Lagos indigenes threaten to sue APC chieftain over statement

24th April 2019

by Taboola Chinelo Obogo

Awori Welfare Association of Nigeria (AWAN), Lagos, has threatened legal action against a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Tajudeen Olusi, who was quoted to have said members of the association are not indigenes of the state.

AWAN National President, Solomon Ojolowo, said thisduring a press conference in Lagos, yesterday.
Ojolowo said Awori are the authentic aborigines in Lagos, constituting 75 percent of the entire state and urged Olusi to retract his statement.

“It is reprehensible for someone to claim Awori are not Lagos indigenes. This press conference became very im- portant and urgent as a necessary reaction to the unexpected outburst from a Lagos political leader, Olusi, the leader of APC Elders Forum, who declared not only that Awori is not in Lagos but also that Awori is not a tribe in Yorubaland.

“An obvious false declaration like this perhaps does not require a response because almost everyone in Yoruba land, even non-Yoruba, definitely, know not only that Awori is in Yorubaland but also, that Awori are the aborigines of Lagos.

“But, if no rebuttal is made, a wrong impression would have been unwittingly created. We have no quarrel with Olusi being a Bini man, especially as a prince of the late Oba of Lagos.

“Bini are strangers in Lagos, not original settlers. We recall this interview granted by another respected lawyer, Femi Okunnu who declared that Aworis were the first group of settlers who inhabited Lagos city and its suburbs.

“As a matter of necessity, Olusi is advised to either declare that there is no tribe like Bini, Oyo, Ibadan, Ogbomoso and others because there are also extractions of Yoruba origin; whose names came into being by specific circumstances just like that of Awori or he retract and rephrase his false statements through the same media or else the entire Awori people will join issues with him in court in order to set the records straight.

“It is quite reckless a statement for someone to claim Isolo, one of the prominent Awori communities, is not an Awori town.

“Generally speaking, the Awori of Lagos State constitute the largest single sub group.

“Out of the 20 local governments, the Awori conveniently form the indigenous population of 17 local governments,” Ojolowo said.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who was represented at the press conference by Adewale Williams, agreed with AWAN’s statement, saying the Awori who migrated from Ife were the first settlers in Lagos.

“It is a well known fact that the Awori are descendants of Oduduwa and later migrated to Lagos to become the very first settlers. That is the reason they are the land owners.
“Awori are very industrious and accommodating people and that is why Lagos is the most developed state in the country.


https://www.sunnewsonline.com/lagos-indigenes-threaten-to-sue-apc-chieftain-over-statement/

Awori leaders call for rotation of Lagos Council of Obas chairmanship

by Emmanuel Oladesu — April 24, 2019

LEADERS of Awori in Lagos State yesterday called for the rotation of the chairmanship of the Council of Obas and Chiefs among the state’s five divisions.

The divisions are Lagos, Badagry, Ikeja, Epe and Ikorodu.
Noting that the Osolo of Isolo, the late Oba Arolagbade Farombi, was the chairman of the obas’ council during the Jakande administration in the Second Republic, the Awori leaders reaffirmed that Aworis are the aborigines and traditional landlords of Lagos.

President of Awori Welfare Association of Nigeria (AWAN) Chief Solomon Ojolowo told reporters in Lagos that the group took exception to Prince Tajudeen Olusi’s remark that Awori is not a Yoruba tribe and that Awori does not exist in Lagos.

He said while history affirmed Awori as the aborigines of Lagos, history also attested to the fact that Binis, of which Olusi is a part, are strangers in Lagos.

Ojolowo chided Olusi for twisting historical facts, saying that he erroneously traced the roots of some prominent Awori towns to Bini.

Quoting from the research works of the historian, Prof. Kunle Lawal, he said while Binis, Nupe, Tapa and slave returnees, including Saro, Brazilian and Cuba now formed part of Lagos indigenes, they should not make the mistake of claiming to be the original landowners, which Awori enjoy by virtue of their earliest settlements.

Ojolowo wondered why Olusi, who once identified with Awori, later turned around to dispute the correct history of Lagos.

He added: “ It is high time Awori obas rallied round to ensure the chairmanship of Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs is reversed to an Awori oba or at least rotated among the five administrative divisions of Lagos.

“There is a precedence in the early Second Republic, precisely the Jakande era, when Oba Farombi of Isolo was made the chairman of the Lagos Council of Obas. This has become very necessary because these Bini elements are over-rating themselves to the detriment of their landlords.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/awori-leaders-call-for-rotation-of-lagos-council-of-obas-chairmanship/

Olusi's initial statement came from this interview:

TAJUDEEN OLUSI: Lagos favours strangers more than indigenes

by Dare Odufowokan — March 31, 2019

Prominent Lagos prince and the Chairman of the Elders’ Forum of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Alhaji Tajudeen Olusi, has said there is no such thing as Awori people in Lagos State while insisting that the place called Lagos today was a part of the old Bini Kingdom, contrary to claims in some quarters.

In this no holds barred exclusive encounter with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, Olusi, whose father was the late Oba Sanusi Matiku Olusi of Lagos, also lamented that Lagos State is being cheated by the federal government. He calls for some form of assistance for the state to enable it take care of other Nigerians living in the state. He also spoke on the factors that stopped Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s re-election bid.
Excerpts.

WE just concluded elections across the country. Here in Lagos, one issue that was much debated during the polls is the opinion by some people that Lagos is a ‘no-man’s-land’. Now that the election is over and we can talk outside the competition of politics, what is your candid opinion about this issue?

First, let me tell you that conflict is part and parcel of democracy just as intrigues are integral parts of politics. To now say because elections are over, there is no competition again is wrong. It is not only elections that bring competition in politics. Many other issues too do. And once we conclude the process of one election, the process of the next one that may even still be a couple of years away, starts immediately. So, competition is continuous in politics.

Back to the real meat of your question, sometimes we all know the truth and for obvious reasons, we choose to uphold and promote that which is not the truth. A scholar said ‘dead is the man who has not said to himself; this is my home, this is my origin.’ Everybody must have a place he or she is attached to. So also, every place must have people who are attached to it.

Take the Nigerian federation for example, it is a British creation. But before the British came here, the Portuguese have been here. It is on record that in the 15th century, the Portuguese visited Lagos and interacted with its people. They liked the city so much that they named the area ‘Lagos du Kuramo,’ meaning a place of many Rivers. They even established a formal friendship with King Akinsemoyin.
They helped to build a palace called ‘Iga Opo Ide’. They imported the brass fittings used in building the palace from their home country, Portugal. These structures are still standing on the Island till today. They also brought canon guns into Lagos as gifts for the King, their friend. The relics of some of these things still abound as artefacts in Lagos and other parts of the country today.

Four Kings of Lagos sent Ambassadors to Portugal according to history. One of such Ambassadors was from three Seteolu Gomez family of Lagos and they still talk about that till today as a thing of pride. Also, Lagosians like Oshodi Tapa, Dada Anthonio and others, as young men, were sent to Portugal by a Lagos King to be trained in German and other languages back then. They returned to serve as interpreters of the King and others in trade with the white men.

It is also recorded that King Dosumu of Lagos signed a treaty with Queen Victoria of Britain and that was the beginning of Britain’s incursion into West Africa. Lagos became a colony of Britain and a survey of the city was carried out by Britain. At the time all these were happening, there was no country called Nigeria. In 1604, a German surgeon travelling all over the world visited Lagos and wrote about the city and its people.

In his account, he recalled that he visited a place called Lagos, which is a part of the Kingdom of Bini. He said he found people there and recalled that at a place, the people were ‘holding court.’ It means there were people and there was law and order under a recognized leadership which at the time was the Oba’s palace. That was where he saw people holding court. Was there a Nigeria at that time? So, Lagos existed long before we had Nigeria coming to be.
People have their own histories and tradition. Even Britain, we hear of the Anglos, the Saxons; then the English who claim the place today. But they will tell you England is for the English, not the whole of Europe. It is in the same vein that people must know that Lagos is our own home as people with over 600 years of ancestral claims to the place.

But in spite of all these historical claims and records, why is it difficult for some people to come to term with the nativity of Lagos as being explained by you?

Lagos is blessed. And the blessings of Lagos lies in its history and tradition dating all the way back to its very foundation according to the stories passed down to us by our ancestors. When they were about to found the city, our ancestors asked the divinity about the future of their new home and they were told in clear terms that the new city will attract people from all over the world and will flourish really well.

They were also told that strangers who will flock to the city will flourish more than the indigenes. They will succeed more. Alarmed, our fathers asked that what will now be the gains of the indigenes. They were told that the strangers must always respect the indigenes in spite of the success they will reap in the city; otherwise, they will leave the city the way they came without taking with them the fruits of their sweat.

The then Oba was asked to make sacrifices at the beach of the ocean with heaps of fruits; bananas, oranges, grapes, pineapples, name it, all sort of oranges were to be heaped on the beach and left there. It was these fruits that later attracted the Portuguese who were sailing across the ocean in their ships. When they saw the beach full of fruits, they sought to know more about the people of the area.
This bit of our history is contained in our traditional praise-songs but our elders do not like to recite it up to that point again. “Eko Akete, ile ogbo; aromisa legbelegbe; ilu to gbe alejo ju onile lo.’ Our people don’t like repeating this part of the praise songs again though. But it is important to say this so that you will understand why we have some things as they are today in Lagos. It also explains why Lagosians are so accommodating and peaceful with strangers.

However, with such an history attached to the city and a line of rulers from Oba Ado though many others till today; with chieftaincy houses, settlements, rules and regulations, our accommodating nature notwithstanding, it is wrong for anybody to say Lagos does not belong to us. Anybody can claim Lagos and I doubt if anybody will challenge that, but we must respect the real indigenes of Lagos. It is important.

I can even tell you that Islam has been in Lagos long before Uthman Dan Fodio introduced it in Sokoto. All these established who the indigenous people of Lagos are. Though they have rights to live in Lagos and even claim anything they like, other Nigerians have no choice than to respect the owners of Lagos and accept the fact that Lagos is the home of some people.

Somebody asked me that who is a Lagosian, and I replied that ‘anybody who takes Lagos as home is a Lagosian. But the difference between us and them is that one day that other Nigerian will announce that he is retiring to his other home in Osogbo, Ilorin, Kaduna or Enugu. And we have no other such place to go to because this is our origin and the only home we have.

So, it is okay for people to want a part of Lagos as their own in addition to the wealth, position and money they’ve made living in Lagos but like the oracle warned years back, they must respect the indigenes and accord them all the regards due to people who peacefully accommodated them in the city without rancour. All these ‘no man’s land’ issues are unnecessary.

Take the British Empire for example and the British Commonwealth. It is made up of several countries and peoples, including blacks. But we all know the British is at the head of it all while we are all partakers of the Empire and later Commonwealth. Does that take away the rights of the British as the owners of Britain? Like I said, we know the truth.

Does the Obaship (Kingship) system today in Lagos support your claims?

Numerous Obas of Lagos from Bini are recorded in history. I’ve seen the records of Isolo, Idimu, and it stated clearly that they came to Lagos with the Oba of Bini. And that Eletu is the chief overseer of those areas. Ejigbo too. We have Ojon of Lagos and we have Ojon of Ejigbo. At a time the Ojon of Lagos was the same as Ojon of Ejigbo. They have the same ancestors from Bini. Sule Agoro, the then Ojon of Lagos, went to the House of Chiefs as Ojon of Ejigbo at a time.

