₦airaland Forum

I have lived in Lagos for many years, moving from Abule Ado to FESTAC, and in all my time here I have watched one uncomfortable truth unfold before my eyes: Lagos is changing, not because people are conquering it, but because its original owners are selling it off, piece by piece.

This isn’t tribal bashing. Neither is it a blanket statement about the Yoruba as a people. I know many Yoruba families who guard their inheritance with wisdom, who understand the value of passing land from one generation to another. What I speak of is a pattern I have personally observed in parts of Lagos—one that deserves reflection.

I know a Yoruba man who died in Moshalashi area of Lagos, such a nice man and he asked his children not to sell when he was alive , his children often inherit property worth fortunes. Yet, before three years pass, that same house is sold off to strangers. I have seen it happen repeatedly in my own neighborhood. Just last month, the third house in our street was sold off. The late father had begged his children never to sell, but they did. And they did so with relief, not reluctance.

And so the cycle continues.

Drive through Lagos, and you will see what I mean. Egbeda, Gowon Estate, Shagari Estate—walk the streets there and you would think you were in Benin City. Esan and Bini tongues fill the air. The Edo people didn’t grab those houses by force. They simply bought what was offered to them.

Move some kilometers toward Agege, from Iyana Ipaja to Pen Cinema, even toward the Abbatoir. Hausa is the lingua franca there now. The Hausa-Fulani didn’t conquer it; they simply purchased what Yoruba children sold.

And what can we say of the Igbo? From Ago Palace to FESTAC, Ojo to Ajangbadi—the Igbo community has not only bought up houses, they have reclaimed swamps, sand-filled them, and built bustling communities. Walk those streets, and Igbo is what you hear.

I have seen where graves are exhumed and reburied and houses are sold to highest bidder! The question isn't the selling of the house but the respect of the dead and what he achieved when he was alive only to be sold ! Do we blame the buyer or the seller? Let's start asking these truthful questions and know that when we point to people claiming that sole set of tribes are taking over Lagos...the question is...HOW ARE THEY TAKING OVER? Is it a hostile take over or they just bought it !

So who do we blame? The buyers—or the sellers?

I cannot blame a man who invests in land, builds a business, and raises a family in Lagos. I cannot look at someone who pays taxes, who creates jobs, who develops wastelands, and say, “You have no stake in this city.” No. Stakeholding is not just about bloodline; it is also about sacrifice and investment.

But what troubles me is the ease with which some children of Lagos sell their father’s legacy. They do not think of generational wealth, of grandchildren who might need that roof, of the ground on which a family name can stand. Instead, they see quick cash—money to be spent in a season, leaving nothing behind but memories of a house once standing.

And then some turn around and complain that “strangers are taking over.” But strangers do not take over what you refuse to sell.

The truth is Lagos is not “no man’s land.” The Awori and other Yoruba groups were here first. But Lagos has become the city of everyone who comes with vision, patience, and investment. The tragedy is not that outsiders are buying Lagos. The tragedy is that too many indigenes are selling Lagos.

I am only an observer, but each time I watch another family home go on the market, I feel as though a little more of the soul of Lagos is slipping away. And the painful part? It isn’t being stolen. It is being sold—with open hands and willing hearts.


Mark Obot

This is the cause of the recent ethnic tensions In lagos. yorubas feel igbos and other ethnicities are buying up lagos while their own people cannot even afford rent in lagos and are moving in droves to the outskirts of the metropolis and other bordering States.now they are insecure because there is nothing they can do about it.

bigpriik:
This is the cause of the recent ethnic tensions In lagos recently yorubas feel igbos and other ethnicities are buying up lagos while their own people cannot even afford rent in lagos and are moving in droves to the outskirts of the metropolis now they are insecure because there is nothing they can do about it.

It is their people that put up these properties for sale to the highest bidder and why blame the other person that bought it and not blame the seller that didn't have a caveat of priffered bidder ?


