagoon: Extraterrestrials, Geoengineering, and a More-than-Human Ecology

Abstract

Navigating an oil-ravaged ecosystem, the novel Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor elevates the landscape of Lagos to a fantastical and otherworldly space of posthuman constellations adapted for the critical exigencies of the Anthropocene crisis. By achieving new vistas, the narrative backdrop of the place conjoins actors and perspectives from a radical otherworld and the earthly realm, knitting together all planetary elements—terrestrial, aquatic, and extraterrestrial. In this article, Lagos is imagined as a site subjected to cutting-edge geoengineering technology, prefigured as a saviour landscaping technique in the Anthropocene, through the intent and interference of the extraterrestrials. With the aliens as the agents of this environmental alchemy, the landscape of Lagos has to be thought of anew, both as an agent of salvation and of rejuvenation, decentring the anthropocentric ideals that uphold the values of neocolonialism. The aliens, who call themselves the “change,” emerge as a significant placeholder, as their bodies can alter shapes and they possess the power to manipulate the physicality of other creatures. They herald “change” in their sheer presence, wherein human consciousness relents and cognition falters. The study explores a re-negotiation of human–nonhuman worlds and the events whose narrativisation destabilises human control over the landscape. Typified initially as a locale of anthropogenic activities, Lagos, later on, is cast as a ground of posthuman activity, resisting exploitation and challenging preconceived notions about the passivity of physical environments. The geoengineered Lagosian landscape effectively spans the divide between Earth’s abstract planetary space and the real, embodied environment where humans are experiencing the repercussions of the Anthropocene. © 2025 Unisa Press.