The Historical Difference
Lagos as a state can be differentiated from Lagos as a city. Lagos is a city, blessed to be Nigeria’s commercial capital. Ever since the Portuguese explorer Rui de Sequeira visited our shores in 1472, naming the area around the city ‘Lago de Curamo’ meaning the ‘Lake of Kuramo’ from where we derived ‘Lagos’ or ‘lakes’, this city has thrived on commerce and enterprise. So we can start our answers from there: the name ‘Lagos’ is neither Yoruba nor Igbo but from the Portuguese language; that’s why we have many ‘Lagoses’ all over the world. The explorers however did not meet an empty expanse of land, they met inhabitants in Lagos at the time. These were the Aworis – a large tribe of Yorubas found in Ogun and Lagos states. History has it that they migrated from Ile-Ife when Oduduwa (the progenitor of the Yoruba race) was still alive. They were led by Olofin, one of Oduduwa’s sons who had got a plate from his father with an instruction to follow it until it sinks. The plate is said to have sunk in Idumota, hence the name ‘Awo-ri’ which means ‘the plate has sunk’ or ‘the plate sinks’. This history accounts for the origins of the people of Lagos as a city, the area known as ‘Lagos’ usually refers to Lagos Island, or Eko, which is a name derived from Benin language after a clash between the Benin kingdom made the area a war camp.
In Lagos as a state, there are many vast areas that were added to the main Lagos to form Lagos state. Peoples like the Ikorodus, the Epes and those in Badagry do not share the same ancestry and existed for several centuries before the Portuguese or the Benin came. The Ikorodus for instance share many similarities with their ancestral kin in Ijebu and Remo than with those who we can refer to as the original Lagosians.
In Lagos as a state, there are many vast areas that were added to the main Lagos to form Lagos state. Peoples like the Ikorodus, the Epes and those in Badagry do not share the same ancestry and existed for several centuries before the Portuguese or the Benin came. The Ikorodus for instance share many similarities with their ancestral kin in Ijebu and Remo than with those who we can refer to as the original Lagosians.
The Development of Lagos
The development of Lagos depends on which angle one is looking at it from. There are those who insist that Lagos had always existed as a commercial centre: towns in Ikorodu served as major commercial points for markets affiliated to the Remos. The strategic maritime ports however brought the first foreign settlers – the Portuguese. Badagry was a very strategic location for slave trade. British colonialism ended slave trade and saw the return of many ex-slaves from towns and countries such as Freetown, Sierra Leone, Brazil and the West Indies – hence, we have names like DaCosta, DaSilva, Fernandez, Salvador and so on as natives of Lagos because their forebears migrated to Lagos when they were set free. British colonialism therefore opened another chapter in the development of Lagos. The Portuguese explorers and slave traders as well as the returning ex-slaves left their mark in the architectural imprint of Lagos Island which students of that field can recognise clearly.
The returning ex-slaves were more comfortable interacting with the British expatriates who had settled in areas like Marina and Yaba as well as the Brazilians who lived close to the whites than those with whom they shared the common Yoruba ancestry. It was not until Herbert Macaulay, born of Sierra Leonean parents started to interact with the native Yoruba people that a common identity began to be forged.
The returning ex-slaves were more comfortable interacting with the British expatriates who had settled in areas like Marina and Yaba as well as the Brazilians who lived close to the whites than those with whom they shared the common Yoruba ancestry. It was not until Herbert Macaulay, born of Sierra Leonean parents started to interact with the native Yoruba people that a common identity began to be forged.
When Lagos was made a British colony in 1861, another developmental boom was experienced as many others flocked to the state. This would continue for a very long time, spanning the time the northern and southern protectorates were amalgamated in 1914 and Lagos maintained a separate status as a direct British colony and later, the capital of Nigeria. Much of the oil boom in Nigeria was channelled into the development of Lagos as a state and also the capital of Nigeria. That is why it isn’t strange to find streets named after individuals who are not proper Lagosians in the strict cultural sense of it such as Ahmadu Bello, Henry Carr, Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Awolowo and others.