Let's start asking the truth questions !

christopher123:
It is their people that put up these properties for sale to the highest bidder and why blame the other person that bought it and not blame the seller that didn't have a caveat of priffered bidder ?


Let's start asking the truth questions !

Unfortunately there is nothing they can do about it,most yorubas I know are moving to ikorodu,sango,mowe as lagos is becoming unliveable.

bigpriik:
Unfortunately there is nothing they can do about it,most yorubas I know are moving to ikorodu,sango,mowe as lagos is becoming unliveable.

but truth is that the rent in Lagos is too high and if you can't meet up you can always go to Mowe or Ibafo areas or Sango !

Insightful write up

This is nonsense talk. When we say Lagos is a no man's land, do you think we are merely blabbing?

Why is no one buying up real estate in Ogbomoso or in Iragbiji or Ikere Ekiti?

The futile obsession with using mouth and tifling street name changes to assert Yoruba ownership of Lagos is a demonstration of idiocy.

You can't stop the inevitable.

Now that the Yorubas are in power through their tribalistic demigod Tinubu x and their brothers have been empowered with all the juicy government posts, let them use Nigeria's Federal Government money to buy back all these properties and redistribute to themselves.

The reason is the Yoruba elders failed to empower the upcoming Yoruba youths/children. They failed to assist them acquire wealth building skills. Unlike the igbos that have apprenticeship programs that help build wealth.

When you don't uplift the young ones in your tribe, others that do so will come and buy your properties in the future.

christopher123:
I have lived in Lagos for many years, moving from Abule Ado to FESTAC, and in all my time here I have watched one uncomfortable truth unfold before my eyes: Lagos is changing, not because people are conquering it, but because its original owners are selling it off, piece by piece.

This isn’t tribal bashing. Neither is it a blanket statement about the Yoruba as a people. I know many Yoruba families who guard their inheritance with wisdom, who understand the value of passing land from one generation to another. What I speak of is a pattern I have personally observed in parts of Lagos—one that deserves reflection.

I know a Yoruba man who died in Moshalashi area of Lagos, such a nice man and he asked his children not to sell when he was alive , his children often inherit property worth fortunes. Yet, before three years pass, that same house is sold off to strangers. I have seen it happen repeatedly in my own neighborhood. Just last month, the third house in our street was sold off. The late father had begged his children never to sell, but they did. And they did so with relief, not reluctance.

And so the cycle continues.

Drive through Lagos, and you will see what I mean. Egbeda, Gowon Estate, Shagari Estate—walk the streets there and you would think you were in Benin City. Esan and Bini tongues fill the air. The Edo people didn’t grab those houses by force. They simply bought what was offered to them.

Move some kilometers toward Agege, from Iyana Ipaja to Pen Cinema, even toward the Abbatoir. Hausa is the lingua franca there now. The Hausa-Fulani didn’t conquer it; they simply purchased what Yoruba children sold.

And what can we say of the Igbo? From Ago Palace to FESTAC, Ojo to Ajangbadi—the Igbo community has not only bought up houses, they have reclaimed swamps, sand-filled them, and built bustling communities. Walk those streets, and Igbo is what you hear.

I have seen where graves are exhumed and reburied and houses are sold to highest bidder! The question isn't the selling of the house but the respect of the dead and what he achieved when he was alive only to be sold ! Do we blame the buyer or the seller? Let's start asking these truthful questions and know that when we point to people claiming that sole set of tribes are taking over Lagos...the question is...HOW ARE THEY TAKING OVER? Is it a hostile take over or they just bought it !

So who do we blame? The buyers—or the sellers?

I cannot blame a man who invests in land, builds a business, and raises a family in Lagos. I cannot look at someone who pays taxes, who creates jobs, who develops wastelands, and say, “You have no stake in this city.” No. Stakeholding is not just about bloodline; it is also about sacrifice and investment.

But what troubles me is the ease with which some children of Lagos sell their father’s legacy. They do not think of generational wealth, of grandchildren who might need that roof, of the ground on which a family name can stand. Instead, they see quick cash—money to be spent in a season, leaving nothing behind but memories of a house once standing.