A Bini King, according to records, lived at Iga Iduganran here in Lagos for a long time and didn’t go back until he was threatened that his son would be made King back home if he fails to return. When Oba Akenzua died, Oba Erediuwa who succeeded him sent a delegation to Lagos as required by tradition. I was invited by our late Oba to be part of those that received the delegation. The current Oba Akiolu was also there with us that day. That is to show you the link between Lagos and Bini kingdom. Lagos was a part of the Bini kingdom in those days.

Movement from the hinterland to Lagos will also explain some of the issues being raised as regards the real indigenes of Lagos as well as how we all got to be here and when. The Yoruba history is full of migrations occasioned by wars, famine, drought, power tussle etc. Take Oyo for example; the present location of the town should be about the sixth or seventh location historically. We had Oyo Ile, Oyo Ajaka, etc before the current location.

So, we must understand how pole moved to Lagos. Some people came in through Eti-Osa in the east. They are largely the people from Benin who probably passed through Ondo – Ijebu Waterside – Epe – Sangotedo – Idumagbo etc on their ways to Lagos, gathering people and culture as they come. It is called the Atijeere route and it is still being used till today by those dealing in charcoal and Ogogoro. Go to Idumagbo and check this fact.

Thus, the Bini settlements started from Idumagbo and that is why you find the homesteads of the Oloroguns in Idumagbo. Six Oloroguns came from Bini with Ado and their compounds and descendants are still very much there at Idumagbo till tomorrow. Their chieftaincies came with Ebe, the brass insignia also used in Bini by the Oba. We call it Abere here in Lagos.

The Eletus too are from Bini and they are still very recognized as such till date. It is now not possible to say these people, with obvious and traceable roots to Bini, are Aworis. That is not possible. The royalty in Lagos was established by people from Benin. Early writers made a lot of mistakes that are now contributing to the confusion being created in our history.

One of such is Rev. Lucas who wrote that Adamu Orisa, (Eyo Masquerade) is from Sudan. This is wrong and unacceptable. Major Lagos chieftaincies and families are from Bini. They are not Aworis or Ijebus. We must work hard to preserve history by ensuring that whatever we want to put into writing are well verified and remains verifiable.

So, how about claims that Aworis are the aborigines of Lagos?

I want to tell you that there are no Aworis in Yorubaland. We don’t have a tribe called Awori at all. These are just other people who came to Lagos through another route from the hinterland, like Ile-Ife. Awori is just a description of how they got to where they settled. They left Ile Ife over a dispute and consulted the oracle as was the practice of our forefathers whenever they are migrating.

They were told to put a plate (awo) on the river and follow it until it sinks. They were advices to settle anywhere the plate sinks. ‘Ibi awo ri’. That is how they came about the term Awori, not that Awori is a tribe in Yorubaland, not to talk of being a tribe in Lagos. It was at Isheri the plate sank and that was where they settled. That is the story of how they migrated from Ife into Lagos.

People talk about people in settlements like Epetedo. These are who returned from Epe. But how did they go to Epe in the first place and from where? They had left Lagos with a Lagos Prince and later retuned back to settle at the place now known as Epetedo. But they were in Lagos before the crisis that led to their migration to Epe and return later.

Take even Isheri where the people from Ife settled, it was actually a location established by the Binis. It was called Ibi ise Erin (place where Elephant tusk was being sourced and processed). It was not uninhabited when they got there. The Binis of Lagos were there doing business. The Ife group joined them and the place flourished as a trade centre and expanded into areas like today’s Ikeja.


Check the people of Isolo. They are not Aworis. Their orikis will show you where they are from. The late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister in an album, praised Osolo Farounbi as ‘Omo Onikoyi.’ Onikoyi is from where? Oyo. So they are Lagos people from Oyo. Ikeja people are hailed as ‘Omo Onife Abure,’ showing they are from Ife. Professor Fagbohun’s father, who became a monarch in Akesan, was asked where he is from and he didn’t say he is Awori. He said Akesan is in Oyo and so, he is from Oyo.

What is the story behind how Lagos State was created by General Yakubu Gowon?

Before the coming of Gen. Gowon, some Lagosians have been agitating for the creation of a state for Lagos. One of such person was Prince Adelumola Ibikunle Akintoye, the son of Oba Ibikunle Akintoye, who reigned between 1925 and 1928 as Oba of Lagos. The Prince was a political ally of Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NCNC before they fell apart.

At that time, Lagos enjoyed the status of a City independent from the Western Region. It was seen as a federal territory with its own administrative organs. I was a councillor in the city council in 1962. That was the situation until the military struck in 1966 and Gowon emerged Head of State. Prince Adelumola and a lawyer, they were living in Aba then. They worked with the Lagos State Movement. These were the first set of people to agitate for state creation in Lagos.
Others followed after them. There was the Lagos Aborigine Society, Egbe Omo Eko, Lagos Citizens Protection group or something like that led by Senator Adebayo Doherty back then. I was also involved at a point with the likes of Femi Okunu and even Alhaji Lateef Jakande. So when Gowon came, the agitation grew and became a popular movement.

I will recall that when Alhaji Jakande was in prison, we have been talking about state creation for Lagos. Ganiu Dawodu and I were his errand boys then and we used to help him get documents and materials while he was developing a write up in defence of the agitation. It was in prison that he wrote ‘The Case for a Lagos State’. He used many documents and he acknowledged our roles in the publication of it.

And as members of the defunct Action Group led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, we went further by discussing the issue with Baba. He asked us to convince his that a Lagos State, if created, will be viable. We collected records of the revenue of the Western Region and showed him that Lagos contributes 37% of the total. And he said, with 37%, Lagos can stand on its own.

So, when Brigadier-General Mobolaji Johnson as governor set up a conference of the people of Lagos to discuss the issue of creating a state, people were nominated. Okunnu was nominated by Johnson into the committee, Jakande was there and so were many other people. Sincerely, I cannot recall how it came about, but Dawodu and I were there too. We attended the conference and participated in the discourse. Maybe assistants were nominated for members and we attended as Jakande’s assistants, I can’t really say now.

My late egbon, Senator Sikiru Shitta-Bey, was another prominent player in the issue of state creation. He wrote a paper on the need for a state to be created for Lagos. He worked alongside others to push the need for Lagos State. Many other people were part of the agitation as well as the many processes that eventually led to the creation of Lagos State by the Gen. Gowon administration.

The ongoing agitation for special status for Lagos, do you think it is realizable?

I’ve said it publicly many times that I don’t think what Lagos needs should be termed Special Status. I think it should be assistance for other Nigerians living in Lagos. It is important that we draw these clarifications as we agitate. Lagosians need no special status or assistance to survive in Lagos but for the pressure being put on the state by other Nigerians flocking to the state everyday from the nooks and crannies of the country.

If we say special status, it can be misinterpreted to mean help meant to help Lagosians or some rights or authority over and above other states of the country. These can cause enmity or bad blood. What Senator Remi Tinubu is agitating for is quite right and necessary but we must put it in clear perspective to avoid misinterpretation of any kind.
Lagos is the state where people live, do business and visit the most in Nigeria. So, we are daily battling problems caused by the population and other related issues. I live in Sangotedo and I am thinking of relocating because it is overpopulated. And this is a place where the population of other Nigerians stand at above 70%. Federal Government should make special provision for these people thronging into Lagos. This is the argument of Senator Tinubu and it is logical.

I strongly believe that it is realizable and it will be realized one day if we make more effort to explain it properly to people involved. We must explain that we are not seeking help or authority of any sort for Lagosians but for other Nigerians living in Lagos. Whatever is given to Lagos under the arrangement will benefit everybody, majority of which are other Nigerians living in Lagos. The funds can even be attached to specific projects or causes if need be.

Beyond all these too, I think Lagos is being cheated in the current arrangement. When I was a Councillor, the federal government was paying N1m to the Lagos Town Council in lieu of rent on its properties in Lagos. That was a lot of money at that time, 1962. But the military came and cancelled that arrangement and up till today, nothing is being given to Lagos in that regard. It is cheating.


https://thenationonlineng.net/tajudeen-olusi-lagos-favours-strangers-more-than-indigenes/

Don't Beat The Drum Of War, Lagos Belongs To The Aworis


The Aworis are a Major Yoruba Tribe, the First Settlers and Original Land Owners of all the Major Lands that forms Modern Lagos, a Yoruba Settlement.

Putting the Record Straight on An Attempt by Prince Tajudeen Olusi to distort history.*

_Frantz Fanon said and I quote “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it”,

Prince Tajudeen Olusi goofed when he submitted in an interview he granted recently when the interviewer asked him a simple question

“So, how about claims that Aworis are the aborigines of Lagos?” his response was a great insult to a distinct Yoruba race, the Aworis, a tribe well known to the source of the Yoruba, Ile-Ife and an aberration of the highest order when he posited that,

“I want to tell you that there are no Aworis in Yorubaland. We don’t have a tribe called Awori at all. These are just other people who came to Lagos through another route from the hinterland, like Ile-Ife. Awori is just a description of how they got to where they settled. They left Ile Ife over a dispute and consulted the oracle as was the practice of our forefathers whenever they are migrating. They were told to put a plate (awo) on the river and follow it until it sinks. They were advices to settle anywhere the plate sinks. ‘Ibi awo ri’. That is how they came about the term Awori, not that Awori is a tribe in Yorubaland, not to talk of being a tribe in Lagos. It was at Isheri the plate sank and that was where they settled. That is the story of how they migrated from Ife into Lagos”.

In his attempt to mislead the innocent public, a lot of lies were found in his submission above and that made him and his opinion on the matter unpopular.

To say “We don’t have a tribe called Awori at all” is to say we don’t have tribes like Ijebu, Egba, Ekiti, Oyo among others. It will amount to a reckless statement from a drained brain to indirect claim that there is nothing like the Aworis in Lagos.

It appears to me that Prince Olusi needs tutelage on the Yoruba history and that of Lagos in particular.

On this I quote a popular and uncontroverted submission of renowned historian and great scholar of his generation; a former Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Professor Olakunle Lawal of blessed memory. A renowned illustrious Lagos Islander, and a respected son of Ijebu-Epe and Awori. To his name and credit, he has at least four published works on aspect of the historical development of Lagos, Lot of Essays on the same subject-matter in reputable local and international journals. Even at death, he remains the first university teacher to design and teach “Lagos” as an academic subject from first year of registration up till the final year of the degree programme, a feat which remains unparalleled in any institution till this moment.

In capturing the Awori as a tribe in Yoruba land he submitted that; “The Awori-speaking peoples trace their origins to Ile-Ife where a prince, Ogunfunminire led a migrating party to the plains of Isheri where they formed a sedentary settlement. Isheri seemed to have offered the Awori central point human and material development. For one thing, the ready availability of Ogun River provided this incoming group with an opportunity to engage in sea-based activities such as fishing. Certainly, the Ogun River acted as a bridge rather than a barrier to the exchange of goods and ideas. In no time, the Isheri settlement began to assume the picture and dimension of a big settlement which, sooner or later would become incapable of satisfying the needs and aspiration of its inhabitants.

This was the genesis of the movement of people from the nuclear settlement of Isheri which available evidence shows, was the center of dispersal of the Awori to different direction.

