VICTORIA ISLAND LAGOS, starts for Amadu Bello Way and Ends at MAROKO(SANDFILL).

But is the V.I Lagos geographically an ISLAND?

It was. You said Sandfill





(Ikoyi Island and Lagos Island were once two separate islands).

Is OP Igbo?

naptu2: It was. You said Sandfill





(Ikoyi Island and Lagos Island were once two separate islands).

IKOYI is part of Lagos Island.

The sandfill I am talking about is MAROKO.The boundary of V.I.

But V.I was not sandfilled.

Why is it an ISLAND.

The place that's now called Sandfill was once a swamp (or rather, several swamps). The Colonial Government started the process of filling the swamps with sand (Sandfill).

There was thus a narrow and low lying area that connected Victoria Island to Lekki. This area became Maroko. (Now I feel old. There were places like Ilado, etc, but they don't exist anymore )

You could buy fish and other goods at very cheap prices in Maroko. However, the place was swampy and low lying and people were often washed away with the tide.

Then Rasaki sent in the bulldozers in July 1990 and Maroko was no more.

Another round of sandfilling started.

naptu2: The place that's now called Sandfill was once a swamp (or rather, several swamps). The Colonial Government started the process of filling the swamps with sand (Sandfill).

There was thus a narrow and low lying area that connected Victoria Island to Lekki. This area became Maroko. (Now I feel old. There were places like Ilado, etc, but they don't exist anymore )

You could buy fish and other goods at very cheap prices in Maroko. However, the place was swampy and low lying and people were often washed away with the tide.

Then Rasaki sent in the bulldozers in July 1990 and Maroko was no more.

Another round of sandfilling started.

Yes I remember that place, down to Oniru beach.

But these days I find It difficult to call V.I an Island, unlike the LAGOS ISLAND.

V.I not surrounded by water.

Dr William MacGregor was a colonial governor of Lagos. He was a medical doctor and so he was naturally interested in improving healthcare in Lagos.

One thing that particularly caught his attention was malaria. In order to combat this problem he embarked on a programme of "reclaiming" swamps and constructed a canal, The MacGregor Canal, that separated Lagos Island from Ikoyi Island.

You could get a ferry from Obalende, behind FRCN (the present Dolphin Estate), etc, to the mainland. Egun women fished in that canal.

Then the Gowon Administration embarked on a massive public works programme. They rebuilt Carter Bridge, built Eko Bridge, planned to build the 3rd Mainland Bridge and built a Ring Road to encircle the City of Lagos (at that time the City of Lagos was basically Lagos Island). The Ring Road starts at the foot of 3rd Mainland Bridge, goes past Ilubirin, past Obalende, Onikan and Marina and leads to Apongbon and the Eko Bridge.

In order to build the Ring Road, they had to fill in part of MacGregor Canal.

I wish I still had my 1974 Lagos map. The city was much different then.

I'll show you pictures.

naptu2: Dr William MacGregor was a colonial governor of Lagos. He was a medical doctor and so he was naturally interested in improving healthcare in Lagos.

One thing that particularly caught his attention was malaria. In order to combat this problem he embarked on a programme of "reclaiming" swamps and constructed a canal, The MacGregor Canal, that separated Lagos Island from Ikoyi Island.

You could get a ferry from Obalende, behind FRCN (the present Dolphin Estate), etc, to the mainland. Egun women fished in that canal.

Then the Gowon Administration embarked on a massive public works programme. They rebuilt Carter Bridge, built Eko Bridge, planned to build the 3rd Mainland Bridge and built a Ring Road to encircle the City of Lagos (at that time the City of Lagos was basically Lagos Island). The Ring Road starts at the foot of 3rd Mainland Bridge, goes past Ilubirin, past Obalende, Onikan and Marina and leads to Apongbon and the Eko Bridge.

In order to build the Ring Road, they had to fill in part of MacGregor Canal.

I wish I still had my 1974 Lagos map. The city was much different then.

I'll show you pictures.

I must admit...you are a human encyclopedia ...

Oh, so were is the location of the MacGregor bridge.

Lafiagi was also mainly a swamp area, but MacGregor had it filled in.

Below are pictures of MacGregor Canal (which separated Ikoyi Island from Lagos Island).