And then some turn around and complain that “strangers are taking over.” But strangers do not take over what you refuse to sell.

The truth is Lagos is not “no man’s land.” The Awori and other Yoruba groups were here first. But Lagos has become the city of everyone who comes with vision, patience, and investment. The tragedy is not that outsiders are buying Lagos. The tragedy is that too many indigenes are selling Lagos.

I am only an observer, but each time I watch another family home go on the market, I feel as though a little more of the soul of Lagos is slipping away. And the painful part? It isn’t being stolen. It is being sold—with open hands and willing hearts.


Mark Obot

Strange indeed. In some other culture once a dad instructed his children not to sale the family house after his demise, the children are duty bound to honor his wish, any contrary action leading to the sales of such property precipitate gravious ancestral repacaution.

the truth is no one can stop change, it can only be delayed.. the ongoing tribal wahala is just giving it more teeth and it will germinate soon.... the day tinubu die is the day all hell will break loose, give or take 10years if not less..in another 10 to 20years the dynamic would have changed comlpletely and there is nothing anyone can do about it cos no one can fight change.. the smart ones are those already building tribal bridge in the state and they shall reap bountiful in years to come..no tout, violence, war can stop it..

if lagos is going to grow higher, tribal card will need to give way and since lagos will definitely grow from international standpoint, tribal heritage will definitely give way, what will even make it faster is the special status lagos is requesting from FG

Hedonisco:
The futile obsession with using mouth and tifling street name changes to assert Yoruba ownership of Lagos is a demonstration of idiocy.

The idiocy is crying over and over again because Ndi Yoruba are changing street names in Ala Yoruba.

Not long ago, Lagos state was sending non Yoruba people tó Abuja, Lagos State State house in Alausa had non Yoruba elected officials.

Now, there is no such variance and openness, yet you are talking about them asserting ownership., they already have.

You that you are buying their property, left right and centre, where is your dominance or how soon will it manifest into numbers, votes and a return to non Yorùbá's in Alausa and Abuja on behalf of Lagos state?

Rest, Lagos State is still Yorubaland.

OneCandleAway:
The reason is the Yoruba elders failed to empower the upcoming Yoruba youths/children. They failed to assist them acquire wealth building skills. Unlike the igbos that have apprenticeship programs that help build wealth.
When you don't uplift the young ones in your tribe, others that do so will come and buy your properties in the future.

I bought land for N4m in 2006, paid Omonile N300k for receipt, paid their young men N160k and processed CofO, etc with Fashola for about N1m. Paid unquantifiable amount for building approval. I paid all these because I am not an indigine.
Now if anyone want to buy back, they should get N1.5billion as the 6 flats are paying N3.5m each.

I fondly remember one of our neighbours. In the Estate I live, we call him Baba. Like others before him, he sold and left Lagos.

The house was sold to an Igbo man and is now renovated and rented out to three Igbo families. It was his retirement wish, I guess.

I doubt if the sellers are concerned about ancestral land or inheritance.

Continue lying to your soul

Validated:
I bought land for N4m in 2006, paid Omonile N300k for receipt, paid their young men N160k and processed CofO, etc with Fashola for about N1m. Paid unquantifiable amount for building approval. I paid all these because I am not an indigine.
Now if anyone want to buy back, they should get N1.5billion as the 6 flats are paying N3.5m each.

So you are no longer moving out of Lagos n do not want your Biafra again ?!

hegelian:
the truth is no one can stop change, it can only be delayed.. the ongoing tribal wahala is just giving it more teeth and it will germinate soon.... the day tinubu die is the day all hell will break loose, give or take 10years if not less..in another 10 to 20years the dynamic would have changed comlpletely and there is nothing anyone can do about it cos no one can fight change.. the smart ones are those already building tribal bridge in the state and they shall reap bountiful in years to come..no tout, violence, war can stop it..

if lagos is going to grow higher, tribal card will need to give way and since lagos will definitely grow from international standpoint, tribal heritage will definitely give way, what will even make it faster is the special status lagos is requesting from FG

Alaigbo:
So you are no longer moving out of Lagos n do not want your Biafra again ?!

