₦airaland Forum

Lagos State Was Never Nigeria's Capital. It Can Name, Rename, and Un-name Anything As It Pleases

There is a lot of ignorance about Nigeria displayed by so-called activists and even journalists. I am surprised some people are saying Lagos State was a former federal capital, and for that reason, it is a no-man's land. Therefore, its politics and policies should reflect the culture and heritage of other states.

Actually, that is not historically accurate. Lagos State was never Nigeria's capital.

Yes, Lagos Island was once Nigeria's capital. But the rest of the state was not. Even at that, it was not the entire island that was the capital; it was certain identified districts.

And that is why you see all ethnicities represented on Lagos Island. For example, the two most prominent roads on the island are named after a Fulani man, Ahmadu Bello Way, and an Igbo gentleman, Ozumba Mbadiwe.

And I am not talking about one tiny Wole Soyinka Close with a corrugated signboard. I am referring to world-class roads with vista views of the Atlantic Ocean and hosting billion-dollar infrastructure, as well as class-A embassies and foreign missions.

The capital of Lagos State is Ikeja, and the capital of the Federal Government until Thursday, December 12, 1991, was Lagos Island.

Even in the capital of Lagos, the most important, expensive and strategic public infrastructure is named after a man from Kano, Murtala Muhammed International Airport. And no Lagosian has ever complained about that, because Murtala Muhammed was instrumental to the creation of Lagos State.

It is just like London. There is a difference between the City of London and London. They are under different governments. And when you refer to London as the capital of the UK, you are referring to the City of London. The other parts of London are officially referred to as Greater London.

Even before the capital of Nigeria moved to Abuja in 1991, Lagos State was and still is like any other state. It was created to preserve the culture, traditions, and heritage of the indigenous people of the state.

This means that, in framing its policies, the Lagos State Government, its Local Governments, and LCDAs, like any other state, can and should give priority to its indigenes.

It is not cheating. It is the reason the Federal Government created states in the first place. To give specific Nigerian ethnicities their own space for their culture to thrive within the Nigerian federation.

While it is good for states to be inclusive in their culture, it is not the duty of any state other than one's own state of origin to promote your own culture, tradition, and heritage.

That is why even in the United States, some states are pro abortion, and others are not. Some are for LGBTQ, while others are dead set against it. Particular states name streets and public buildings after racist Confederate heroes, and other states do not, and even go as far as renaming public infrastructure named after such persons.

However, there is freedom of movement and association in Nigeria. Nigeria has 35 other states apart from Lagos. If you do not like Lagos State, or think it is 'smelling', then you have options.

However, I need to remind you that according to the United Nations, the dirtiest and most polluted state and city on Earth are in Nigeria, and it is not the city of Lagos or the State of Lagos. You may want to Google the identity of that state and city.

Also, please note the following:
Lagos pays above minimum wage
Lagos does not owe civil servants salaries
Lagos offers subsidised public transportation
Lagos provides subsidised public education to all residents
Lagos conducts LGA elections
The Lagos Governor does not sit on LGA funds
Lagos provides soup kitchens for the poor
Lagos provides subsidised farmers' markets
Lagos has invested heavily in public infrastructure
Lagos is the 19th best city to live in the world, according to Timeout Magazine

If you want to use the renaming of streets in Lagos as an excuse to protest, and use your protest as a ploy to destroy public infrastructure, go and protest in your state, where your Governor and government have not done even a fifth of what Sanwoolu has done in Lagos.

Except you have another motive!


Reno Omokri

Ofunaofu:
Reno Omokri, the rábble-rousér, is now rewriting history by claiming that the former capital of Nigeria was Lagos Island and not Lagos.

Truly, Reno Omokri is now a mádmán, róaming aimléssly

Mynd44:
He is actually right. More than 70% of what is now Lagos state was in the old western region.

Lagos as FCT is a very small part of Lagos state. I don't know how people still do not know this

Yes, Lagos Island was once Nigeria's capital. But the rest of the state was not. Even at that, it was not the entire island that was the capital; it was certain identified districts.

illicit:
Let's live in harmony...

Why should the renaming of streets be a source of sorrow and agony

Angelfrost:
That ship might have sailed permanently...!

APC started the division on a massively scale prior to 2015 elections, in their desperation for power.


The nation become far more fragmented than ever before in history.

Add these to the antics of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho groups, and you can see the deep fissures that can never be mended in this lifetime.

Mynd44:
He is actually right. More than 70% of what is now Lagos state was in the old western region.

Lagos as FCT is a very small part of Lagos state. I don't know how people still do not know this

Slytiger:
So Nnamdi Kanu was working for APC in 2015?
Or was Peter Obi that weaponized bigotry in 2011 - 2015 was also part of APC?

Mynd44:
He is actually right. More than 70% of what is now Lagos state was in the old western region.

Lagos as FCT is a very small part of Lagos state. I don't know how people still do not know this