McGregor Canal in the 1950s
www.nairaland.com/attachments/708145_MacGregor20Canal201950_jpg7f95567a855c289ff9bcc6fa6593ba4a

McGregor Canal in 2008
www.nairaland.com/attachments/708146_MacGregor20Canal20March202008_jpgd7131c39f7187f94ce42ea6a8580bd46

McGregor Canal in 2010
www.nairaland.com/attachments/708147_MacGregor20Canal202010_jpg81e28cde5ecaaee271e8f7a5719f04b8

McGregor Canal in 2013
[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1116829_IMG01673-20130520-1301_jpga6cd37cfcf26e5845f27503e624d2768[/img]

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1116830_IMG01674-20130520-1301_jpgc1a17cc3ec5471edcbf3699629a21a45[/img]

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1116831_IMG01675-20130520-1301_jpg029a757f06faba730137deab3326e3f3[/img]

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1125671_IMG01676-20130526-1643_jpg92cf376dabdad728825d282d760eb64e[/img]

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1125672_IMG01677-20130526-1643_jpg36b1b50230b6bdf3a6a2ec8528c7fbc5[/img]

[img]http://img1.nairaland.com/attachments/1125673_IMG01678-20130526-1644_jpgf52b2a46797696c3b283fc2d01338c97[/img]

emmatok: Oh, so were is the location of the MacGregor bridge.

There were two bridges, one at Obalende (on Ikoyi Road) and one at Onikan (on Awolowo Road).

Ok I know canal from Bonny camp to Obalende.

But were is the water at the other boundary(Maroko) of V.I.
Marako was a slum and not a water path.

Its a sh.i.t hole . . . . .

emmatok: Ok I know canal from Bonny camp to Obalende.

But were is the water at the other boundary(Maroko) of V.I.
Marako was a slum and not a water path.

That area was a swamp. The only reason we had Maroko was because the Colonial Government filled in part of the swamp in an attempt to reduce the mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. Before the Colonial Government sandfilled that area you had to take a boat to get to Lekki from Victoria Island.

There were still bodies of water there even after Maroko was created. What's left of that is the canal that runs beside Mobil Headquarters.

Yes I know the canal behind Mobil headquarters.

Well I strongly think it is an Island.

How do you get to VI from mainland? It is either through (is it Olive Tree(?) bridge by) Muson Centre/Officers'Mess or through Falomo Bridge. As we speak, I do not know any other route- by road that is, that leads to VI from the Mainland.

So sir, the VI remains an Island.

@ naptu2,i must commend you for a good job on this thread or else bigots from all works of life would have held this thread hostage and turn it to a war zone. Thanks for your educative posts.

I wanna ask if maroko had the same landscape with makoko? I mean the swampy and slum settlements? I really don't know how maroko looked like because i never went to that part of Lagos as a teenager.

berem: @ naptu2,i must commend you for a good job on this thread or else bigots from all works of life would have held this thread hostage and turn it to a war zone. Thanks for your educative posts.

I wanna ask if maroko had the same landscape with makoko? I mean the swampy and slum settlements? I really don't know how maroko looked like because i never went to that part of Lagos as a teenager.

There were real solid buildings there, but the place was very sandy and the roads were bad (once you got off Ozumba Mbadiwe Road). The main problem was that the place was below sea level and was prone to flooding (when it rained and when there was high tide, either on the Atlantic Ocean or Five Cowry Creek).


Some people lost a lot of money when Maroko was demolished. A man who had several "face me I face you" buildings at Maroko was only given a tiny apartment at either Jakande Estate or Ikota Estate as compensation.

Eledan:

I must admit...you are a human encyclopedia ...

Thank you very much.

naptu2:

That area was a swamp. The only reason we had Maroko was because the Colonial Government filled in part of the swamp in an attempt to reduce the mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. Before the Colonial Government sandfilled that area you had to take a boat to get to Lekki from Victoria Island.

There were still bodies of water there even after Maroko was created. What's left of that is the canal that runs beside Mobil Headquarters.

This is the current MAP of V.I and Lagos Island

You will notice V.I no longer have a definite water boundary unlike Lagos Island.

McGregor canal is an inlet of Lagos Lagoon beginning at Obalende and dumps back into the Lagoon at Onikan end of Marina.

Driving from Yaba on 3rd Mainland, exit at Obalende. At the foot of the exit;

1. If you go straight you will be going to Moloney.

2.If you turn right you will be going into Lafiaji and Sandgrouse.