So everyone that think otherwise is Igbo.. I actually wish I'm Igbo but I love being Yoruba that I am.. U can never compare Lagos to sound, Ekiti, Anambra, niger, kebbi,Ogun or any other states.. The fact is there.. Lagos is much like New York or J'borg or amsterdam.. The current tribal Lord will expire and reality will set in.. No one can fight change other than to expire with it

hegelian:
So everyone that think otherwise is Igbo.. I actually wish I'm Igbo but I love being Yoruba that I am.. U can never compare Lagos to sound, Ekiti, Anambra, niger, kebbi,Ogun or any other states.. The fact is there.. Lagos is much like New York or J'borg or amsterdam.. The current tribal Lord will expire and reality will set in.. No one can fight change other than to expire with it

Obasa another tribal warlord is still there waiting to take over o. When Tinubu goes, another urchin will take over. It's a circle.

Lagos should watch it. Going by the speed with which Abuja is growing, Lagos may take the passenger's seat in a decade or two.

christopher123:
I have lived in Lagos for many years, moving from Abule Ado to FESTAC, and in all my time here I have watched one uncomfortable truth unfold before my eyes: Lagos is changing, not because people are conquering it, but because its original owners are selling it off, piece by piece.

This isn’t tribal bashing. Neither is it a blanket statement about the Yoruba as a people. I know many Yoruba families who guard their inheritance with wisdom, who understand the value of passing land from one generation to another. What I speak of is a pattern I have personally observed in parts of Lagos—one that deserves reflection.

I know a Yoruba man who died in Moshalashi area of Lagos, such a nice man and he asked his children not to sell when he was alive , his children often inherit property worth fortunes. Yet, before three years pass, that same house is sold off to strangers. I have seen it happen repeatedly in my own neighborhood. Just last month, the third house in our street was sold off. The late father had begged his children never to sell, but they did. And they did so with relief, not reluctance.

And so the cycle continues.

Drive through Lagos, and you will see what I mean. Egbeda, Gowon Estate, Shagari Estate—walk the streets there and you would think you were in Benin City. Esan and Bini tongues fill the air. The Edo people didn’t grab those houses by force. They simply bought what was offered to them.

Move some kilometers toward Agege, from Iyana Ipaja to Pen Cinema, even toward the Abbatoir. Hausa is the lingua franca there now. The Hausa-Fulani didn’t conquer it; they simply purchased what Yoruba children sold.

And what can we say of the Igbo? From Ago Palace to FESTAC, Ojo to Ajangbadi—the Igbo community has not only bought up houses, they have reclaimed swamps, sand-filled them, and built bustling communities. Walk those streets, and Igbo is what you hear.

I have seen where graves are exhumed and reburied and houses are sold to highest bidder! The question isn't the selling of the house but the respect of the dead and what he achieved when he was alive only to be sold ! Do we blame the buyer or the seller? Let's start asking these truthful questions and know that when we point to people claiming that sole set of tribes are taking over Lagos...the question is...HOW ARE THEY TAKING OVER? Is it a hostile take over or they just bought it !

So who do we blame? The buyers—or the sellers?

I cannot blame a man who invests in land, builds a business, and raises a family in Lagos. I cannot look at someone who pays taxes, who creates jobs, who develops wastelands, and say, “You have no stake in this city.” No. Stakeholding is not just about bloodline; it is also about sacrifice and investment.

But what troubles me is the ease with which some children of Lagos sell their father’s legacy. They do not think of generational wealth, of grandchildren who might need that roof, of the ground on which a family name can stand. Instead, they see quick cash—money to be spent in a season, leaving nothing behind but memories of a house once standing.

And then some turn around and complain that “strangers are taking over.” But strangers do not take over what you refuse to sell.

