Kobojunkie, I live at the heart of Ikorodu. The Ikorodu people see themselves as Ijebu. I have never met an Ikorodu man that says he has Awori roots.

Although I strongly advocate for merging of states, because the current arrangements will lead to disaster in the long run. That is when oil dries out or the price of oil crashes for a sustained period. The reason why there is so much inter tribal and intra tribal conflicts is because of the "rent" economy we are currently operating. If each town, state or region has to fend for itself and compete (in a healthy manner) with other towns states or regions, then they would see the wisdom and strength in merging units with close relationships to each other.

I am surprised some Ogun State indegines are too proud to consider joining with lagos, because the present Ogun state economy is heavily tied to the economy of lagos. Also most Ijebus has very strong ties with lagos, whether economic or social. In fact i can say that a considerable number of people calling themselves Lagos indigenes today have their roots in Ogun state.

wirinet:

Kobojunkie, I live at the heart of Ikorodu. The Ikorodu people see themselves as Ijebu. I have never met an Ikorodu man that says he has Awori roots.

Although I strongly advocate for merging of states, because the current arrangements will lead to disaster in the long run. That is when oil dries out or the price of oil crashes for a sustained period. The reason why there is so much inter tribal and intra tribal conflicts is because of the "rent" economy we are currently operating. If each town, state or region has to fend for itself and compete (in a healthy manner) with other towns states or regions, then they would see the wisdom and strength in merging units with close relationships to each other.

I am surprised some Ogun State indegines are too proud to consider joining with lagos, because the present Ogun state economy is heavily tied to the economy of lagos. Also most Ijebus has very strong ties with lagos, whether economic or social. In fact i can say that a considerable number of people calling themselves Lagos indigenes today have their roots in Ogun state.

Thumbs up for the bolded.

Although the merger sounds like a good idea, it may not be feasilble in modern day Nigeria.

What however is feasible is the two state governments to work together in fusing the 'economies' of both states. In doing this, the first step will be to create a direct means of travel i.e. fast speed trains between the heart of Lagos and Ogun states. I should be able to live in Ogun and work in Lagos and it should not take me more than an hour on public transport to and fro work.

If the above can be done as a first step, it will go a long way in decongesting Lagos and thus reducing the heavy reliance on the infrastructure in the state. On the other side, it will also go a long way in boosting the economy of Ogun state as more people living in Ogun state transfers to greater commercial activities, etc.

to be continued

Diz is white elephant project. While some bloodie minority are shoutin 4 new state creation. I beg any other topilc. If 9jeria like make dem divide to 10million state. I only pray 2 see my own chop.

South Africa is divided into nine provinces: Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West Province, Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.

south Africa land is bigger than ours
many state many problem

Yeye dy smell mtchewwwww!

Ikorodus are ijebus deres no difference in d dialete.brittanica will never tell you deep about yoruba origin.

Ikorodus are ijebus deres no difference in d dialete.brittanica will never tell you deep about yoruba origin.

This is no issue to waste time on. Why wasting time on impossibilty for God sake? And what ground does this argument hold with the current situation in Nigeria? Can we call it ego or selfishness or trouble seeking or a fun, problem in Lagos is not even half solved neither did the Ogun even discover themselve yet then a topic of merging is being raise, sorry this is issue at all. God Bless.

Nice idea but i doubt if our so called political leaders would want that cos of their selfish reasons. Ironically, most Ogun state indigenes that i know always claim to be from Lagos especially those who schooled in Lagos.

wirinet:

Kobojunkie, I live at the heart of Ikorodu. The Ikorodu people see themselves as Ijebu. I have never met an Ikorodu man that says he has Awori roots.

Although I strongly advocate for merging of states, because the current arrangements will lead to disaster in the long run. That is when oil dries out or the price of oil crashes for a sustained period. The reason why there is so much inter tribal and intra tribal conflicts is because of the "rent" economy we are currently operating. If each town, state or region has to fend for itself and compete (in a healthy manner) with other towns states or regions, then they would see the wisdom and strength in merging units with close relationships to each other.

I am surprised some Ogun State indegines are too proud to consider joining with lagos, because the present Ogun state economy is heavily tied to the economy of lagos. Also most Ijebus has very strong ties with lagos, whether economic or social. In fact i can say that a considerable number of people calling themselves Lagos indigenes today have their roots in Ogun state.

Well said, i so agree with u.

If these states cannot be divided further, then let the status quo remain and no need for merging.