The reasons for movement vary from one group to the other. Many moved to established new settlements for economic reasons i.e. to seek new opportunities for self-fulfillment, while some moved to actualized political desire for independence. In some other cases, movement was engendered as a result of one’s desire for pure adventure.

In all cases, it would appear that increase in population (or more appropriately over-population or explosion) was the most immediate reason and axis around which the aforementioned factors revolved”.

However, if the submission of Prince Olusi was an attempt to deny the Aworis their rightful place in the history of Lagos, he fails woefully.

Prof. Lawal submitted further that “Available evidence convincingly shows that the Awori, the Ogu and some some particular Ijebu-speaking peoples are the autochthonous settlers in the area of modern Lagos State for well over five hundred years”; before the arrival of other groups who came at a later century such as The Binis, Nupe, Tapa, the slave returnees such as the Saro, Brazillian, Cuba; all these now forms part of the indigenes of Lagos State but non of them should make the mistake of claiming to be the original land owner in any form because the Awori solely enjoys this right by virtue of their earliest settlements.

There is no doubt Modern Lagos State is made up of people of diverse cultural background coming from different part of the country and world. Hence such a contemporary heterogeneous or multilateral picture is often misleading, encouraging some to assume that Lagos State is “a no-man’s land” or a state which every Tom, Dick and Harry can claim, is far from the truth as available historical evidences that I will further reveal proves contrary. In a clear term, all sincere historical facts save for that of mischief makers, shows that the Aworis are the first settlers and original land owners of all the major lands that forms modern Lagos State. Nonetheless, the purpose of this work is not to x-ray the history of the entire Lagos state but that of Lagos Island which illusion the basis of many arguments lately.

Kunle Lawal in one of his works further said, The question of who the first settlers in Lagos were has always attracted the interest of many people because of the existence of two versions of the settlement story. There are Benin and the Awori-Yoruba versions. In a nutshell, the Edo/Benin version claims that Edo were the first settlers in Lagos by virtue of a war camp which Benin forces established at the Enu Owa area of Lagos Island during the reign of Oba Orhoghua. The Edo claimed that the phrase “Eko Akete” was an Edo one meaning “war camp” on an Island. This version concludes that, Orhogbua left Lagos for Benin and asked his grandson, “Eskipa” to assume the leadership of the emergent Benin colony in the Lagos area.

*The simple question to ask those with this doctored version of the history of Lagos is that on the arrival of the Binis on Lagos Island were there no people in that area or with which people did they fight the war before setting up their war camp at the place known as “Enu Owa” area of Lagos Island.*

According to Kunle Lawal, The Awori-Yoruba however, does not dispute the existence of Benin connection with early Lagos. What the Awori find unacceptable is the claim that the Edo were the original or first settlers in Lagos. The Awori acknowledge the relevance of Benin connection but reminds that it came about as a result of conquest. In a nutshell, the Awori claim that they were the original settlers who are brought under Benin sway as a result of the latter’s possession of superior weapons. History has it that some centuries after Aworis have settled in Lagos, there was the invasion by the Binis, the Edo-speaking people, who invaded Lagos and set up their own institutions.

Here I wish to reechoes the submission of another senior scholar and a giant in the legal profession. A much respected son of the soil who also has a Bini connection, Alhaji Olufemi Okunnu (SAN). A former Federal Commissioner for Works, a legal luminary and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria of high integrity. He said during an interview published in the Punch News on the 20th November, 2017 and I quote “There is no place called ‘No Man’s Land’ in the world. Every parcel of land has its own history. Lagos has its own history and the original inhabitants of Lagos – the Aworis – settled over 500 years ago. I have said it many times recently that Lagos has its own indigenes. The Aworis were the first group of settlers who inhabited Lagos city and suburbs. Maybe some centuries after, there was the invasion by the Binis, the Edo-speaking people, who invaded Lagos and set up their own institutions. In fact, the obaship of Lagos has a lot to do with the Benin Kingdom. So, the Binis also invaded and settled in Lagos. Oba of Lagos is of Edo or Bini origin, not Yoruba, and all the other chiefs, who came with the first oba, that is, Ado — I am talking of a group of white-cap chiefs called Akarigbere — also are of Bini origin”. Logically, how can a group which established itself at a place as a result of conquest claim to be older than the people they met or admit to be the original owner of the land or an attempt by one of them to deny the existence of Awori as a race?

All true and undiluted histories keeps pointing to the fact that original settlers of Lagos were Awori, a sub-group of the Yoruba who migrated to the modern Lagos area from Ile-Ife, the legendary home of the Yoruba. The Awori of Lagos Division were an offshoot of the group that originally settled at Isheri from Ife who dispersed in various directions to found settlements. Facts has it that one of the group proceeded southwards to Ebute-Metta where as a result of serious inter-tribal wars in the interior known as Ogun Ajakaiye, the people moved further south to establish Ile Olofin. A leader seemed to have emerged among them who took the Olofin title. It was under this leader that the settlement that fathered the new emergent kingdom of Lagos developed.

Lagos sources reveals that the people who settled at Ile-Olofin were mainly fishermen who later took the name Aledejo or Idejo (a fisherman co-operative society). The Idejo, the renowned land Owner-Class of Lagos under the Olofin grew and the expansion to further settlements were encouraged. One other settlements that was founded by one of the Olofin known as Aromire was the Island of Lagos. According to the oral account, Aromire visited the land across the lagoon often and with time established a farm in which pepper and vegetables were planted. Indeed, the site of Aromire’s pepper farm became the nucleus of the site of government of the kingdom of Lagos known as Iga Idunganran meaning Pepper Place. Historically speaking, it would appear that Aromire, rather than being an individual was infact representing a group of people that first migrated across the lagoon to the Island of Lagos. Oral accounts credit him with the fact that he subsequently invited his brothers (Co-Idejos) such as Onitana and Onitolo to take charge of Idumota and Itolo wharves respectively.
It is wrong to assume that all the component parts that made up Lagos before the Europeans began to visit it were founded at the same time. There is no evidence for this. What is plausible is the fact that with the encampment of Aromire and his team on the Island of Lagos, the vast opportunities which the new Island offered became obvious and opened other adventurers. Thus, Ikoyi, Iru (Modern Victoria Island), Ikate, Ajiran, Ajah, Ijora etc. were developed by Awori descendants who moved away from Lagos in search of new challenges.

Femi Okunnu (SAN) further expatiated in the said interview when he was asked by the interviewer the question “So, who owns Lagos?”, his popular response was *“The Idejo class of chiefs in Lagos are of Awori origin. They are the land-owning class of chiefs. They owned Olumegbon (the whole of Ajah belonged to the Olumegbon chieftaincy family); Oniru (the whole of Victoria Island); Ojomu, next door to Ajah (there is Oba Ojomu now); Elegushi (the land being at Ikate); the Onisemo. The whole of Apapa Peninsula used to belong to the Oluwa family. The British compulsorily acquired the whole of Apapa and paid compensation to them. The Ojora of Lagos (that is Ijora) were the original settlers. Apart from the Aworis and the Binis, you have another wave of immigrants to Lagos.*
The modern Eti-Osa area essentially Awori in origin and development. The principal settlements were Iru, Ikate and Ajiran. They, however, had many villages and hamlets under them which they used as farms. For instance, Ajiran had controlling authorities over such villages as Ikota, Okun-Ibeju, Agungi, Asapa, Idado, Igbo Efon among others. For Elegushi, while Ikate was the capital he had considerable authority over the area between Onikoyi’s land and Ajiran up to the fringes of Moba.

Unfortunately, a number of the settlements founded by or encouraged to be established by the original Awori settlers of the Lagos area are now either extinct or their original names lost to history. Some of these are listed below for those who are interested. The villages on the Iddo Island before now are Iddo, Oto, Somore, Ilogbo, Idunbore, Ilu-Egun and Ijora. The villages on the mainland (Ebutte-Meta) before now “Abule Seriki, Okuta, Apalehin, Iwaya, Oke Eleye, Abule Nla, Akoka, Oke Ogbe, Elediye, Igbari, Abule Bajulaiye, Abule Bashua, Abule Modele, Ojuelegba, Abule Bariga, Abule Ojo Oniyun, Agege, Omi, Pedro Oke, Abule Oja, Omole, Ojuwoye, Onigbongbo, Mushin, Oko Baba, Abule Gbarako, Itire, Ijeshatedo, Ikate (Surulere), Abule Shogunro, Abule Akinwunmi, Abule-Okoya, Abule Gbotifa, Abule Alagbede, Alaka, Abule Akangba.

It is quite reckless a statement for someone to claim Isolo, one of the prominent Awori community is not an Awori town or that the people of Isolo are not Awori; Isolo a major Awori town which was founded by a group of Awori people led by one Akibayi, and other towns and villages that forms the major part of Ikeja Division of Lagos State are mainly Awori establishment. Of important is the attempt by Prince Olusi to twist the history of Akesan when he claimed the Late King of Akesan land, HRM Oba Fagbohun said there is Akesan in Oyo and with that Olusi concluded Akesan is not Awori. While time and space may not permit me now to ponder on the full historical development of the Awori land and its people, laziness has not permitted you to find out the connection of the said Akesan in Oyo and the Akesan in Lagos state. Note the king never said Akesan is not Awori rather he said there is another Akesan in Oyo. Here someone needs lecture about Olofin Ogunfunminire, the progenitor of the Awori and his wives. That is for another day. The emphasis of Prince Olusi on Oyo as the original place of Isolo and Akesan has neglected the fact that every Yoruba including the people of Oyo has claim to Ile-Ife as the source.

Generally speaking, the Aworis of Lagos State constitutes the largest single ethnic sub-group in Lagos State, constituting as it is, about 75% of its indigenous population of the state. The Aworis are found in all the local government areas of the state. Out of the old 20 local governments in Lagos State the Aworis conveniently forms the indigenous population of 17 local government namely Lagos Island, Ojo, Badagry, Amuwo-Odofin, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Apapa, Oshodi-Isolo, Mushin, Agege, Ikeja, Alimosho, Kosofe, Eti-Osa, Lagos Mainland, Surulere, Shomolu and Ifako-Ijaye, while it has a recognisable percentage of indigenous population in Ibeju-Lekki local government, the Awori people are predominant people around Majidun and Ajegunle areas of modern Ikorodu local government.

https://www.akelicious.net/2019/04/dont-beat-drum-of-war-lagos-belongs-to.html?m=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_73i6D23Y4

Lagos never belonged to Bini – Prince Adebiyi

December 10, 2017

Sammy Adebiyi, a prince of the Akinsemoyin Ruling House of Lagos, who is contesting in court the right to the throne of Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE insists that the Awori, not the Bini or the Yoruba, are the original owners of Lagos

From Lagos being a no man’s land, the bone of contention now is whether it is the Bini, the Awori or the Yoruba that own Lagos. What do you think about this debate about who really owns Lagos?

Let it be stated categorically that the original owners of Lagos are the Awori – there is no doubt about that. It is impossible for the history of a people to be rewritten at whim by some people. But you asked me, is this debate healthy, necessary? My response is that the debate is healthy in order to educate the residents of Lagos – and by extension our children and our children’s children – in particular, and Nigerians in general.

Do you think the Yoruba are owners of Lagos?

Because of Lagos’ geographical position in the South-West of Nigeria – which is predominantly Yoruba – it doesn’t make the Yoruba owners of Lagos. It is a fact that most of these Yoruba have their own states of origin (other than Lagos State).

Since Lagos does not belong to the Yoruba, are the Bini the original owners of Lagos?

Not at all! Lagos never belonged to the Bini. Only the monarch came from Benin, that is, Ashipa, the father of the first Oba of Lagos (King Ado).

So, who does Lagos belong to? Do you think it belongs to the Awori?

Yes, it belongs to them. The Awori are the owners of Lagos. The Awori and the Bini are not the same. The Awori, being the first settlers, came through the hinterland and have their own language – apparently different from that of the Bini language – and, which is closer to the Yoruba than to the Bini. In fact, the Awori believe that they are sons and daughters of Oduduwa.

Are there any historical facts about Lagos that support your argument?

The position of history is that they, the Awori, have the legitimate claim to the ownership of Lagos. In fact, the land where the Oba of Lagos resides was given to Oba Akinsemoyin of Lagos by the then Chief Aromire of Lagos, who was an Awori.

It is the belief of some Lagosians that Lagos history is being distorted for political reasons. Is that how you feel too?

I think and believe that the history of the original Lagosians is being distorted for political and selfish purposes. What you are currently doing will assist us to set the records straight and resolve the issue (of who the original owners of Lagos are) amicably. Otherwise, if there is no amicable resolution of this contentious issue, some mischief-makers will still not accept the fact s of history for some obvious reasons.

The Lagos monarch, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, once said Lagos belongs to the Bini. Do you agree with him?

No, I do not agree with him. He was wrong to have said that Lagos belongs to the Bini. Are you aware that during the reign of His Royal Majesty, Oba Musendiku Adeniji Adele, the late Oba of Lagos (who died in 1965), he used to speak Awori language with his chiefs? It will also interest you to know that most of the indigenes of Isale Eko and its environs were also speaking the Awori language. Besides, I was an eyewitness to that claim. In fact, my paternal grandmother, Princess Fatumo Duro-Orike Bioshogan Akinsemoyin, who was the Erelu Oba of Lagos, used to speak the Awori language. I am 72 years old; what I am telling you are facts of the history of our beloved and unique Lagos. It is an abomination to twist the history of a people for whatever reason. Let me furnish you with another important piece of information: it is interesting to note that Oba Akinsemoyin of Lagos married an Awori as a wife, who was (my) great-great-grandmother.

I am a Lagosian; I am a prince with a legitimate claim to the royalty. I am from Akinsemoyin Ruling House. I grew up in Isalegangan and Isale Eko. I used to follow my grandmother, a princess and chief of Lagos, to the Oba’s palace. My grandmother told us how her great-grandfather, Oba Akinsemoyin, went on self-exile to Apa, in the Badagry axis and married an Awori woman. I witnessed how Isale Eko indigenes used to speak the Awori language – even the traditional drummers’ drumbeats (gbedu) reverberated with songs in the Awori language.

If the Awori own the land in Lagos, the Bini, Lagos royalty – as claimed by some Lagosians – doesn’t that lend credence to the belief that Lagos is no man’s land?
Never! No, it does not. I have categorically made it clear to you that Lagos is not no man’s land – mischief-makers can say whatever they like. Yes, they can have their say, but we will have our way. Lagos belongs to the indigenes of Lagos just like everybody residing in their various villages claim to be the indigenes of those places – what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If people are not greedy, why should they be claiming two states of origin? Their action short-changes the (original) Lagos indigenes who have no other place to claim as their home. It is high time we adopted what is being practised in the United States of America as regards claiming to belong to one state at a time. For instance, somebody was a commissioner in Lagos State; later, he moved to his (original) state of origin to become the governor. It is unfair to Lagos indigenes.

Could that be one of the reasons some Lagosians kicked against Prof. Wole Soyinka’s choice as chairman ofas they felt slighted that a ‘foreigner’ was chosen ahead of many illustrious Lagos indigenes? And do you agree with them?

I agreed with those Lagosians who rejected Prof. Wole Soyinka’s choice as the chairman ofLagos is blessed with people of integrity and talent; people with impeccable character and sagacity. Everyone knows that there are many qualified Lagosians for that position given to Prof. Soyinka. Tell me, could that happen in any other states in Nigeria? Do you think other people will allow that in their states? Please, let us be honest; let us be fair to one another. Which state in Nigeria could that have happened?

Some people are claiming that Lagos indigenes are being pushed away from the foreground in Lagos State’s scheme of things. Is that how you feel too?

I feel that we, Lagosians, are being marginalised and unfairly treated. They – the people who are marginalising us – are able to do this because we are in the minority and coupled with the Nigerian constitution that does not take into cognisance the interests of Lagos indigenes. I also feel this is happening because we are very accommodating, God-fearing, generous, and tolerant.


https://punchng.com/lagos-never-belonged-to-bini-prince-adebiyi/

All of us are indigenes of Lagos . Those that pay taxes and other rates to Lagos state government . Those that have contributed to the development of the state in one way or the other. Those that don't have anywhere to go if there is crises. Those that have brighter future for the state. These are the true indigenes of Lagos

Awori own Lagos land, Bini produce Oba – Prof. Smith

Published

December 3, 2017

The President of Eko Foundation, Prof. Imran Smith (SAN), in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE, alleges that the deliberate falsification of the facts of history to suit selfish ends is responsible for the controversy over the original ownership of Lagos

Can you tell us about your ancestry and what you were told while growing up about the original owners of Lagos?

My forefathers hailed from the Olowogbowo area of Lagos. My late grandfather, Chief Abudu Rahman Abiodun Smith, a wealthy merchant, was the Osi of Lagos during the reign of Oba Adeniji Adele II. I belong to the fourth generation of a family well known in the Olowogbowo area of Lagos Island for centuries. My family houses still exist at 51/55 Offin Road, 107 and 109A Alakoro, Marina. We never sold any of our family property to buy another. Also, to let you know that unlike many people in Lagos State, I don’t have any other state to lay claims to apart from Lagos – as my late mother, a princess, also hailed from Badagry. When I was growing up on the Island, the perception of everyone in Lagos was lack of differentiation between the indigenes and the non-indigenes. The children of non-indigenes were given the privilege of registering for primary school education along with the indigenes using the surnames of the indigenes living in the same agboole (compound).

There was no social or religious barrier and non-indigenes were given the opportunity to hold political positions. Many of our sisters and aunties got married to non-indigenes without any cause for concern. (Lagos) indigenes were liberal to a fault. The sense of belonging accorded the non-indigenes was unprecedented in the social history of Nigeria, and the differences between social groups, inconsequential. There were informal adoptions of children of indigent non-indigenes by wealthy indigenes and legitimising certain acquired social status by prescription, consequently resulting in the social emancipation of palace aides and servants.

Because Lagos is in the South-West, can we say it is owned by the Yoruba?

The fact that Lagos is owned by the Yoruba cannot be controverted and this is so, notwithstanding the Bini connections with Lagos. I say this because the history of the Edo themselves is intrinsically interwoven with the cradle of the Yoruba in Ile Ife. The Olofin, the progenitor of the Awori people in Lagos, also migrated from Ile-Ife.

Some have claimed Lagos belongs to the Bini. What is your view?

While I endorse the view that the history of Lagos is not formed without an account of the interface with the Bini, it is not correct to say that Lagos belongs to the Bini. The phrase ‘belongs to’ is antithetical to the actual relationship between the indigenous people of Lagos and the Bini warriors sometime in the 18th Century. From historical account, as summarised by the evidence before the court in Onisiwo v. Attorney General and Amodu Tijani v, the Secretary for Southern Nigeria, the original settlers of Lagos were the Awori, the descendants of Olofin. Olofin had settled around the Iddo area around the 16th century as the first settler. He was later joined there by one Ogunfunminire, a Yoruba prince from Ile-Ife, who had his base in Isheri about 20km from Iddo. From Iddo, they began to establish settlements all over the nearby island of Eko and the mainland of Ebute Metta. Subsequently, Olofin parcelled out the island and part of the adjoining mainland among some 16 subordinate chiefs known as the ‘white-cap chiefs’ in recognition of their dominion over portions parcelled out to them.

The contact with the Bini, which is of great significance to the throne of the Oba of Lagos today, occurred in the 18th Century with the conquest of the Iddo – the first settlement of the Olofin, by the Bini warriors and the appointment of a regent known as the Eleko by the then Oba of Benin as the ruler of the island. The first and successive Elekos became the Oba of Lagos, acknowledging the suzerainty and sovereignty of the Oba of Benin and paying tribute to him until sometime in 1850 when payment of tribute was stopped and the Oba of Lagos asserted his independence.

A more detailed historical account of the Awori’s interface with the Bini is contained in the work of an eminent Lagosian, Chief Musliu Anibaba, titled ‘The Lagosian of the 20th Century’. In the book, the learned author refers to the regent of the Oba of Benin after the Iddo conquest as ‘Ashipa’ who died before he was installed as Oba. He claims that his son, Ado, was subsequently crowned formally as the Oba of Lagos with all the paraphernalia of that office; that Oba Ado established a meeting place on a pepper farm said to belong to Chief Aromire – a white-cap chief, which he donated to the Oba. The meeting place, according to the author, later became the Oba’s palace in Lagos, now known as the Iga Idunganran. Idunganran, according to the author, was formed from Idun (farm) and Iganran (pepper). Oba Ado, according to him, was succeeded by two sons, Oba Gabaro and Oba Akinsemoyin, and a daughter, Erelu Kuti – all of Bini royalty. It is worthy of note that all the Obas who reigned in Lagos, including the late Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, were all descendants of Erelu Kuti of the Bini royalty. Thus, it is therefore established from the historical accounts that I have just given,  that while the royalty in Lagos has Edo (the Bini) origin, the white-cap chiefs of Lagos, who are landowners (or landlords of the royal houses of Lagos) are the descendants of Olofin of Awori origin.

Should we then conclude that the Awori own Lagos?
If by ‘owning Lagos’ people meant owning the parcels of land forming the territory of Lagos, the answer is yes. Again, as I said, since the late 18th Century when the Oba of Lagos stopped paying tribute to the Oba of Benin, the independence of Oba of Lagos from any external control or influence came to an end. However, I should quickly add that the proprietary interests of the Awori have been streamlined and converted to rights of occupancy (popularly known as deemed grants) sequel to the enactment of the Land Use Act in 1978. There is an understanding between the royalty in Lagos and the landowners regarding existing arrangements and there is no argument as to the status. Credence is given to the view that the Awori ‘own land’ in Lagos by the popular protests of the white-cap chiefs following the Treaty of Cession in 1861 under which Oba Dosunmu (the descendant of Ado through Erelu Kuti) purportedly ceded land in Lagos to the British Crown on the grounds that he, Dosunmu, could not have given away what did not belong to him or to the throne, which fact was endorsed by subsequent judicial interpretations of the effect of the Treaty of Cession.

It is said that the Bini and the Awori are the same. Do you hold that same view?

The Bini and the Awori are not the same, although they regard themselves, metaphorically, as kinsmen due to antecedents of history. History has it that between the mid-15th Century and the 18th Century, the Awori landowners, the Bini royalty and their retinues, who initially settled at Iddo, extended their activities to Isale Eko on the Lagos Island. This socialisation process culminated in the proliferation of the use of Edo names or their combination with Awori names adopted as street names, as we know them today. Such names include Idunmoyinbo, Iduntafa, Idunmota, Enu-Owa, Agodokome, etc.

What is the position of history on who has the legitimate claim to the ownership of Lagos?

A good account of this is contained in the well-researched work of Chief Musliu Anibaba titled: ‘A Lagosian of the 20th Century’ and my response to your question would be premised on this monumental work. Apart from the early settlement of the Awori and the old Bini dynasty, consequent upon the conquest by the Edo as earlier pointed out, there exist other settlements from where the true indigenes of Lagos can be located. The boost in trading activities with the white men by the mid-19th Century saw the area known as Ehingbeti merging with neighbouring areas such as Ereko, Alakoro and its environs to form the Olowogbowo district of the Lagos Island. The arrival of the freed slaves from Sierra Leone with their acquired skills and enormous wealth contributed to trading activities in and the consequent economic development of Lagos. The Brazilian Quarters of the Popo Agudas, which emerged in the mid-19th Century, was another settlement for the freed slaves of Yoruba origin arriving from Brazil.

These free slaves occupied the area from Tinubu Square to Bamgbose, Campus and Lafiaji and with their imported wealth and skills, they changed the architectural edifice of Popo Aguda and contributed to the economic prosperity of Lagos. The affluent sons and daughters of Isale Eko found a new location in the Oko Faji district of Lagos comprising Agarawu, Aroloya, Isalegangan up to the Okepopo area of Lagos, while the returnees with Oba Kosoko from exile in Epe found another settlement in an area called Epetedo area of Lagos. It is said that apart from the royal families and the ‘landowners’, a true indigene of Lagos should be able to trace his ancestral root to any of the settlements mentioned. To anybody who is in doubt regarding who an indigene of Lagos is, these various settlements offer a useful guide.

Does it matter at all who the original owners of Lagos are?
It is important to know who the original owners of Lagos are, to obviate the wobbled thinking that Lagos belongs to no one. The account I have given would show not only that the indigenes of Lagos are ascertainable, but is also a pointer to the fact that these indigenes reserve the right to be in the forefront of political, social and economic activities within their domain.

Why do you think that the history of the original Lagosians is being debated?

This has been as a result of distorted oral traditional history and, until recently, the dearth of materials on the history of Lagos, conflicting versions of the history of Lagos and deliberate falsification of the facts of history to suit selfish ends. For people, who are mindful of the importance of history in the overall development of the local community, the state or country, there are sources of information in existing works by writers and authentic colonial papers in the archives. For example, I am aware of existing literature on the history of Lagos written by eminent Lagosians such as Chief Musliu Anibaba (Bada of Lagos), Alhaji Lateef Olufemi Okunnu (SAN), and Mr. Olasupo Shasore (SAN), to mention a few. People should purge themselves of abysmal ignorance and create time to read existing literature. Existing literature and authentic colonial papers unequivocally point to the fact that Lagos is not a no-man’s land and that it belongs to certain people who have been identified.

Not a few people agreed with the Lagos monarch, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, that Lagos belongs to the Bini. Could his words be taken as the gospel?

As I said earlier, this cannot be apt. I reiterate that while the royalty in Lagos is of Edo origin, the white-cap chiefs of Lagos, who are the landowners (or landlords of the royal houses of Lagos), are descendants of Olofin of Awori origin.

How do you feel about the claim that those who are not original owners of Lagos have taken over the social and political landscape of the state?

Before I answer your question, let me quickly observe that while we all clamour for facts about the history of Lagos, we seem to have lost sight of other components of Lagos State. Nobody appears to be interested in the history of Ikeja, Epe, Ikorodu or indeed, the very rich history of Badagry with all those historical monuments. This is not good enough. Now, back to your question. It is sad that in spite of the liberal attitudes of indigenes and the kind gestures of their forebears to non-indigenes, (Lagos) indigenes have since become second-class citizens in their own state. From Ogun State to Borno State, Lagos is the only state in Nigeria where indigenes are not relevant in governance. It is the only state where, in spite of their sound educational background and wealth of experience as professionals, indigenes are marginalised in political appointments and stepped down in the civil service. Appointments are replete with violations of the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and the Federal Character Commission Act. Elective positions have become the permanent preserve of non-indigenes who have become permanent political power brokers surreptitiously using the cutting edge of party politics to sideline indigenes and select non-indigenes for election into various political positions. It (Lagos) is the only state where the speaker of the State House of Assembly, the governor of the state and the chief judge are all non-indigenes.

Lagos is the only state where a non-indigene would serve as a legislator from Lagos in the House of Representatives while at the same time joining the governorship race in his true state of origin. Most important of all, it is the only state where a monarch has turned against his subjects and subjected them to odium, contempt and ridicule. What a shame! While I condemn in absolute terms, the atounrinwa (foreigner) syndrome embraced by the governor of Ogun State in excluding non-indigenes from governance, and fervently believe that non-indigenes are our brothers and sisters with whom we have worked together for decades for the progress of our dear state, I cannot but complain about the oppressive attitude of the government of the day and some uncomplimentary remarks of certain non-indigenes about the indigenes and their state. Once the marginalisation and oppression of indigenes are addressed by the extant regime, I should be the happiest man on earth.


https://punchng.com/awori-own-lagos-land-bini-produce-oba-prof-smith/

The Oba of Lagos has since denied saying Lagos is not Yorubaland.

The current Lagos Obaship may have non Yoruba origin but it passed to the Yoruba in the 3rd generation.

Anyone who has seen the Lagos obaship generational chart can confirm this.

Aworis own Lagos...

I never said Benin owned Lagos – Oba Akiolu

December 11, 2017Oladeinde Olawoyin


The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, on Monday said he never said that the Benin people owned Lagos.

The monarch spoke in Victoria Island, Lagos, at the launch of “Defend the Defenseless”, a book written by Arese Carrington, wife of a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington.

Mr. Akiolu was reacting to controversies generated by his earlier remarks that the developmental strides being witnessed in Lagos State was because of the blessings given to it by a past Oba of Benin.

The comment generated debates in the media with many contesting the monarch’s position.

In a recent interview with PUNCH, Sammy Adebiyi, a prince of the Akinsemoyin Ruling House of Lagos, who is contesting rights to the throne of Oba of Lagos, said that the Awori are the original owners of Lagos.

Mr. Adebiyi added that neither the Benin (then called Bini) nor the Yoruba owned Lagos.

Apparently making reference to reactions generated by his earlier comments, Mr. Akiolu on Monday took shots at those who criticised him, saying many of them are not “bonafide sons of Lagos.”

The monarch promised to reply his critics by next year when he begins celebration of his 15th year on the throne as king.

“I never said Bini owned Lagos… but the influence of the Oba of Benin, nobody can wash it away in Lagos,” he said.
“You must have been reading many things in the newspapers. By the grace of God Almighty Allah, next year when I begin to celebrate my 15th anniversary, they will know the kind of person Oba Akiolu is.”

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/252183-i-never-said-benin-owned-lagos-oba-akiolu.html

Group To Oba Of Lagos: Don’t Rewrite Yoruba History

Lagos – Lagos youths under the auspices of Awori Progressive Youths Movement, (APYM), has expressed displeasure with the Oba of Lagos, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rilwan Akiolu,over his attempt to distort the Yoruba history for parochial and egocentric ends.

The group accused the Oba of making unfounded statements aimed at rewriting unblemished history of the Yoruba people.

“We are shocked at the utterances attributed to the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiola and his protégés who have embarked on a conscious war of attrition against other prominent traditional rulers in Yorubaland under the guise of speaking for the people of Lagos’’, a statement signed by Abiodun Eniola stated’’ .

The group described as a fallacy claims by the Oba of Lagos that Awori migrated from Bini.

Eniola said the Awori are Yoruba people who migrated from Ile-Ife and were the first to settle in the territory referred to as Lagos today. He said there is a small piece of land referred to as Eko but that this small piece of land does not represent the entire Lagos, the place being less than 0.1 percent of the Lagos land mass. “If the current Oba of Lagos thinks he is not a Yoruba man, he is free to go back to where he comes from and leave but he cannot take Lagos away.

He stated that the Awori people migrated from Ile Ife in 10th century, and occupy present day Lagos state, with a considerable section of the Awori clan occupying areas within Ogun State as a direct fall out of the creation of Ogun State in 1976. Towns including Isheri, Ota, Igbesa, Ilobi, Tigbo are all Awori settlements within today’s Ogun State in Nigeria. The settlement of the Awori clan preceded the establishment of Abeokuta as an Egba kingdom in 1832, as Isheri, the foremost Awori town within present day Ogun State was settled in the 15th century.

The Awori are direct descendants of Olofin, one of the sons of Oduduwa – the father of the Yoruba nation. As such, in accordance with Yoruba custom, they brought their crown along with them from Ile Ife. Osolo, one of the sons of Prince Olofin, settled at the Osi quarters as his father and his brother journeyed further south from the place where the plate sank at Idumota. The first crowned Oba at Ota was Oba Akinsewa Ogbolu in 1621, he was the son of Osolo.

According to him, there was no presence of Bini in Lagos territory until 400 years after the Awori has established Lagos and ruled over it. He said the Bini angle only came with the coming of Oba Ado, a Prince from Bini He said it was the Awori that received Ado and that it was based on the believe that he was also a son of the Oduduwa that he was allowed to be King in one of the lands in Lagos Island. He said the Oba of Benin later sent some of his chiefs, including the Eletu Odibo, Obanikoro and others, to assist Ado in the running of Eko.

He said over the years, the identity of the Bini has been assimilated into the greater Yoruba culture the way the Majesty of England that came from Hanover in Germany have been assimilated by the English.

https://www.independent.ng/group-oba-lagos-dont-rewrite-yoruba-history/amp/

This is the truth.

ICYMI: Bini, not Yoruba, are original owners of Lagos – Ajayi-Bembe

November 19, 2017

A former President of the Association of Lagos State Indigenes, Chief Layi Ajayi-Bembe, in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE says the real owners of Lagos are the Bini, not the Yoruba

What is your lineage as a Lagosian?

My grandfather was Ajayi Bembe; the eighth Obanikoro of Lagos – my father was the last of his children. My mother was the first child of Gbajabiamila (of Olowogbowo fame) – of course, of Lagos. When it comes to the ownership of Lagos, it is sad when people talk about Lagos being no man’s land or Lagos being part of Yoruba land – I consider that position to be an abomination. Yes, because of the affinity or geographical location of Lagos, we’re nearer to the South-West (the Yoruba) than to other regions. It should be stated that Lagos has always been independent of the West. When I returned from England, (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo was in prison; before I came back to Nigeria, there had been agitations that Lagos wasn’t part of the West. No doubt that a lot of us speak Yoruba – in my family, we’re Bini. Oba of Lagos (Rilwan Akiolu) was completely right that the early settlers in Lagos were the Awori and the Bini. We’re talking about the Island of Lagos.

Extending it to the east of Lagos, you have Oshodi, the Tapa (from Niger State) were there. And, of course, we knew one another. I don’t understand why some of our brothers in the West think that we can be enslaved by them. In all my years, I have not seen what Afenifere has done for Lagos to inspire me because during the last constitutional conference, they were not talking about Lagos; they were talking about themselves. Don’t forget that the so-called Edo State was part of the West before. But to say Lagos is part of Yoruba land is not fair; it is not charitable. And when kabiyesi now said, Lagos is Bini, not only because we came from Benin, there are signs and relics of Benin all over Isale Eko. And obas (in Lagos) – we don’t call them ‘obas’, we call them ‘eleko’.