The truth is Lagos is not “no man’s land.” The Awori and other Yoruba groups were here first. But Lagos has become the city of everyone who comes with vision, patience, and investment. The tragedy is not that outsiders are buying Lagos. The tragedy is that too many indigenes are selling Lagos.

I am only an observer, but each time I watch another family home go on the market, I feel as though a little more of the soul of Lagos is slipping away. And the painful part? It isn’t being stolen. It is being sold—with open hands and willing hearts.


Mark Obot

Hausa is now the linqua franca in Agege? We don hear, we will make the correction in due course, Tinubu is the one delaying our actions, we won't allowed you to contaminate our peace because you are incapable of creating peaceful atmosphere in your region.

FG / President don't issue C of O, even C of O can be revoked at any given time. All lands in Nigeria is under the control of the state government. The indigenous people of the Lagos have been pushed to the wall and the soul and spirits of our forefather have cursed anyone who benefit from Lagos but want it's downfall.
So shall it be

Ttalk:
Hausa is now the linqua franca in Agege? We don hear, we will make the correction in due course, Tinubu is the one delaying our actions, we won't allowed you to contaminate our peace because you are incapable of creating peaceful atmosphere in your region.

FG / President don't issue C of O, even C of O can be revoked at any given time. All lands in Nigeria is under the control of the state government. The indigenous people of the Lagos have been pushed to the wall and the soul and spirits of our forefather have cursed anyone who benefit from Lagos but want it's downfall.
So shall it be

What actions sir if I may ask...is it to fight the people that bought their property legitimately or is it to tell them to resell the houses to you or is to tell them to abandon the houses for you ..?

What actions if I may ask ?

Who pushed the indigenous people to wall?
Who told them to sell off their land?
Who told the children to exhume the bodies of their parents and rebury somewhere so as to sell the lands ?

How are the indigenous people pushed to the wall?

Ttalk:
Hausa is now the linqua franca in Agege? We don hear, we will make the correction in due course, Tinubu is the one delaying our actions, we won't allowed you to contaminate our peace because you are incapable of creating peaceful atmosphere in your region.

FG / President don't issue C of O, even C of O can be revoked at any given time. All lands in Nigeria is under the control of the state government. The indigenous people of the Lagos have been pushed to the wall and the soul and spirits of our forefather have cursed anyone who benefit from Lagos but want it's downfall.
So shall it be

Yes...Hausa language is spoken ok Agege to a large extent just like Obalende.... Go to Agege axis and see what I am saying, I am not saying that Yoruba isn't spoken but the major language there is Hausa ....

Hedonisco:
This is nonsense talk. When we say Lagos is a no man's land, do you think we are merely blabbing?

Why is no one buying up real estate in Ogbomoso or in Iragbiji or Ikere Ekiti?

The futile obsession with using mouth and tifling street name changes to assert Yoruba ownership of Lagos is a demonstration of idiocy.

You can't stop the inevitable.
.

Now that the Yorubas are in power through their tribalistic demigod Tinubu x and their brothers have been empowered with all the juicy government posts, let them use Nigeria's Federal Government money to buy back all these properties and redistribute to themselves.

Peter obi is the tribal bigot.
2011
2013
2015

Ps: Lagos is still atleast 80% dominated by the Yorubas. Go to any primary or secondary school in Lagos, Yoruba kids make up more than 80% of the classroom.

Even in Agege, were Hausas are in large numbers, Yoruba still make up more than 80%. The only place where Yoruba would be like 70% is only Okota and Festac.

OP is day dreaming and trying to use reverse psychology. He is not even Yoruba to begin with.

There's nothing worth discussing here. Anywhere in the world where you have a metropolis, you have people of diverse backgrounds settling in a location with some resultant displacement of indigenous communities. There's nothing necessarily malicious about it, it's a process that's driven by economic realities.

This is nothing unique to Lagos, it's true anywhere a city springs up in the world. I'm from the Ngwa clan in Alaigbo, Aba is in Ngwa land, most of the inhabitants of modern Aba are from other Igbo clans and non-Igbos. The Aba metropolis keeps expanding to adjacent Ngwa communities, we're not crying about it, we don't moan every day that we developed Aba by ourselves, because that would be a blatant lie.

