THAT LAGOS STATE IS A NO MAN'S LAND HAVE CONTINUED TO STIR CONTROVERSIES, IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, THE
IBILE - EKO FORUM REACTS THROUGH ITS SECRETARY, BARR. FELIX ODUSANYA, TO THE CLAIMS “THAT THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE AWORIS IN YORUBA LAND”



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.

Summation FX = Lagos is no man's land°√π

Stupid OP. So as an Awori man, does that make me less of a Yoruba man or Eebo?
You don’t even understand that the closest neighbors of the Aworis are the Egbas and those are 80% people of Ibadan and Abeokuta. Carry your divisive trash and go back to your filthy SE state in Abia

Awori is not a tribe Yoruba land. It is a subgroup of Yoruba just as we have other subgroups like Ekitis, Ijeshas, Akures, Ondos, Owos, Akokos, Oyos, Ijebus, Egbas, Ikales etc. Yoruba is the tribe that all the subgroups fall under.

9icest:
Stupid OP. So as an Awori man, does that make me less of a Yoruba man or Eebo?
You don’t even understand that the closest neighbors of the Aworis are the Egbas and those are 80% people of Ibadan and Abeokuta. Carry your divisive trash and go back to your filthy SE state in Abia

Dont mind the Mimi op.

It is like saying Ezaa people of Ebonyi are not igbo, like saying Ngwa, Wawa, Isu, Izzi, Ikwa people are not igbo

We can never be United as a country.

We should just adopt the state of residence recognition already.

I No Kuku Read All This Ya Wahala

9icest:
Stupid OP. So as an Awori man, does that make me less of a Yoruba man or Eebo?
You don’t even understand that the closest neighbors of the Aworis are the Egbas and those are 80% people of Ibadan and Abeokuta. Carry your divisive trash and go back to your filthy SE state in Abia

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.

RonKenoly:
We can never be United as a country.

We should just adopt the state of residence recognition already.

State of Residence is a very bad idea. It would MOSTLY benefit nomads (e.g Ibos and Fulanis) at the expense of other Nigerians.

Emilokoiyawon:


State of Residence is a very bad idea. It would MOSTLY benefit nomads (e.g Ibos and Fulanis) at the expense of other Nigerians.

How is that?

It would only help to the drive home the point of one Nigeria.