Which Lagos is a ‘no man’s land’?

Nigeria is not only an interesting country in terms of its comic nature. It is also a place with people who are unconcerned about the way the world sees them in terms of ignorance and naivete. In this country, people say and do things that makes the country and its people the laughingstock of humanity through crass ignorance which is accompanied by dogmatism, herd mentality and unwillingness to appreciate the truth.

The Yoruba says “ ti enia ba fe je ogunkogun, a pa itankitan” meaning that “ when a man is out to inherit an undeserved property, he would have to fabricate distorted and untrue history”. Why? if one may ask do some people refer to Lagos as a “ No man’s land” despite obvious facts that the city does not qualify at all for the label? To which Lagos are they referring? How would any rational being refer to a place that has clear and undisputed historical origin and tradition as a “No man’s land?”

The phrase no man’s land has existed since the medieval period to refer to a wasteland or a dumping ground and it came to the fore again during First World War when it was used to refer to “a disputed territory” between two countries or an area that is not controlled by anyone. It is generally an area where there is no king or ruler. It is a home for societal deviants and outlaws.

In Nigeria, this phrase was first used in 1947 to describe Lagos by the First Speaker of the House of Representatives and later Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jaja Anucha Nwachukwu. He used this term not because he believed that nobody owns Lagos but because he believed since Lagos was then the Federal Capital Territory, it belongs to all Nigerians. The question is “Which Lagos was Nwachukwu talking about”? Which Lagos was the Federal Capital of Nigeria? Most youths of today are generally disinterested in the history of Nigeria, hence, the profound ignorance about the country and its constituents.

For avoidance of doubt, Lagos State was never the capital of Nigeria. The capital city of the country until the year 1976 when the Justice Akinola Aguda recommended the movement to Abuja was the space between Fadeyi and Victoria Island in Lagos. Any other space from Fadeyi to Asaba to Ondo State to Oyo to Ogbomosho were listed under the Western Region whose Premier was Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo. For example, Mushin is not Lagos, Palm-grove is not Lagos, Ikeja is not Lagos, Oshodi is not Lagos and so on. This was the situation until the Mid-Western Region was created from the Benin and Delta provinces in 1963. It is the Mid-West that has become Edo and Delta States today.

The Federal Capital Territory which Jaja Nwachukwu referred to as “No Man’s Land” has clear and unambiguous ownership. It is important to mention that Lagos Island belong to the Aromire family and this is undisputable and not Benin. Apapa belongs to the Oluwa family, Lagos Mainland belongs to the Oloto family, Tomaro to Onisiwo, Victoria Island belongs to the Oniru family, Ikate is the land of the Elegushi family, the whole of Ijora including Ajegunle belongs to the Ojora family and so on. These are lands that are well documented and anyone who cares to know the fact should search the archives in Nigeria and London in search of the truth.

The uninformed and flippant individuals who label Lagos as a “no man’s land” should know that the ownership of Lagos was settled on 11 July 1921 when the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London which is the final Court of Appeal of the British Empire ruled that Lagos lands belong to the Idejo chiefs who are the children of Olofin. Chief Amodu Tijani Oluwa, the Oluwa of Lagos who was the plaintiff in the case took the British Government to Court for stealing his land in the process he won a huge compensation of twenty-two thousand, five-hundred-pound sterling and thirty-nine pence.

Moreover, it is important to mention that it is only one of the five divisions of Lagos State that served as the capital of Nigeria. There is still Ikorodu (Oko Odu) (farm of blackberry) which is an area that includes the entire stretch of the riverine area of Ketu, Owode-Onirin, Itowolo, up to Imota; Badagry (Agbadayigi or simply Agbada) which if from Mile Two to Badagry Town; Ikeja which covers the whole of Bariga, Somolu, Kosofe, Isolo, Mushin, Oshodi, Egbe, Ikotun, Onigbongbo, Ojokoro Ipaja, Ayobo, Ojodu, Orile Agege, Idimu and their neighbourhood; Epe (the forest of black ants) which is from Ibeju to the whole of Epe and its suburbs (Epe shares boundary with Ijebu-Ode). These divisions called ibile were created by Edict number 3 of May 1968.

Lagos as a place has existed long before the country called Nigeria and it is one of the oldest cities in Nigeria. For clear explanation, the Portuguese explorer who gave the name Lagos (Lago de Curamo meaning the Lake of Kuramo) came to the land for the first time in 1472 where he met Olofin and his children (that was 551 years ago) which makes Lagos older than virtually all modern cities in Nigeria.

Let us take a look at the year of existence of some cities. Onitsha (Onicha -mmili ) meaning is a city founded by Benin adventures in the year 1550 (473 year old. Founded almost a century after Lagos had been in existence), Enugu (Enu-Ugwu or Hill Top) was established by the Enugwu-Ngwo and Nike people around 1690). Umuhaia (the Market Place) was established by the British in the early 20th century.

Awka (Place of the blacksmiths) is one of the oldest cities in Igboland and the center of Nri civilization. Sokoto (Seat of the caliphates) was established by Uthman Dan Fodio who used the title Sarkin Musulumi) in 1804. When he died in 1817 his son Mohammed Bello was the first Sultan of Sokoto who ruled the Eastern part of Sokoto while his brother Abdullahi ruled the Western part of it. Kano (Masculinity or Capability) was probably the oldest city in Nigeria as it was established around 999 by the Hausa Bakwai people.

Kaduna (the crocodile city) was founded by Lord Fredrick Lugard in 1900 which is almost 428 years after Lagos has been existing. Abeokuta (city beneath the rock) was founded in 1830 by Sodeke who was the leader of the Egba refugees who escaped from Oyo during the period. Ibadan (near the field) was a war camp created by a group of Oyo warriors in 1829.

We have taken samples of these cities to show that Lagos is older than most cities in Nigeria and therefore it would be childish, naïve and outrightly innocent for anyone to suddenly brand a city that has existed for centuries and adorned with a rich history, an enviable culture and norms with robust traditional administration and a center of Yoruba civilization as a “no man’s land” when the entire civilization of those who are making claim for Lagos was not at all in existence when Lagos was established.

Prof Ojikutu is of the Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos.