• The controversial debates over the founding of Lagos between the Yoruba and Benin, sparked by Oba Ewuare II’s claim, have continued unabated
• A newspaper columnist, Lasisi Olagunju, examined historical records and cited authoritative history books to argue that Lagos was founded by the Yoruba
• Olagunju debunked Oba Ewuare II’s claim, citing instances of historical evidence and scholars supporting the notion that Yoruba, not Benin, founded Lagos, with Benin later taking control of some areas through conquest
LEGIT
The Nigerian media space has recently been awash with controversies over who founded Lagos between the Yoruba and the Benin.
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, started the controversial debates after saying that Benin founded Lagos during his recent visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina.
“It is in the history books that the Binis founded Lagos. When some people will hear it now, they will go haywire; what is the Oba saying there again? But it is true. Go and check the records. Maybe not all over Lagos as we know it now but certain areas in Lagos, maybe the nucleus of Lagos, were founded by my ancestors,” the Benin monarch said.
Founder of Lagos: What oldest history books say
As the Oba of Benin cited history books as his reference, a foremost newspaper columnist, Lasisi Olagunju, examined the position of the oldest history books on Lagos.
Olagunju noted that the history of the Yoruba people is well-documented; hence, there is no room for the distortion of historical facts.
Having examined some authoritative history books, he established that Lagos was not founded by Benin but by the Yoruba.
The books Olagunju drew from include Iwe Itan Eko by John B. Losi (1913) with its English translation History of Lagos (1914), A History of Lagos, Nigeria: The Shaping of an African City by Takiu Folami, published in 1982 and described as “most authoritative” in its foreword by the late Oba of Lagos, Adeyinka Oyekan, and other academic writings.
Founding of Lagos: What Iwe Itan Eko said
Citing Losi’s Iwe Itan Eko, Olagunju stated that Lagos started from Isheri and “the first man that built Isheri and settled there…was a hunter, named Ogunfunminire, meaning ‘the god of iron has given me success.’ He was of the royal family of Ile-Ife…”
According to him, the first book on Benin history, Jacob Egharevba’s Ekhere vb Itan Edo (Short History of Benin), was published in 1933, twenty years after Iwe Itan Eko had been published.
Olagunju’s words: “The fact of the Benin-Lagos history is that the Awori inhabited a land they called Oko under their leader, Olofin. Their Oko includes today’s Iddo and the general Lagos Island area.
