*You wouldn’t tell any Lagos Oba or chief such balderdash!
Oba Adeyinka Oyekan, Oba Akiolu’s predecessor, shut his ears to the nonsense when we interviewed him in February 1990. The Oba, then 79, was marking his Silver Jubilee anniversary on the throne and Headlines journal team from the Daily Times stable went to ask him a few questions. The team comprised Adams Aliu, editor; Gabriel Ujah; and Dele Omojuyigbe, staff writers. Excerpts:
Your Majesty, you pressed for the separation of Lagos Municipality from the Western Region which eventually led to the creation of Lagos State in 1967. What was your major intention for doing that?
If the Federal Government were to leave Lagos anytime, the people of Lagos should be able to say ‘this’ and ‘that’ belong to them because I have always held that Lagos is not a “No man’s land”. It belongs to some people, and they should be left alone to look after the place. If the Federal Government leaves, we will know exactly what to develop and look after properly and not wait for the government to do everything for us.
Kabiyesi, your domain is Lagos, otherwise known as Lagos State and referred to as EKO by the aborigines. What is the origin, meaning and historical significance of the word EKO? Is it an appropriate substitute for the term LAGOS or is it synonymous with LAGOS?
According to what my parents told me, the name EKO was given to this land by the Binis who were trading in this area in the 17th century. It has its own significance and that is why it is being referred to as EKO AKETE AROMISALEGBELEGBE. Consequently, the bilateral relationship between the Binis and the people of Lagos has been very cordial. Some of my chiefs are even Binis.
Lagos is regarded as one of the educationally disadvantaged states. Why, despite the fact that the white men came to Lagos a long time ago? Moreover, CMS Grammar School, King’s College (KC), Baptist Academy, Holy Child, Methodist Boys High School etc. were built in Lagos long ago. What then is responsible for the educational backwardness?
How many people have come to Lagos to get degrees? Those who came here only falsely claim Lagos and later ran back to their roots. During the time of Chief H.O. Davies at KC, only few Lagosians were there. In my time too at KC, we were very few. Many people will claim Lagos in their early and middle ages, but when they are old, they return to their original bases. When they die, their bodies are taken to somewhere else, probably their original roots for burial. Real Lagosians are few and are educationally lesser in number than many other non-Lagosians.
***
However, as acting editor of the same Headlines newspaper/journal in February 1997, I went for more facts about the “No man’s land” issue about Lagos. I visited the Olu of Ikeja, Oba Momodu Illo, Olalomo 1, who was key, as Ikeja his domain was, and still is, the capital of Lagos State. I approached some of his chiefs too. Chief Ekundayo Moses was prominent among them. I also visited the Ikeja Local Government.
Lagos belongs to some people, I was told. Ikeja, its capital, had the Aworis as its earliest settlers. They migrated from Ota. The Awori founders were: Osoja, Amore, Maku, Afariogun, and Kusheri Moses. Each was a family, but they all settled in different but close quarters. The new settlement called IKEJA was named after Akeja-Onirogun, one of the deities worshipped in the Ota ancestral home.
By 1997, Ikeja had had seven traditional rulers. They were: Baale Olo; Baale Oladiti; Baale Oshoja; Baale Maku; Baale Faluyi Amore; Baale Afariogun; and Oba Momodu Illo who ascended the throne in 1957. The stool of Baaleship in Ikeja was elevated to the status of a first-class traditional ruler on January 30, 1957, when Oba Momodu Illo, Olalomo 1 was crowned.
Ikeja has 24 villages, some of which are known to most Lagosians as streets or mere bus-stops. The villages are: Alausa, Ikeja, Ogba, Agidingbi, Adekunle, Oloti, Omole, Onigbongbo, Onigbagbo, Sonibare, Coker, and Onilekere. Others are Onipetesi, Akiode, Ojodu, Oke-Ira, Opebi, Oregun, Olusosun, Aguda Titun, Wasimi, Idiroko, Ijaiye-Ogba, and Yakoyo.