My grandfather said in 1903 that when there was a dispute of which traditional rulers should wear crowns – my grandfather was at that meeting. Ooni of Ife had to come all the way from Ife to Lagos upon the invitation of Governor (John Hawley) Glover. And the question they asked him (Ooni) was, ‘Who are the obas that should wear crowns?’ He mentioned them – Lagos was not part of the list. We don’t wear crowns in Lagos.

I remember, Pa Edegbele – that’s Prof. Edegbele’s father – when he said ‘oba’ is alien to Yoruba land that only the Bini use that title, there was a furore over that. But Edegbele was right. Note that politicians have done a lot of havoc in Yoruba land more than in other regions of the country. Nobody is going to doubt the hegemony of the Sultan of Sokoto in the North

. But the Yoruba are fond of creating problems among themselves in Yoruba land. Permit me to digress: look at the recent installation of some kings in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. A governor created 21 kings, for what? Is that what the people need at a time when the masses are hungry, civil servants are owed salaries and basic amenities are not available? It now appears there are more rulers than the ruled.

Are you saying Lagos belongs to the Bini people?

Lagos belongs to us – the Bini. When you get to Enuowa, they (the inhabitants) pay homage to Oba of Benin there. Enuowa is in Lagos; Idumota is like a Bini name; Iduntafa is Bini name; Idunmagbo is Bini name; Iduganran is Bini name; tell me, what further proof do you want (that the Bini own Lagos)? Why have some people tried hard to erode our identity and the labour of our ancestors?

Today, if you go to the Lagos State Secretariat, you’ll hardly see the original indigenes of the state hold a prominent position. So, why are people crying about the quota system? You don’t ‘quotarise’ knowledge. Whatever is the case, I believe that the indigenes of Lagos – by the way, I was president of Association of Lagos Indigenes for almost 15 years – we know how our resources were plundered and carted away. Look at the fiasco called ‘Lagos @50’. The state government doesn’t recognise the true indigenes of Lagos State.

Some of the indigenes work with them for the purpose of getting whatever they can get from the government. Some people are trying so hard to maintain the stupidity that Lagos doesn’t belong to anybody – that’s annoying.

What about Alhaji Femi Okunnu’s view of the Awori being the original owners of Lagos?

I am not a lawyer but Femi Okunnu is a lawyer – a Senior Advocate of Nigeria for that matter. On the issue of the original owners of Lagos, my attention was drawn to an article focused on the Idunganran celebration.

Mr. Femi Okunnu happened to be my mentor; he was an inspiration to me particularly when I returned from England. He was not only elder ‘brother’ to me because we lived close together. They were living at No. 1 Ido Olowu Street and I was living at No. 7 Ido Olowu Street. I have known him for a long time. I remember when he came back from England as a young and vibrant lawyer. When Femi Okunnu himself was the Federal Commissioner for Works during the military regime, he was the one who actually acquired the area where you have the National Theatre, Iganmu. From whom did he acquire it? He got it from the indigenes; my grandfather had a place there. We must have a good perspective of history.

People should learn not to mutilate history. The owners of Lagos are not the Yoruba; they are the Bini. We are Bini; there’s no ambiguity about that. To prove it further, the obas or the elekos, when they died, their bodies were taken to Benin for burial for a time. Tell me, who owns the land then?

Who are the Awori? The Awori and the Bini are the same. If an Awori spoke to me when I was young, I understood him. My parents spoke Awori. The Awori are partly from Dahomey and partly from Benin. My forebears came from the riverine area through the Bight of Benin and settled in Badagry for a long time before moving down to Lagos. And when they moved down to Lagos where did they go? They went to Idunsagbe – a place famed for Bini culture and tradition. I am an Awori.

Tell me, which state did they create for the Awori now? If you say the indigenous people of Lagos State are the Awori, then the Awori are the Bini. We must put history in its right perspective. The right perspective is that Lagos does not belong to the Yoruba; it belongs to the Bini. According to the Lyttleton Constitution, the West was created; the North was created and Lagos was made a colony and it later regained its independence.

Some may argue that the original Lagosians didn’t protect their legacy, allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry to hold sway politically and economically.


It is true that Lagos is open to everybody that could bring ideas. But when it comes to certain elements within the political spectrum in Nigeria… Look at it this way, will it surprise you that a representative of Lagos who calls himself a Lagosian representing the state in the National Assembly went to Kogi State to vie for the governorship? Isn’t that insulting?

Some are even saying once (Osun State Governor, Rauf) Aregbesola has completed his tenure in Osun, he will come back to Lagos to contest a senatorial seat. We called Bola Tinubu, sat him down and told him how we accepted him and he let us down. I know the role I played when Bola Tinubu was coming in; when I gave him my second cousin, (Musiliu) Obanikoro to go along with him (I don’t talk to that one (Obanikoro) again after he had his hand in something embarrassing; because you don’t disgrace your family). I am not looking for anything from them. It is very wrong that people should trivialise the affairs of Lagos.

For example, we kicked against (Prof. Wole) Soyinka being made the chairman of the Lagos @50 celebration. But nobody listened to us. Look at the fiasco; was it a success? Who bothered about it? People who will not celebrate the living are celebrating the dead – it doesn’t go beyond that. You acquire land from me for a public purpose and the next thing you did was to share it with your siblings, friends and other loved ones.

It is really sad for people to proclaim Lagos as no man’s land. Lagos is so accommodating; it is only here you see an Igbo man being made a commissioner. Even the Yoruba that are shouting, how many Lagosians are in their cabinets? They all live in Lagos; we know them. Some of them benefitted from the liberty Lagos offers. But ask them: what have they done for their host communities? Can you imagine Orji Kalu, who bought land here, saying Lagos belongs to nobody? They just talk.

Don’t you think Prof. Wole Soyinka deserved to have been the chairman of the Lagos @50 celebration?

I am not used to Soyinka and I don’t want to be acquainted with him. It is unfortunate that because he was made the chairman of Lagos @50, he began to insult people, claiming that his father had a land in Lagos. We traced the land – one plot of land – and discovered that the land was bought from my grandfather.

People like him go around insulting others. Has he not insulted Femi Okunnu before? Tell me who Wole Soyinka has never insulted? He is part of the Tinubu group. Is he not an Ogun man? I don’t think he has a right to say that Lagos is no man’s land. Who is he to say that?

I think Okunnu knew better; I don’t think he meant what he said the way the press reported him. What he said is that Lagos is ‘part’ of Yoruba land; he didn’t say it was owned by the Yoruba. We need to be discreet in our definition. Geographically, we’re in the West and culturally, we speak Yoruba. If an Igbo man speaks Yoruba fluently, does that make him a Yoruba?

Go to Lagos State House of Assembly and count how many of them are truly Lagos indigenes. Again, Okunnu was an active participant in the creation of Lagos State together with (Philip) Asiodu and Alison Ayida. They facilitated the creation of the state; there was a western state then. If Okunnu had advocated the merger of Lagos with the western region then, one would have thought otherwise.

Wole Soyinka didn’t want Lagos to be created at that time. Soyinka used to be very radical but having got into the group of Bola Tinubu’s scientific imposition, he has been mellowing down. Soyinka would be the one that would stand for the truth when people were accused of certificate forgery and other ills. He was always at the forefront; he has become a turncoat. What happened to him? I respected him; he may not know me and he doesn’t need to know me.

So, you think Okunnu is on the same page with you when he talked about the early settlers of Lagos?

I believe Okunnu was actually agitating for the indigenes. He was president of Lagos State indigenes before me – we have Isale Eko Descendants Union, which we all belong to. All I am saying is this: Lagos is not part of Yoruba. The settlers are Bini. Wasn’t Benin part of the West before until the Mid-West was created? The Bini agitated for that, insisting that we’re not part of the Yoruba. Why can’t the Yoruba leave us alone for God’s sake? My grandfather went to court in 1889 to claim all the lands that belonged to him. He got a judgment. Then some people said, these lands were too much for one family – the place now called Ikorodu Road, they acquired it – for how much? For £27,000! My grandfather wasn’t around; he’s dead. But they forgot that this man gave them a land to build the first police barracks in Lagos.

How could Bola Tinubu come all the way from wherever he came from (Kafaru brought him to me, turn Lagos into a place for Osun people in the secretariat).

They’re radicalising the owners of Lagos with the way they’re acting. By the time they stand up you’ll be shocked. What are the people asking for? Give them what they deserve. Show them some respect. Okunnu did a lot for Lagos State; most parts of Victoria Island were sand-filled by the Federal Government. He and his colleagues at King’s College were able to excise Victoria Island and gave it to Lagos. In fact, Okunnu has done more for Lagos than any governor. Okunnu had his roots in Isale Eko.

https://punchng.com/bini-not-yoruba-are-original-owners-of-lagos-ajayi-bembe/

What I am doing is to curate the views on the subject matter.

Analysis will follow.

ICYMI: Awori are the original inhabitants, owners of Lagos — Okunnu

November 20, 2017

A former Federal Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Olufemi Okunnu (SAN), in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE, describes Lagosians as accommodating but deserving of respect
Is it true that Lagos is no man’s land?

There is no place called ‘No Man’s Land’ in the world. Every parcel of land has its own history. Lagos has its own history and the original inhabitants of Lagos – the Aworis – settled over 500 years ago. I have said it many times recently that Lagos has its own indigenes. The Aworis were the first group of settlers who inhabited Lagos city and suburbs. Maybe some centuries after, there was the invasion by the Binis, the Edo-speaking people, who invaded Lagos and set up their own institutions. In fact, the obashipof Lagos has a lot to do with the Benin Kingdom. So, the Binis also invaded and settled in Lagos. Oba of Lagos is of Edo or Bini origin, not Yoruba, and all the other chiefs, who came with the first oba, that is, Ado — I am talking of a group of white-cap chiefs called Akarigbere — also are of Bini origin.

The Akarigberes include the following chiefs: Eletu Odigbo, Eletu Iwashe, Eletu Ika, Ologun Agbaje, Ologun Adodo, Eletu Awo, Ologun Agan, Ologun Atebo, Ologun Igbesodi and Ologun Ide Okoro. All these were Binis or Edo-speaking, with their families, and they settled largely in the Isale Eko, Idunmota and Idunshagbe parts of Lagos Island. When you hear of Idunmota, Idunshagbe, Idunmaigbo, Idunmagbo, etc., ‘Idun’ means area — Bini origin. They, not Yorubas, settled there. Apart from the Akarigbere class of chiefs, there were also the Abagbon class of chiefs, who came with Ado, again Binis: Ashogbon (war chiefs), Bajulaiye (‘Bazuaye’ as they call it in Benin today), Saba, Bajulu, Bashua (which is another form of ‘Bazua’). They were all Bini or Edo-speaking, not Yoruba.

Are you saying that the Binis too can claim ownership of Lagos?

What I’m trying to emphasise is that Lagos, in terms of indigenes, is not only the Yoruba, although they don’t speak Bini language now because they have all abandoned Bini language; it is not spoken among them. They are all Yoruba-speaking like the Fulani, who conquered the Hausa. The Kano people don’t speak Fula; they speak Hausa, the language of the conquered. So, you don’t hear the Bini, who settled in Lagos some three centuries ago, speaking Bini any longer. They speak the language of the people they found there.

So, who owns Lagos?

The Idejo class of chiefs in Lagos are of Awori origin. They are the land-owning class of chiefs. They owned Olumegbon (the whole of Ajah belonged to the Olumegbon chieftaincy family); Oniru (the whole of Victoria Island); Ojomu, next door to Ajah (there is Oba Ojomu now); Elegushi (the land being at Ikate); the Onisemo. The whole of Apapa Peninsula used to belong to the Oluwa family. The British compulsorily acquired the whole of Apapa and paid compensation to them. The Ojora of Lagos (that is Ijora) were the original settlers. Apart from the Aworis and the Binis, you have another wave of immigrants to Lagos.

The Tapa and Nupe people from Niger State were another class of immigrants into Lagos. Again, they spoke no Yoruba, but they were even more Yoruba than the Yoruba. They married (from the Yoruba) and settled. A good number of us — I have Nupe blood. Part of my blood is Nupe. By way of speaking, part of it also Bini; and part of it also Yoruba – Owu, Abeokuta – and some other strands from other parts of Yoruba land. So, Lagos is a microcosm of ethnic groups. You can’t say it is 100 per cent Yoruba. Mark you; there are Yoruba-speaking (settlers) apart from the Aworis, (like) the Ijebus in Ikorodu, in Epe. There are Eguns also in Badagry division, who are indigenes; they are not Yoruba. Then you have mass migration also from Yoruba land – Ekiti, Ijebu, Ijesha, and all such – you have them there. When you talk about Agodo Egba, for example, that is the homestead of Egba settlers. And Agodo Egba is the heart of Isale Eko. The Ogundinmus come from that area.

Lagos, like I said, is a microcosm and it is also very cosmopolitan. To say Lagos is no man’s land is like saying Nigeria is no man’s land. The people who settled in Lagos — the Saros, the freed slaves who came from Freetown, Sierra Leone; those who came from Brazil, the freed slaves from Cuba, are in the Aguda (Brazilian Quarters) part of Lagos Island. They are all indigenes of Lagos. So, anybody who says Lagos is no man’s land does not know what he or she is talking about. The person knows nothing about Lagos.

What made the settlers from Benin, Brazil, Nupe and all these other places come to Lagos? What was the attraction?

It is the nature of Lagos. Some of them settled elsewhere but about the Brazilians, most of them settled in Lagos. They didn’t settle neither in Ijebu Ode nor Ibadan because Lagos is by the sea; so, a good number of them came to Lagos to settle.

Was Lagos originally part of Western Nigeria?

Lagos is older than western Nigeria. You heard me talk of five centuries ago; the present Lagos State was colonised by Britain in 1861. There was no Western Nigeria at that time; so, Lagos is older than Western Nigeria. Western Nigeria didn’t come into being until about 1938 when the Southern Protectorate, created by Britain in 1900, was split into two. Southern Protectorate was split into West and East and in 1938, we had the Western provinces, small divisions like Ijebu Ode Province, Egba Province, Oyo Province, Ondo Province and other groups of provinces but Western Nigeria was created only in 1938. Lagos was created as a British colony in 1861. So, Lagos is older than Western Nigeria by 78 years. The Western provinces then became Western Region in 1946 under the Richards Constitution. The provincial system, the Western provinces, came in when Sir Bourdillon was governor of Nigeria and Western State came into being only in 1967. So, Lagos is by far older than the rest of Nigeria as a colony.

Why do you think the original Lagosians do not seem to be defending the heritage of Lagos?

They are very much defensive of the heritage. Take ‘Eyo’ festivals for example; that’s when you see an old Lagos. They are defensive but they are fewer in number compared to non-Lagosians. The number is dwindling and the percentage is getting smaller. What you had before in the majority of the people, indigenes of Lagos becoming 70 per cent, 60 per cent, 40 per cent. The population of Lagos State is estimated to be around 18 million. The indigenes are only a microscopic minority. I don’t think we are up to five per cent of the population of Lagos now. That is the disadvantage we have, non-indigenes virtually taking over the governance of Lagos.

There is this issue about the original Lagosians not having enough representation in governance….

Democracy is a game of numbers, and personally, I would wish for Nigeria a democracy in which an indigene of Lagos could be governor of Kano State and a man from Calabar or Sokoto will be the governor of Lagos State. That is my own dream and the dream of people of my own generation. Unfortunately, politicians have messed up the whole country and are talking too much about ethnicity. Old Lagos didn’t know about any ethnicity. There was a saying that ‘Eko gba ole, o gba ole’ (Lagos accommodates the thieves and lazy people). All manner of people from different parts of the country settled in Lagos and were welcome. I am not talking of the indigenous people like the Tapas or Binis but I am talking of the people in the past 100 years. And Lagos, until 1950, spoke for Nigeria and still speaks for Nigeria. Nigerian politics is Lagos politics. There was no Nigerian politics outside Lagos until 1950. Lagos spoke for Nigeria. So the cankerworm of ethnicity has now eaten deep into our flesh that everything is reduced to ethnicity. We didn’t worry at all about where you came from in the old Lagos. When I was growing up, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected the first Lagos member in 1946. I wasn’t told, I saw it, I was there. That was 1946. I was 13 years old in primary school. He was from Onitsha, an Igbo man, but Lagos people adored him and they voted for him. I heard Dr. Olorun-nimbe was a Lagosian, while the third member, elected in 1946, was Prince Adeleke Adedoyin from Shagamu. Unfortunately, you now hear of Ohanaeze and Afenifere. I want people to talk more of PDP, APC, political parties, not ethnicity. Ethnicity divides Nigeria, it divided us in compartments. Igbo this way, Yoruba that way and Hausa this way, Efiks behind. You can never build one Nigeria and Nigeria can never be great until we reduce ethnicity to cultural matters.

Would you say a former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, should be commended in this regard?

I’m commending nobody because the emphasis in Nigerian politics today is ethnicity. Afenifere should not be existing now. If you talk of Yoruba culture, Oduduwa, yes. Afenifere was formed by a group of former Action Group members when political parties were banned in the 70s during the military rule. Once the ban was lifted, they transformed into Unity Party (of Nigeria) under (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo. Afenifere should have disappeared completely. If you want to talk about Yoruba culture, that’s a different thing. But Afenifere as a group talking about politics is a form of division. The same applies to Ohanaeze and Arewa. They should not be in politics or they should disappear from the political scene. If you want to promote culture, I’m with you. They should not make political statements. They should leave politics to political parties. Ethnicity divides us.

India, with a population of 1.4 billion, doesn’t emphasise ethnicity. An Indian is an Indian anywhere in the world. They wouldn’t say, ‘I’m from Madras’ or ‘I am Gujarati’. Nigerians should be proud to be called Nigerians anywhere in the world. We are not proud. We prefer to identify ourselves as Fulani, Efik, Ibibio, Ijaw, Tiv or Hausa. Why? The Chinese, who make up the most populous country in the world, don’t say, ‘I am from Shandong’. Nigerians should now learn to refer to themselves as Nigerians. We are not growing economically, politically, socially or culturally. We can’t grow. We won’t grow.

Are you happy that there are Igbo in Lagos holding elective offices?

In Lagos where I grew up, there were Igbo councillors but they didn’t contest elections on the Igbo platform. They contested election on the platform of the Democratic Party founded by Herbert Macaulay in 1922 and the NCNC in 1944 because most of them belonged to that alliance. In those days, there was no ethnic consciousness. There was Nigerian consciousness.

Do you think Nigeria as a whole needs to borrow a leaf from Lagos?

I think so. If Nigeria were Lagos, what a glorious country Nigeria would be. What a prosperous country Nigeria would be for Nigerians to refer to themselves and (for them to) be known as Nigerians, not Ijaw, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba or Edo; where I can contest election anywhere in the country and hope to win.

But there are Lagosians who believe that only Lagosians are qualified to hold political offices in Lagos.

Not the people of Lagos, not the indigenes. The indigenes, as I’ve told you, are very accommodating. The only thing is that you don’t push them out. What they are resisting is being pushed out of their birthplace. They are willing to live with anybody; they have no choice: Freedom of movement of people of this country.

There was a controversy over the choice of Prof. Wole Soyinka as the chairman of theplanning committee because of his Ogun ancestry. Did you see it as an issue?

I saw it as an issue and my advice to the governor at that time was to call the indigenes and make peace with them. The protesters are being left out completely. We don’t leave people who can trace their ancestry back over 500 years. So, there was an issue that ‘yes, we’re celebrating but don’t leave us out’. That’s what they were saying, and especially, as I’ve said earlier, (Lagos is) a cosmopolitan area. I would wish to be asked to head a celebration (committee) in Enugu or Onitsha. I look forward to the day — not at my age now — to be asked to head a committee in Kano, Sokoto, born and bred in Lagos, just as I would wish to see, as there used to be, a Mallam (Umaru) Altini from the North as mayor of Enugu in the 40s.

Besides ethnicity, politicians use religion to divide us. That is not Lagos of old. In the Lagos of those days, you would find Muslims taking part in Christian festivals. You would find, in those days, Christians taking part in Muslim festivals. There’s an old friend, about 94 years old now, a Christian, who said he used to derive pleasure in eating rice or mosa which people used to take to the mosques in those days for early morning prayers. As Muslims, on New Year’s Day or Christmas Day, some of us would gather in front of the Cathedral Church at Marina. We were one people, different religions. But today, they’ve brought religion into politics.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has been overdoing it lately, which is bad. Muslims have endured over the years and have also absorbed some Christian values and practices. In many ways, the governance of Nigeria is Christian. Muslims don’t protest. So, I feel that the CAN leadership today is dividing this country and (there should be) less talk of Nigeria being a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation or Sukuk (Islamic banking). Most of the people who support Islamic banking outside of the country are Christians. So what’s wrong with Islamic or Christian banking?