Modern Day Trends
Abuja cannot compare to Lagos in terms of space and infrastructure despite the best efforts of the Federal Governments that have been in place for many years, hence, Lagos remains the commercial capital of Nigeria with many companies having invested heavily in the state. The best run and established sea and airports as well as road networks are in Lagos and this makes it easy for commercial endeavours to thrive.
The concentration of ministries and parastatals in Lagos has made the state the natural place for people to flock to in order to earn a living. My father like many others came to Lagos for this reason just as my mother did. The same applies to many Hausa and Igbo people whose children in my generation are more comfortable in Lagos like myself than in their native towns, like myself. I grew up in a compound in Surulere that had more Igbo residents than Yoruba.
With their commercial drive and innovative spirit, the Igbos took advantage of the commercial strengths of Lagos and continue to contribute greatly to its status as a primus inter pares among Nigerian state. There are areas in Lagos where Igbo is more commonly spoken than Yoruba and one may be forgiven for thinking he is in an Igbo city rather than a Yoruba one. There are also areas where the Hausas live freely and maintain their culture as much as possible.
With their commercial drive and innovative spirit, the Igbos took advantage of the commercial strengths of Lagos and continue to contribute greatly to its status as a primus inter pares among Nigerian state. There are areas in Lagos where Igbo is more commonly spoken than Yoruba and one may be forgiven for thinking he is in an Igbo city rather than a Yoruba one. There are also areas where the Hausas live freely and maintain their culture as much as possible.
So, Who Owns Lagos?
Not a question easily answered but one common thread runs through all the various stakeholders: commerce and enterprise. Lagos belongs to those who can harness the vast human resources for commercial gain. Lagos as the commercial capital cannot divorce itself from those who have contributed commercially to its development from the days when the native peoples existed to the days the Aworis migrated to the unoccupied areas, through the days the British came and brought different peoples together under the banner of a British colony all the way down to the innovation of the educated returning ex-slaves, the Igbos and other cultures that have made Lagos their home.
The strength of Lagos is not only the people who trade at the high levels, contributing millions to the coffers of the state government but also the people who are not in direct production or manufacturing but who purchase the manufactured products. I or Femi Fani-Kayode who are both paternally from Osun state (a shared connection I am not proud of) cannot claim to be more Lagosian than the native Ikorodu or Lagos-Islanders. If we cannot equate ourselves with the natives of this state, we cannot therefore refer to the Igbos as foreigners in the state simply because we speak the same Yoruba language with the natives. There are Igbos in this state who speak the Egun dialect of the Badagry people and even the Ijebu-related dialect of the Ikorodus – dialects of Yoruba that neither FFK nor I are fluent in.
The Controversy
Former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu is wrong to have reffered to Lagos as a ‘no man’s land’, he would be right to say that Lagos belongs to all of us as a people. That would not change the fact that even an Osun indigene like myself cannot become governor in Lagos state except like some others, I can change merge my identity with a family like the Tinubus of Lagos for instance but it is already too late in the day. Lagos belongs to all those who contribute to its development in one way or the other – from the Igbo traders who import and export spare parts and second hand clothing to the Hausas who control the Bureau de Change markets and are responsible for the domestic security of many houses and who until very recently dominated the Okada business – we are all part of the common heritage called Lagos state even if we do not share the ancestry of the Lagos natives or Omo-Oniles as some of them are called.
They are many of those omo-oniles in urban areas of the state who are not indigenes of Lagos in anyway. Some years ago in Ojuelegba, there was an Igbo boy who emerged as the champion of area boys and was the chief collector of taxes from bus drivers and okada riders – even those of them who were proper Lagosians in the real sense of it. Lagos is very kind to those who can rise to the top in any endeavour by brute force, cunning enterprise or luck.
They are many of those omo-oniles in urban areas of the state who are not indigenes of Lagos in anyway. Some years ago in Ojuelegba, there was an Igbo boy who emerged as the champion of area boys and was the chief collector of taxes from bus drivers and okada riders – even those of them who were proper Lagosians in the real sense of it. Lagos is very kind to those who can rise to the top in any endeavour by brute force, cunning enterprise or luck.
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