As for Ikorodu being Ijebu is simply to admit that the Remos are ijebus. If the Remos have their own identity and are distinct from Ijebus, then Ikorodu people are not Ijebu but Remo. To me there is no clear difference btw the local dialect of people of Sagamu(Remo) and the Ikorodu people while there is a clear difference in dialect btw the Ijebus and Ikorodus.

^^ you really dont make sense.

now you're claiming remo isnt ijebu?

can you people stop making yourselves look silly.

Everyone now wants to merge with Lagos state so that Fashola can be their Governor!
I don't blame them , wish Anambra State could be run by Fashola also

wirinet:

Kobojunkie, I live at the heart of Ikorodu. The Ikorodu people see themselves as Ijebu. I have never met an Ikorodu man that says he has Awori roots.

I have read so many versions of this story and I think it is futile arguing it without facts.

wirinet:

Although I strongly advocate for merging of states, because the current arrangements will lead to disaster in the long run. That is when oil dries out or the price of oil crashes for a sustained period.

Why would that lead to disaster?

wirinet:

The reason why there is so much inter tribal and intra tribal conflicts is because of the "rent" economy we are currently operating. If each town, state or region has to fend for itself and compete (in a healthy manner) with other towns states or regions, then they would see the wisdom and strength in merging units with close relationships to each other.

Inter/intra tribal conflictes existed long before we came together as a nation -- way before creation of the first states. Merging states will not fix that problem.

Nothing currently STOPS each town/state from fending for itself. more than 75% of the states we have today are capable of doing that. Like I said earlier, Ogun can definitely fend for itself if it was truly serious about doing that and it could actually compete, some day with Lagos if it learned to use it's resources to it's advantage. Ogun may not have the population Lagos boasts of today but it does have resources a-plenty and that is gold.

wirinet:

I am surprised some Ogun State indegines are too proud to consider joining with lagos, because the present Ogun state economy is heavily tied to the economy of lagos. Also most Ijebus has very strong ties with lagos, whether economic or social. In fact i can say that a considerable number of people calling themselves Lagos indigenes today have their roots in Ogun state.

That a states economy is heavily tied to the economy of another is no reason to think merger. Honestly, I still do not see what you see in this. Sure, I don't think some states ought to exist but the two states you picked are not one of those on my list.

Kobojunkie:

I have read so many versions of this story and I think it is futile arguing it without facts.

I think more highly of you than what you are engaging in now, which is arguing in a cul de sac. I told you I live among Ikorodu people, So many Yarubas have come to confirm that Ikorodu people are from Ijebu subtribe of yoruba, and no Ikorodu person had come to dispute the fact (and i am sure we have some ikorodu indigene here), and you are still looking for fact? where are you looking for the facts form? - the US?. Is that where you got your info from that the Ikorodus are Aworis?

Kobojunkie:

Why would that lead to disaster?

When revenue Abuja dries up, where will the money to run the government come from?. Poverty usually leads to social upheaval as is currently happening in some parts of Nigeria now.

Kobojunkie:

Inter/intra tribal conflictes existed long before we came together as a nation -- way before creation of the first states. Merging states will not fix that problem.

Yes that was because the tribes were under different autonomous governments, with very little interference from a central government. That kind of arrangement tend to divide people rather than unite them. were those inter/inter tribal conflicts pronounced when the whole of the yorubas came under one government?

Kobojunkie:

Nothing currently STOPS each town/state from fending for itself. more than 75% of the states we have today are capable of doing that. Like I said earlier, Ogun can definitely fend for itself if it was truly serious about doing that and it could actually compete, some day with Lagos if it learned to use it's resources to it's advantage. Ogun may not have the population Lagos boasts of today but it does have resources a-plenty and that is gold.

I did not say each local government or town should not fend for itself, what i am saying is that at the state level, it would me better to have fewer states. Mega projects can be prosecuted at the state level that cannot be done if the state is too small to generate sufficient revenue. Most of the biggest projects in Yoruba land was executed by the mega western Nigeria state, even without oil revenue.

I think they are already merged, wat with agbara, ijanikin, otta,etc housing major institutions like schools, churches, companies, homes, from which millions of people commute almost on a daily basis. Its just left for a bill to be passed and other constitutional requirements to be effected.
But as for benefits, I dont really see much except increased land mass for housing the overflow from an already full Lagos.

wirinet:

I think more highly of you than what you are engaging in now, which is arguing in a cul de sac. I told you I live among Ikorodu people,

I spent over 20 years of my life in Ikorodu as well. So?

wirinet:

So many Yarubas have come to confirm that Ikorodu people are from Ijebu subtribe of yoruba, and no Ikorodu person had come to dispute the fact (and i am sure we have some ikorodu indigene here), and you are still looking for fact? where are you looking for the facts form? - the US?. Is that where you got your info from that the Ikorodus are Aworis?