Any city you go to in Nigeria, or in the world for that matter, it's someone's ancestral land that others, Yoruba included, have come to settle in.

I find it quite foolish that some yoruba continually moan uncontrollably about other Nigerians living in Lagos, given that yoruba live freely in other Nigerian cities without harassment.

Personally, I don't pay them any mind, I don't acknowledge their gaslighting techniques and blatant lies like 'oh they do not respect the host community, they interfered in our politics'. It's all pre-packaged tribalism and they know it.

No, I'm not remorseful that all Nigerians get to live in Lagos, or in any other city in the world.

christopher123:
Yes...Hausa language is spoken ok Agege to a large extent just like Obalende.... Go to Agege axis and see what I am saying, I am not saying that Yoruba isn't spoken but the major language there is Hausa ....

I am from Ishaga. Went to school in Agege. And grew up on college road. Yorubas still dominate in extremely large numbers from Ogba all the way to Agege and Oshodi.
The only time yoi see hausa coming out in large numbers is when its time to go to mosque on Friday and most importantly, Hausas don't interfere in Lagos politics or form a voting block to determine who governs where in Lagos.

christopher123:
Even the name Ishaga is even Hausa ! The truth is that yes Yoruba is still spoken in Agege but Hausa is more ...that's the fact !

It is the beauty of Lagos just like every other city we have China town in California where it is built after the Chinese and that's the reality

Soy jrither everything isn't fight ! It's just an observation

You now want to teach me the origin of the name of my village. Another proof that you dont know what you are talking about.

Ishaga is an Egbado word. Egbado people are in present day Ogun state.

SOME PEOPLE ARE DETERMINED TO DESTROY THE UNITY OF THIS COUNTRY.
THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PROBLEMS FACING US IN THIS COUNTRY, OP FAILED TO OBSERVE ANYONE OF THEM. INSTEAD, YOU MAKE YOURSELF AN AGENT OF DISUNITY CAUSING PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY. WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS ARTICLE? CAUSING MORE PROBLEMS AND DISUNITY IN LAGOS ?
LAGOS IS ECONOMY BACKBONE OF THIS COUNTRY; PLEASE DO NOT USE YOUR Insensitivity ATTITUDE TO DESTROY IT.

Bump.

Yet, all the lagos state house of assembly members are Yorubas.

All the local government chairman recently elected are Yorubas. All the Agberos are Yorubas.

99% of Lagos politicians are Yorubas.

Summary: This write up is filled with lies.

Alaigbo:
Continue lying to your soul

There are lots of them on X. They would lie about how they bought land only to dig up a tweet of them the month before begging for 1000 naira to feed

opamoses1:
Yet, all the lagos state house of assembly members are Yorubas.

All the local government chairman recently elected are Yorubas. All the Agberos are Yorubas.

99% of Lagos politicians are Yorubas.

Summary: This write up is filled with lies.

Please Lagos is a pure Yoruba land and pleads nobody is disputing that! The truth is that the younger ones should stop selling their inheritances, they should maintain it ... That's the thrust of the matter

It's an observation and also nobody is taking Lagos away from the Yoruba ...it's the indigenes that are selling off the Lagos one step at a time

That's the thrust of the post

chopnaira:
I am from Ishaga. Went to school in Agege. And grew up on college road. Yorubas still dominate in extremely large numbers from Ogba all the way to Agege and Oshodi.
The only time yoi see hausa coming out in large numbers is when its time to go to mosque on Friday and most importantly, Hausas don't interfere in Lagos politics or form a voting block to determine who governs where in Lagos.

hmmm! The truth is that yes Yoruba is still spoken in Agege but Hausa is more ...that's the fact !

It is the beauty of Lagos just like every other city we have China town in California where it is built after the Chinese and that's the reality

Soy jrither everything isn't fight ! It's just an observation