https://punchng.com/awori-are-the-original-inhabitants-owners-of-lagos-okunnu/

Smart-Cole, who was born of Nigerian and Sierra Leonean parentage is so grounded on most historical accounts of Nigeria’s evolution. This, the septuagenarian, whose boyish looks can easily get anyone jealous, displayed at an encounter in his Lagos residence.
The meeting revealed
Smart-Cole the historian, which perhaps may only be known to a few. With the crux of the interview being the roles of Sierra Leonean returnees in the development of Nigeria, precisely Lagos, Sunmi as his friends call him, discussed his life and many subjects about Nigeria’s historical development.
Commencing with a story told by Chief Femi Okunu, which he wanted to expatiate, Smart-Cole said: “Femi Okunnu said so many things about Lagos that nobody is disputing. He said there was an influx of Tappa people from today’s Niger State. And he said that his great grandfather was an Oshodi on his mother’s side. He said they were great Islamic scholars but he did not mention that the Tappa people were sanitation workers. On TV Continental, I called them sanitary workers. He also said the descendants of freed slaves came from Cuba and Brazil. And he said Sierra Leonean returnees came to Nigeria. A lot of Saro people (the name Sierra Leonean returnees are called in Nigeria) lived in Olowogbowo in Lagos.
“The Tappa had their own quarters, the Brazilians had their own quarters. The man told us that people from Tappa were great Islamic workers but he did not tell us the real work they did. He said Brazilian returnees were good artisans, which is true. They built the Catholic Church on Catholic Mission Street. But he did not mention any line of work done by the Christians, who were mainly Anglicans and Methodists. For instance, a certain Dr. Adeniyi Jones returned to Nigeria as Curtis Crispin Jones.
Chief Okunu mentioned the Tappa but didn’t say much about the Creole and Brazilian returnees. He said Brazilians were artisans but one of them was the first millionaire in Lagos. These people were listed in the Red Book of Africa, a book written in the 20s. And most of them, who were listed, were of Seira Leonean returnee stock. I am not saying that he lied. It is as if he decided to belittle the Creole and their contributions to the development of Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. A Saro man called John Theodore Colcrick was the man, who designed Yaba and Ebute Metta. These were the first parts of Lagos that were designed. He was a Civil Engineer and Town Planner. He had a team of engineers and town planners. One man called Mr. Little was given the job of designing Sabo Market. Money ran out and the man was so annoyed, he said the project must go on and subsequently used his own money to complete the project. It was the cleanest and the most planned market in Lagos.
“The first Director of Education in Nigeria, Dr. Henry Carr was a Creole man. The first Nigerian to build a hospital, Dr. C.C Adeniyi Jones was a Creole man. He came to Nigeria and decided to do something about his Africaness. He picked up an African name because of the way he was treated in England. He could not even properly spell the African name he picked up. He had two daughters. One married Dr. Henry Doherty another one married Engineer Williams. There are more people of Seira Leonian descent in Abeokuta. Okunu is a brilliant SAN but I am not happy when people don’t tell the whole story about issues. It is as if he decided to belittle the Creole and their contributions.
On Sierra Leonean returnees
“He left a village in Freetown called Hastings to study in England. He was an apprentice to a Professor of Medicine and Surgery. One day he went to look for his result on a Saturday morning, he was stopped by a gateman, who refused him entry on the assumption that a black man can not study medicine. The white man thought he was from the West Indies but the white man said he would accompany him to check his result because he does not want him to steal anything. When they got there they found out that he came top of his class. With that type of racism, he decided to return to Africa, precisely Freetown. Some of the Sierra Leonian returnees then did not even stay in Lagos, they went to Abeokuta. So if you hear about the Cokers, Smiths, Fowlers, and others, they are of Seira Leonian stock. I have an aunt, who was Miss Robin. She is still alive at 95. Adeniyi Jones’ first job was to work as a doctor for the government.
First mental hospital in Nigeria
“They got him to set up the first mental hospital in Nigeria which is the one opposite Yaba Bus Stop. After working for a while he decided to begin private practice by setting up the first private hospital in Nigeria. He owned the land behind City Mall at Igbosere. When Lagos State was created, he had died because the hospital was operating before 1920. He had a home there where he lived which he called Priscilla Hall in honour of his wife. He saw how Africans were being treated by the whites in Lagos and was uncomfortable with it. Blacks could not live in Ikoyi because the British practiced what whites practiced in South Africa.
Segregation in Lagos: “The church of the whites was at TBS which was called Race Course and that was where yhe Governor General worshiped then. Apartheid was practiced here but one Sunday morning, the son of Herbert Macuualy, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, TOS Benson, Adeniran Ogunsany and others went to where the Governor General used to and sat there. When the white Vicar came he asked what they were doing. Azikiwe asked if he wanted to send them out of the House of God. When the Vicar reported to the Governor-General, he said they should be left alone. It was from that moment that segregation stopped at the church. That used to be Gen T.Y Danjuma’s church until they decided to change the name from our Saviours to Saint Saviour.
The segregation was so obvious that at that time Ikoyi Club was only for whites. Island Club was for blacks. The first black man that lived in Ikoyi was Dr. Ajose and he was given honorary white status because he married a white woman. That was why they allowed him to live there. The second person was Dr. Samuel Marua. He was the chief medical officer of Nigeria before Murtala/Obasanjo took over. Immediately they took over, they asked the man to leave Ikoyi within seven days, he didn’t stay long before he died of heart attack. Though people think he poisoned himself.
Honorary white status
Dr. Azikiwe and his friend, Adeniran Ogunsanya applied to join Yoruba Tenis Club which was for mainly Yoruba people, they accepted Ogunsanya but did not accept Azikiwe because of his tribe. But three days after Zik was sworn in as Governor-General, they offered him free membership which he declined. At a time, the whites invited Ajose, Dr. Samuel Marua, and Dr. Tunji Adeniyi -Jones to join Ikoyi Club. Adeniyi Jones rejected it and called it tokenism.
First millionaire in Lagos: The first millionaire in Lagos was called Candido da Rocha. He owned 12 Kakawa Street where he sold water because he had a borehole then. The second millionaire was Ojukwu’s father. The brother of a man they called Rotimi Williams is a Saro man. The Daniyis, Williamses and Eric Moores are the same family.
On journalism, growing up: “I started journalism by following journalists to the football field in 1964. I grew up in Yaba where we had the Abebes, Murray-Bruces, the Soyedes, Ojoras and the Ibrus, who relocated from Somolu. The Ibrus relocated to Yaba. I am a founding member of Lagos State Horticultural Society.
I planted all the plants on this street even at the places that are not close to my house. I did that because I like nature. I don’t take alcohol. I had my only alcoholic drink at the age of 12. I don’t drink soft drinks. I don’t eat red meat. I eat white meat and fish. I try to eat right. I had a barber’s shop. In the old days the late Justice Aka Basorun, Ishola Osobu would come for come to my shop for a 30-minute haircut but would spend two hours trying to convince me to become a socialist. Both were lawyers. My first name is Percy Sunmisola Smart-Cole. Many people don’t know that my mother was half Igbo, half Rivers. But I can’t speak the language. In Port Harcourt where I was born the lingua franca is Pidgin English.
It is the same English that is spoken in Sapele where a lot of Serra Leoneans settled. They taught the Warri people pidgin English. It is derived from Creole. A lot of them, who were mining engineers, went to Jos. Some went to Calabar. There are more people of Saro descent in Abeokuta. My grandfather went to Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone. My grandmother was Miss Smart. In this Lagos, there are many Coles. There are Aboyode Cole, Gorgeous Cole, Adeyemi Cole and Cameron Cole. All settled in one area, Ologbowo. Most of them are Anglicans while others are Methodists. Fuorah Bay was much older than University College Ibadan. At that time the degree from the school was regarded as that of the University of London.
On Lagos: Today political office holders have houses everywhere. It pains me to know that things have become so bad in Nigeria that someone would go to a Polytechnic where degrees are not awarded and the person will be awarded a Ph.D on a Saturday afternoon. These are politicians, who have houses everywhere. But it was not like that in the past when only rich politicians, who were traders like Okotie-Eboh had a house on Moloney Street.

Renowned photographer and former Managing Editor of The Guardian, Mr. Sunmi Smart-Cole, has described Alhaji Femi Okunnu’s recent interview on the origin and people of Lagos as an incomplete narrative.

He also described as inadequate, representation of individuals that shaped Lagos as captured in My Lagos Success Story billboards during the Lagos @50 celebration.

He spoke yesterday in Lagos while putting the records straight on the contributions of the Saro people (Sierra Leone descendants) that retuned to Lagos after the end of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.

Last month, Alhaji Okunnu, 84, a former federal commissioner for Works and Housing, said in an interview, It’s rubbish to say Lagos is no-man’s land, with The Nation on Sunday that it is complete ignorance to describe Lagos as no no-man’s land because some people are original settlers. Lagos, he said, was peopled by the Awori that spread from Badagry to Ota.

“There is no no-man’s land. There are always some people who are original settlers. In the case of Lagos, it’s a misnomer to say Lagos is a no-man’s land. It’s rubbish. Absolute rubbish! Lagos was peopled by the Awori and Awori land spread from Badagry through to Ota. They settled mostly in Ikeja, a division of Lagos. The Idejo chiefs, the white cap chiefs, who are the land owning chiefs, are basically Awori and some of them are now Obas. I’m talking about the Oniru, The Olumegbon, Aromire, Oluwa, Ojora, Oloto and a couple others,” Chief Okunnu said in the interview.

“Later we had another batch of immigrants over a period of time – those who had been taken into slavery in the North and South America and the West Indies but who had been freed following the abolition of slave trade about 170 years ago. Some of them also came in from Freetown, Sierra Leone. That’s where we have the Saro, Eko connection. They settled in the Olowogbowo area,” he continued.

Reacting to Chief Okunnu’s views, Smart-Cole said Chief Okunnu failed to tell Nigerians the roles of the different migrants to the development of Lagos, especially the Saro people, adding that instead Chief Okunnu merely mentioned the migration of the Saro people in passing. He said most of the migrants from Sierra Leone after the end of slave trade were mainly missionaries and teachers.

Smart-Cole, who admitted the fact that the Bini conquered the Awori in Lagos during the Benin Empire hegemony that spread from Benin City to Dahomey in Benin Republic, said unlike the Sierra Leone returnees, the Brazilian and Cuban returnees were mainly artisans who settled in some quarters on Lagos Island. Also, he noted that Chief Okunnu in his interview did not get the dates the Brazilian, Cuban and Sierra Leone returnees got to Lagos correct. “Who came first he did not know,” he said.

“One of the Saro returnees Ajayi Crowder became the first black Bishop and Bishop of the Niger. His son also became Arc Deacon Crowder. At the Cathedral in Marina, Lagos, it has been a long battle between the Saro people and the Ijebu people. The Saro people were living on Broad Street in Lagos.

“Dr. Chester C. Adeniyi-Jones who graduated with a first class degree in UK started Yaba Mental Hospital, and the first medical doctor in Nigeria to build a hospital in Lagos. The piece of land housing the Lagos City Hall was owned by him. When Lagos government acquired the land, his family was compensated with five plots on Victoria Island. By 1920, he had a hospital there. Again, he formed the first Nigerian political party, and the likes of Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo, Ernest Okoli and Nnamdi Azikwe were his followers then. He was the first spokesperson for Nigeria in the first legislative assembly. Two brothers, Dr Maja Pearce and Dr. Akinola Maja were surgeons and were also great contributors to Lagos development.

“The Tapa people are from Niger State of today and they were engaged as night soil men who worked at night in the neighbourhood. At that time we had night soil men. Nobody dared abuse them. Even calling them ‘Agbepo’, they could come and spread excreta on you. And if you really get them annoyed, they will pour it in front of your door.”

He cited books such as Modern and Traditional Elites in the Politics of Lagos by Dr. Dele Cole, Victorian Lagos by Michael J C Echeruo, and The Red Book of West Africa as some of the relevant historical documentaries on Lagos.

“But the British colonial administration wanted Lagos badly. And they invaded the colony and made Oba Akitoye to sign the treaty ceding Lagos to the British as a protectorate. There was nobody to translate the agreement to Oba Akitoye who thumb print the agreement,” he recalled.

I hope Awori people sue his ass. I dont understand why some people rewriting history Because of their selfish interest. Bini have no portion in Lagos. Oba of bini only came to Lagos during the Trans Atlantic slave trade in 16th century to meet slave merchant .

All the controversies are just done to distort history and insert new things into it. The Binis might have settled in Lagos at a point but no, if they owned it, if at all they would leave it, they would still have a large amount of the indigenes there, however, this is mnot the case. Aworis have long time laid claims on how they settled first in Lagos, infact, they are most land sellers in Lagos, that is enough to clarify the whole story, who did they collect the land from to sell....

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