Opinion by Adewale Adeoye
The claim that Lagos is a no man’s land, or that its development was primarily driven by people other than its indigenous population, is a misleading narrative that deserves serious historical examination. Lagos has a distinct history, an established indigenous identity and a long tradition of commerce, political organisation and cultural development that predates the creation of Nigeria in 1914. To overlook these foundations is to diminish the contributions of the people who built and sustained the city long before it became the country’s capital. The debate over who owns Lagos and who developed it is not merely about ethnicity or political sentiment. It is also about historical recognition, indigenous identity and the need to understand how the city evolved into one of Africa’s most important commercial centres.
Those who argue that Lagos belongs to nobody because it once served as Nigeria’s federal capital are overlooking a significant part of its history. Lagos was not the first administrative capital in the territory that became Nigeria, and it will not be the last. Calabar and Lokoja played important roles in the country’s colonial administrative history before Lagos became the capital of the amalgamated Nigeria in 1914. Lokoja, a historically important settlement in present-day Kogi State, was already an established administrative centre before that transition. Lagos, however, had developed its own commercial and political significance long before the amalgamation.
The history of Lagos did not begin with the establishment of the Federal Government. Its indigenous communities had developed systems of trade, fishing, agriculture, traditional leadership and social organisation long before the arrival of British colonial authorities. The Atlantic Ocean and the extensive lagoon system were central to the economic life of the indigenous population. Fishing, timber, maritime transportation and trade provided livelihoods and connected Lagos to neighbouring communities and international commercial networks. These natural resources were not created by any government. They were part of the geographical inheritance of the indigenous communities whose lives and economic activities were shaped by the ocean and lagoons.
For generations, Lagos served as an important commercial gateway. Traders moved goods through its waterways, while merchants established connections with communities across the Yoruba hinterland and beyond. The city’s strategic coastal location also made it important during periods of political conflict and military expeditions. Trade in imported goods, including firearms, contributed to the changing political and military realities of the region. Historical accounts show that Lagos experienced significant commercial and social transformation before and after British annexation in 1861. Its development was shaped by local institutions, indigenous merchants, returning Africans from the Americas and the growing influence of colonial administration. By the time Lagos became Nigeria’s capital in 1914, it was already an established commercial centre.
Lagos became a British colony in 1862 and subsequently served as an important administrative centre for British colonial authorities. Following the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in January 1914, Lagos became the capital of Nigeria. However, the city’s administrative status changed repeatedly as constitutional arrangements evolved. The Macpherson Constitution of 1951 brought Lagos and the Colony area into the Western Region’s constitutional framework. Subsequent political negotiations led to the separation of Lagos Island and the federal territory from the Western Region in 1953. This distinction is important. The federal territory of Lagos was not the same thing as the entire geographical area that constitutes present-day Lagos State.
The debate over Lagos’s political status had already generated disagreements among political groups during the colonial period. Some political interests supported the idea of Lagos becoming a separate territory, while Egbe Omo Oduduwa and sections of the indigenous population argued for its historical and political connection with the Yoruba West. The disagreement demonstrated that the question of Lagos’s identity was already a major political issue before independence. Lagos eventually remained Nigeria’s federal capital until the military government announced the decision to relocate the capital to Abuja in 1976. The transfer was completed in December 1991. It is therefore historically inaccurate to treat Lagos’s identity as something created solely by its former position as Nigeria’s capital.
One of the most important distinctions in this debate is the difference between Lagos City, the former federal territory and the wider geographical area that makes up present-day Lagos State. Present-day Lagos State contains numerous indigenous communities, traditional institutions and settlements with histories that predate the creation of modern Nigeria. Communities across Ikeja, Badagry, Ketu, Ojota, Mushin, Shomolu, Ajegunle and other parts of the state developed through different historical processes. They were not all products of federal administration or the expansion of the former federal capital.
The argument presented by Adewale Adeoye is that the economic and industrial foundations of much of present-day Lagos were significantly shaped by Yoruba political leadership, indigenous communities and regional development policies. The Action Group government in the Western Region and later the Unity Party of Nigeria played important roles in the development policies that influenced the growth of Lagos and its surrounding areas. The establishment of industrial layouts, residential districts, infrastructure and economic institutions contributed to the transformation of the wider Lagos area. The development of Ikeja as an industrial and administrative centre, for instance, cannot be understood without considering the regional development policies that preceded the modern expansion of Lagos State.
Architects, engineers, administrators, businessmen and political leaders of Yoruba origin also contributed to the city’s physical and institutional development. This does not mean that people from other parts of Nigeria played no role. Lagos has always attracted people from different backgrounds who have contributed to its commercial, educational, professional and cultural growth. However, acknowledging those contributions should not require the erasure of the indigenous foundations upon which the city was established.
The political development of Lagos is closely connected to the emergence of Yoruba political organisations and nationalist movements. One of the most prominent figures in this history was Herbert Macaulay, whose political activities helped establish the foundation of organised opposition to colonial rule. On June 24, 1923, Macaulay founded the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), which became an important force in Lagos politics. The party participated in elections to the Legislative Council and secured victories in 1923, 1928, 1933 and 1943. Macaulay’s political activities helped establish a tradition of organised political participation in Lagos and contributed to the wider struggle against colonial rule.
The city also became an important centre of newspaper publishing, political debate and nationalist mobilisation. The Nigerian Youth Movement, established in Lagos in 1934, brought together several prominent Nigerians who participated in the emerging nationalist movement. Its membership and leadership reflected the political and intellectual diversity of the period, although Yoruba figures were prominent in its formation. Similarly, the West African Students’ Union, founded in 1925 by Ladipo Solanke, demonstrated the influence of Nigerian and other West African intellectuals in the struggle for political and educational advancement. The National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, later known as the NCNC, was also established in Lagos in 1944, with Herbert Macaulay playing a central role alongside Nnamdi Azikiwe. These developments established Lagos as a major centre of political organisation, journalism and nationalist activities. The city’s contribution to Nigeria’s independence struggle cannot be separated from the work of the people and institutions that operated within it.
The development of modern Lagos was also driven by indigenous entrepreneurs and financial institutions. Long before the expansion of Nigeria’s contemporary banking sector, Nigerian businessmen established financial institutions to serve local commercial interests. The National Bank of Nigeria, established in 1933, and Agbonmagbe Bank, founded in 1945 by Chief Matthew Adekoya Okupe, were among the institutions associated with the emergence of indigenous banking. Agbonmagbe Bank later became Wema Bank. These institutions represented important steps towards financial independence and the development of indigenous commercial enterprise.
Lagos also became the centre of organised financial investment with the establishment of the Lagos Stock Exchange on September 15, 1960. The city’s commercial development was supported by indigenous entrepreneurs, foreign merchants, returning Africans and businesspeople from different parts of Nigeria. Among the prominent Yoruba business figures associated with Lagos’s economic history were members of the Da Rocha family, Chief Akintola Williams and other indigenous entrepreneurs who contributed to commerce, finance and professional services. The development of Lagos was therefore not an event that began when the Federal Government arrived. It was the result of generations of commercial activity, investment, political organisation and institutional development.
The argument that Yoruba people introduced ethnic consciousness into Nigerian politics is also worth examining against the historical record. Several ethnic and cultural organisations emerged before the establishment of Egbe Omo Oduduwa in 1945. The Ibibio State Union was established in 1928, the Urhobo Progressive Union in 1931, the Igbo Union in 1936 and the Tiv Progressive Union in 1938. These organisations reflected the growing tendency among different communities to organise around cultural identity, political interests and collective advancement. Egbe Omo Oduduwa emerged within this broader historical environment. Its establishment reflected concerns about Yoruba unity, political representation and the protection of Yoruba interests during a period when other communities were increasingly organising themselves.
The organisation became an important platform for Yoruba cultural and political engagement. Its emergence also generated political disagreements, particularly among individuals who feared that ethnic organisations could deepen divisions within the country. The historical record, however, suggests that ethnic and cultural mobilisation was not exclusive to any one Nigerian group. It was part of the wider political environment of the colonial period.
The development of Lagos is a shared story involving indigenous communities, migrants, entrepreneurs, colonial institutions, regional governments and successive Nigerian administrations. No serious historical account should erase the contributions of people from outside Lagos or suggest that only one ethnic group participated in building the modern city. Equally, it is wrong to dismiss the historical contributions and indigenous identity of the people whose communities existed long before the emergence of modern Lagos.
The indigenous communities of Lagos have traditional rulers, family histories, cultural institutions and ancestral connections that deserve recognition. The city’s cosmopolitan character should not become an excuse to deny its historical roots. Lagos can remain welcoming to Nigerians and people from across the world while preserving the identity, heritage and legitimate interests of its indigenous population. Indeed, a truly inclusive Lagos must be one that recognises its history rather than attempting to rewrite it.
The question of whether Lagos is a no man’s land should therefore be approached with historical understanding rather than political slogans. Lagos has never been without a people, a culture or a history. Its development was built upon generations of indigenous enterprise, Yoruba political leadership, commercial activity, cultural institutions and contributions from people who made the city their home. The contributions of others should be acknowledged, but the indigenous foundations of Lagos must never be erased.
Lagos belongs to its history, and its history deserves to be told accurately.