3. If you turn left you will go underpass the 3rd mainland heading to Obalende and Dodan Barracks. There is a canal running underneath you when you make this left turn. This is the inlet of the McGregor.

Also, coming from Falomo, go past polo grounds, go past Keffi and you will go over a bridge before you connect to Onikan. This canal runs under this bridge and flows outward to the marina.

V.I may no longer have surface water sorrounding but I believe the name should be retained for historical value and not changed.

Mayor_of_Lagos: V.I may no longer have surface water sorrounding but I believe the name should be retained for historical value and not changed.

I agree with you here.

So geographically V.I is no longer an Island.

Naptu,

It is amazing to see these changes in your picture. This is one reason im against building more bridges in Lagos, they are menace to the landscape. I love the open, navigable McGregor of the 50s to what it has become in the later years. My mom told me she and her friends used to go to the beach at Unilag and along the banks at Onike to trap crabs and catch shrimps and lobsters. 3rd mainland bridge changed the landscape of the waterfront at Onike. We ended up with Makoko, a slum.

Victoria Island, is definitely an Island. From Carter Bridge end to Mobil Head office through Bar Beach to former Ibru's Waves building. That makes it a perfect Island, I guess a lot of people dont know there is a body of water running from the Atlantic to via adjourning areas of Aboyade Cole, Fabac Close, Mobil Head office and emptying to the Lagos Lagoon by the Addax Building. Goes through underground tunneling no doubts. But its visible from the side of Ecobank building at Eko Hotel Roundabout and proceeds straight down.

@naptu: Bro, your posts on NL are always deep! Nice one!

@naptu,I'm speechless,u'r more dan a walkin encylopaedia,jux too intelligient,I doff my hat oo

Billyonaire: Victoria Island, is definitely an Island. From Carter Bridge end to Mobil Head office through Bar Beach to former Ibru's Waves building. That makes it a perfect Island, I guess a lot of people dont know there is a body of water running from the Atlantic to via adjourning areas of Aboyade Cole, Fabac Close, Mobil Head office and emptying to the Lagos Lagoon by the Addax Building. Goes through underground tunneling no doubts. But its visible from the side of Ecobank building at Eko Hotel Roundabout and proceeds straight down.

Yes and you'll notice that the canal is the landmark that currently separates VI from Lekki (Mobil building is No 1, Lekki Expressway). Anything west of the canal is Victoria Island and anything east of the canal is Lekki.

By the way, I think you meant either Five Cowry (Falomo) or Independence (Onikan) bridge. Carter bridge connects Lagos Island to Lagos Mainland.

By the way, Iddo Island also shares the same characteristics as Victoria Island. Iddo used to be completely surrounded by water, but a peninsula was later created to connect it to the mainland. Another island that has this same characteristic is Banana Island in Ikoyi.

Mayor_of_Lagos: Naptu,

It is amazing to see these changes in your picture. This is one reason im against building more bridges in Lagos, they are menace to the landscape. I love the open, navigable McGregor of the 50s to what it has become in the later years. My mom told me she and her friends used to go to the beach at Unilag and along the banks at Onike to trap crabs and catch shrimps and lobsters. 3rd mainland bridge changed the landscape of the waterfront at Onike. We ended up with Makoko, a slum.

The worst example of this problem is Marina. The area south of Marina Street used to be a beach. You could have a picnic there, watch the ships sail into Customs and Apapa quays, etc. Several relationships were started there.

Then the Gowon Government decided to build Ring Road (the elevated roadway that goes from Adeniji Adele [at the foot of Third Mainland Bridge] through Ilubirin, Obalende, Onikan, Marina, Apongbon and leads to Eko Bridge). They "reclaimed" part of the water at Lagos Harbour and covered the whole area with concrete, thereby creating what's now known as "Outer Marina".

I remember that I had one of those discussions with my mum and she said something that surprised me. I mentioned Flag Staff House (1 Glover Road, Ikoyi) which was the residence of the Chief of Army Staff from c1964-1990 and she said "the Chief of Naval Staff's residence". I said "no, that was the Chief of Army Staff's residence" and she said "it used to be the Chief of Naval Staff's residence. He would go by boat from Flag Staff House to his office at Marina (via MacGregor Canal". That was a wow moment for me. I'm still searching for documentary evidence to back up her claim.

Lovely thread

Wish most Nairaland threads are like this.

@Naptu, thanks for all that education.