Is the US now Britannica? Are we to suddenly assume that all sources that do not corroborate your version are no longer acceptable? Come on now! You and I know it is one thing to know of a place and another to know of a place's history and how things came to be as we percieve them.

Dude, Ikorodu is believed to have been founded by Oga. History has it that Oga was from Ile ife, and not from Ijebu. Ikorodu was a trading post and its proximity to Sagamu/remo area would make sense for why the Ijebus are found in Ikorodu. There also exists a link to the Benin people as well, those from Ibadan areas. I remember one of the keji son's telling me a story of the benin link to Ikorodu. The Awori story I heard some time ago and I seem to find from some sources online, and since they make up a huge part of lagos, it makes sense to me. That some in Ikorodu speak Ijebu does not necessarily mean Ikorodu was always ijebu. I do know for a fact that even those in Itumoja, Itupate, Italewa areas do not speak the same dialect as you would find say in isiu, agbowa areas. And those are closer to what you would get to Ijebu areas though.

Like I said, I have found so many twists on this at this point that I will rather wait for more to verify this as I have not really done much research on the subject myself but I heard quite a lot of history from folks I grew up around about the town and that is much of what I go by to this date. I just called home to a friend who I know is Ijebu and he promises he will get me a write up on the history of the towns in the area. He considers himself an Ijebu man living in Ikorodu, and he seems to be well versed in history of Ijebus and Ikorodu areas and I intend to dig as deep as I can with him. So, I prefer not to continue this until I get some facts to work with.

wirinet:

When revenue Abuja dries up, where will the money to run the government come from?. Poverty usually leads to social upheaval as is currently happening in some parts of Nigeria now.

And?

wirinet:

Yes that was because the tribes were under different autonomous governments, with very little interference from a central government. That kind of arrangement tend to divide people rather than unite them. were those inter/inter tribal conflicts pronounced when the whole of the yorubas came under one government?

They are still not pronounced only now since we live in the 21st century, it makes sense that with media everywhere, it is easy to think it is the case today when it is probably not changed.

wirinet:

I did not say each local government or town should not fend for itself, what i am saying is that at the state level, it would me better to have fewer states. Mega projects can be prosecuted at the state level that cannot be done if the state is too small to generate sufficient revenue. Most of the biggest projects in Yoruba land was executed by the mega western Nigeria state, even without oil revenue.

I agree that there ought to be fewer states and that states should definitely fend for themselves but I don't believe nothing is stopping any state from doing that even to this day. Mega Projects should not be the states priority in my opinion. I think states ought to focus on projects that directly improve the standard of living of their own people and these projects do not have to be mega to be necessary. Leave the mega to the private sector where there are higher chances they will be better handled and maintained.

States are not to use Tax-Payer money/money that belongs to the people for projects that do not come with guarantees such as building of shopping malls and all that lot. States ought to busy themselves with projects that help lift the people and help them better compete in the country and the globe as a whole.

kobojunkie

ijebu itself has links to benin, you this oversabi. Ever heard of ile ife?

it's so tiresome arguing with people who lack cognition.


http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/beni_2/hd_beni_2.htm

Kobojunkie:

I spent over 20 years of my life in Ikorodu as well. So?
Is the US now Britannica? Are we to suddenly assume that all sources that do not corroborate your version are no longer acceptable? Come on now! You and I know it is one thing to know of a place and another to know of a place's history and how things came to be as we percieve them.

Dude, Ikorodu is believed to have been founded by Oga. History has it that Oga was from Ile ife, and not from Ijebu. Ikorodu was a trading post and its proximity to Sagamu/remo area would make sense for why the Ijebus are found in Ikorodu. There also exists a link to the Benin people as well, those from Ibadan areas. I remember one of the keji son's telling me a story of the benin link to Ikorodu. The Awori story I heard some time ago and I seem to find from some sources online, and since they make up a huge part of lagos, it makes sense to me. That some in Ikorodu speak Ijebu does not necessarily mean Ikorodu was always ijebu. I do know for a fact that even those in Itumoja, Itupate, Italewa areas do not speak the same dialect as you would find say in isiu, agbowa areas. And those are closer to what you would get to Ijebu areas though.

