• Advocates public consultation, legal compliance
• ‘It’ll take time for Baddo to replace Charly Boy Bus Stop’
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has condemned the recent renaming of streets and bus stops in Lagos State without adherence to constitutional procedures and public input. He described the actions as illegal, authoritarian and a violation of the constitutional powers vested in local councils.
Falana, who spoke yesterday, cited the recent renaming of “Charly Boy Bus Stop” to “Baddo Bus Stop” by the former Chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Kolade Alabi, as well as the naming of two streets after President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He also referenced billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote’s reported naming of two streets after his late friend, Herbert Wigwe, and President Tinubu, allegedly without proper statutory approval.
Falana stressed that under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the exclusive authority to name streets, roads and number houses lies with local councils, as clearly stated in the Fourth Schedule. He described the action as disrespectful to both local residents and cultural memory.
Also, motorists plying the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway have said that the recent renaming of Charly Boy Bus-Stop to Baddo Bus-Stop in honour of a pop music star, Olamide Adedeji, will take a longer time before they become conversant with it.
The drivers, who contended that Charly Oputa, popularly called Charly Boy had done so much for the common man, said that changing the bus stop to Baddo would only work in principle.
Another respondent, Kehinde Alani, aka Kendoo, said what the government has done is simply politics. The human rights lawyer lamented that while Lagos State has retained street names of colonial figures linked to oppression and exploitation, it finds time to replace names that honour Nigerians who contributed positively to society.
He, therefore, called on local council legislative arms across the state to stop arbitrary renaming of public spaces, and instead institutionalise public hearings and legal processes before any such decisions are made.
“Streets should not be renamed arbitrarily to please the whims and caprices of political leaders or to promote ethnic chauvinism, especially in a cosmopolitan capital city like Lagos,” he said.
He also called for due process and democratic engagement, warning that such unilateral renaming of streets undermine community identity and violate constitutional principles.
Also, motorists playing the Apapa/ Oshodi Expressway have said that the recent renaming of Charly Boy Bus-Stop to Baddo Bus-Stop in honour of a pop music star, Olamide Adedeji, will take a longer time before they become conversant with it.
The drivers, who contended that Charly Oputa, popularly called Charly Boy had done so much for the common man, said that changing the bus stop to Baddo would only work in principle. Another respondent, Kehinde Alani, aka Kendoo, said what the government has done is simply politics.
