The legendary feats of the 19th-century Amazon, Madam Efunroye Tinubu, were the focal point at the Civic Centre in Lagos on Wednesday night.
It was the 138th anniversary remembrance of Madam Tinubu, blending history, heritage and a fierce demand for justice.
Organised by Adamakin Investments and Works Limited as its end-of-year celebration, the event highlighted the legendary 19th-century Amazon, hailed as West Africa’s most influential woman, while shedding light on ongoing battles over her expansive estate.
Chief Akindele Akinfolabi Adamakin, Sole Administrator of the late Madam Tinubu’s estate and Chairman of the group, delivered a compelling address, urging the Federal Government to bestow a posthumous national honour on the iconic figure. Her commercial prowess and conquests shaped the territorial foundations of Lagos and Abeokuta.
“Her contributions stand unparalleled. The lands that today’s political leaders occupy were acquired genuinely through purchase and conquest, long before colonial peaks.
“In another nation, she’d be canonised; her Abeokuta tomb could rival global tourism sites, drawing Americans to witness a Black woman’s empire,” Adamakin declared.
He decried the erasure of indigenous heroes from Nigerian school curricula, contrasting Mali’s reverence for Mansa Musa with Nigeria’s neglect.
Madam Tinubu, he noted, traded with the Portuguese before British annexation, a brainy powerhouse predating modern institutions.
A pivotal moment clarified the Tinubu family lineage, linking it directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Adamakin affirmed that the President’s surname traces to Madam Efunroye herself, yet a 1945 rift divides the Lagos and Abeokuta branches.
“The real Tinubu our President embodies is Madam Efunroye. This platform reunites all Tinubus. We invite the President to unite with her living descendants for a unified front,” he stated.
Adamakin did not hold back on the estate’s plight.
He accused private individuals and government bodies of illegally occupying lands stretching from Lagos Island to Ibeju-Lekki and the Lagos Mainland.
Historical records, he said, prove acquisitions through purchase and conquest, including her 1853 colonial banishment to Ibobi (now Igbobi), a then forested area.
“Visit Tinubu Village and Tinubu Close on the mainland; these aren’t myths but colonial-era legal facts,” he asserted.
Chief Adamakin lambasted government “albatrosses” for flouting court orders, warning illegal occupants that “the hungry man has no principle”, adding that in Nigeria’s harsh economy, reclaiming assets is vital for beneficiaries.
Tying history to today’s crises, Chief Adamakin blamed terrorism and banditry on ideological poverty stemming from educational neglect and the naira’s collapse since the 1980s.
“Structural poverty breeds desperation. A man breaks the physical rather than starve alone,” he said.
He argued that prioritising education is key to eradicating insecurity.
The gala pulsed with cultural vibrancy and was graced by Nollywood icons such as Segun Arinze, Saheed Balogun, Adewale Adeoye (Eleso), Owolabi Ajasa, Anthony Ogundimu, Doyin Amodu and Abolaji Amusan (Mr Latin).