Like I said, I have found so many twists on this at this point that I will rather wait for more to verify this as I have not really done much research on the subject myself but I heard quite a lot of history from folks I grew up around about the town and that is much of what I go by to this date. I just called home to a friend who I know is Ijebu and he promises he will get me a write up on the history of the towns in the area. He considers himself an Ijebu man living in Ikorodu, and he seems to be well versed in history of Ijebus and Ikorodu areas and I intend to dig as deep as I can with him. So, I prefer not to continue this until I get some facts to work with.
And?
They are still not pronounced only now since we live in the 21st century, it makes sense that with media everywhere, it is easy to think it is the case today when it is probably not changed.

I agree that there ought to be fewer states and that states should definitely fend for themselves but I don't believe nothing is stopping any state from doing that even to this day. Mega Projects should not be the states priority in my opinion. I think states ought to focus on projects that directly improve the standard of living of their own people and these projects do not have to be mega to be necessary. Leave the mega to the private sector where there are higher chances they will be better handled and maintained.

States are not to use Tax-Payer money/money that belongs to the people for projects that do not come with guarantees such as building of shopping malls and all that lot. States ought to busy themselves with projects that help lift the people and help them better compete in the country and the globe as a whole.

I am impressed with your response. It is a pity that even in the 21st century, we still rely on oral traditions and stories to understand our history and have to rely on foreigners to tell us about our history. That is why we have so many different versions. I wonder what our history professors are doing?

I honestly do not understand what you meant by Ikorodu was founded by Oga and that Oga was said to come from Ile-ife.  Does that mean that the area now called Ikorodu was uninhabited before Oga came?.
I suspect people claim Oga came from Ife because Ife was the spiritual centre of the Yoruba Religion and every tribe tries to claim it origin from there. Just like the Hausa tries to claim Saudi ancestry or Igbo Jewish ancestry.
Please furnish me with more info when you get it.

I mean since Ogun state generates very little internal revenue, they would go completely broke if sufficient subvention does not come from Abuja, thereby leading to social problems.

When i talk of mega projects, i mean projects that would have massive impact on the people, not shopping malls, stadiums,airports or free trade zones. I mean power projects (which is highly capital intensive), railway system, modern expressways, and other infrastructures like water, etc. that would have direct impact on the lives of the masses.

Abeg Oh! Kobojunkie and co. isn`t this argument is becoming too long and away from point?

wirinet:

I am impressed with your response. It is a pity that even in the 21st century, we still rely on oral traditions and stories to understand our history and have to rely on foreigners to tell us about our history. That is why we have so many different versions. I wonder what our history professors are doing?

I think they are working but you know how Nigeria is  . . . . Still  98% non digital so you find the real stories are still not available to the world.  

wirinet:

I honestly do not understand what you meant by Ikorodu was founded by Oga and that Oga was said to come from Ile-ife.  Does that mean that the area now called Ikorodu was uninhabited before Oga came?.
I suspect people claim Oga came from Ife because Ife was the spiritual centre of the Yoruba Religion and every tribe tries to claim it origin from there. Just like the Hausa tries to claim Saudi ancestry or Igbo Jewish ancestry.
Please furnish me with more info when you get it.

I was raised in Ikorodu, but am not from Ikorodu. So stories I have of the place are stories I have gleaned from those around me growing up and from school.
Well, Ikorodu was mostly farming area, and it is told that Oga moved to Ikorodu to deal in Odu farming. From what I gather, the original inhabitants were likely not Ijebus but people who were overwhelmed later on by the Ijebus coming in for Odu and for trade with the rest of Lagos.
Like I said, I need to do my research some more on this to get better info but will let you know.

wirinet:

I mean since Ogun state generates very little internal revenue, they would go completely broke if sufficient subvention does not come from Abuja, thereby leading to social problems.

Ogun can generate MORE revenue though. I mean this used to be a state that produce a lot of rubber for the country in the not so distant past. With almost 1/5th the population, and that much land, I see no reason why Ogun would go burst if Abuja stops sending it a check every month. Ogun happens to be on the list of states I believe will survive a halt from Abuja. I truly believe that.

wirinet:

When i talk of mega projects, i mean projects that would have massive impact on the people, not shopping malls, stadiums,airports or free trade zones. I mean power projects (which is highly capital intensive), railway system, modern expressways, and other infrastructures like water, etc. that would have direct impact on the lives of the masses.

I am actually against the free trade zone project there. How many does a country really need? Rail Projects/modern expressways, Stadiums, Airports? well . .  sure but I believe states that need or want those ought to be made to raise the money on their own for such. Abuja allocations should not even be used for such projects, in my opinion.  
In a world where common sense reigns, states know that they definitely ought to generate their own revenue, not depend on the federal government as states in Nigeria do.

zoelife:

Abeg Oh! Kobojunkie and co. isn`t this argument is becoming too long and away from point?

I am impressed with your response. It is a pity that even in the 21st century, we still rely on oral traditions and stories to understand our history and have to rely on foreigners to tell us about our history. That is why we have so many different versions. I wonder what our history professors are doing?

shouldn't that be the job of our institutions of higher learning? what's the point of having history and anthropological departments if research isn't done on our origins.

kobo - what states do u believe can't survive? ekiti,taraba,ondo,osun?

kobo - what states do u believe can't survive? ekiti,taraba,ondo,osun?

apart from that without any sentiment,half of the states in the north will hardly survive without hands out frm abj.
and its time we come out to debate this issue b4 it confront us in 10 yrs time, this oyel will dry up one day.

bawomolo:

shouldn't that be the job of our institutions of higher learning? what's the point of having history and anthropological departments if research isn't done on our origins.

kobo - what states do u believe can't survive? ekiti,taraba,ondo,osun?

I do not believe Ekiti, Taraba and Osun would survive. I am sort of partial when it comes to Ondo simply because it is one of the older states in the country.

ode remo:

apart from that without any sentiment,half of the states in the north will hardly survive without hands out frm abj.
and its time we come out to debate this issue b4 it confront us in 10 yrs time, this oyel will dry up one day.

I do agree. Half of the states in the North will likely collapse without aid.

Kobojunkie:

I do not believe Ekiti, Taraba and Osun would survive. I am sort of partial when it comes to Ondo simply because it is one of the older states in the country.

I do agree. Half of the states in the North will likely collapse without aid.

i disagree on taraba.

the one state i am confident of in the north is NIGER STATE, when i visited the state i can hardly believe my eyes on the amount of arable land and luscious vegetation the state can boast of.
that state alone if well govern will surely feed the whole nation.
others that i have been are nothing but eyesaw, kaduna with its dilapidated machinery and infrastructures, Kano overpopulated with the govt doing f.uc, k all. the rest well ,don't go there.
i may be wrong though, but that is my take.

ode remo:

the one state i am confident of in the north is NIGER STATE, when i visited the state i can hardly believe my eyes on the amount of arable land and luscious vegetation the state can boast of.
that state alone if well govern will surely feed the whole nation.
others that i have been are nothing but eyesaw, kaduna with its dilapidated machinery and infrastructures, Kano overpopulated with the govt doing f.uc, k all. the rest well ,don't go there.
i may be wrong though, but that is my take.

I think taraba is on the same pedestal as niger except that it can add tourism(Gashaka and Gumpti parks) and uranium to join.Of course it still boils down to a visionary leader.

@^^,
the thing about tourism is, to me a hard sale. once the whole country can not be certified safe not only by Nigerians but the outside world , it would not earn the EXPECTED INCOME. would you take your next holl. in Jamaica, Greece.?
assuming ISRAEL is not waging war on its neigh bour imagine the am out of income on tourism.
another delusion is on natural resources, we will be back to sq. 1 with them . cos of our inability to train Nigerians properly tech . wise.

ode remo:

@^^,
the thing about tourism is, to me a hard sale. once the whole country can not be certified safe not only by Nigerians but the outside world , it would not earn the EXPECTED INCOME. would you take your next holl. in Jamaica, Greece.?

ROFLMAO!!!

Greece maybe, but definitely not Jamaica. lol

Ikorodu is a part of Ijebu and it was under Ogun state before it was took over by Lagos state,from the origin, Lagos state did not have any ethnic tribe called Ijebu and it was when they encroach their boundary that they were able to claim ijebu settlements like Agbowa,epe,imota and others, the original language of these towns is Ijebu as history has it.

Merging is not the only solution,few things needs to be done by Ogun state and federal govt like expansion of Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Sagamu-ikorodu road coupled with the construction fast railway lines and modern estates and others.

wat's wrong with merging, when the whole of Nigeria is slightly more than twice the size of California a sindle state in the U.S not in terms of population per say, if it's even merging the whole of Nigeria no prob for me, but those politician, NEVER not in their lifetime, f***k the stupid ones among them.