Claim Eko never had native settlers far from reality – Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

The Aworis came before the Portuguese (1472), whilst the Binis came 100 years later and set up the royalty system. The traditional land owning families remain with the Awori natives up till today.

A book launch celebrating the a commercial Lagos patron, Papa Oluwole Oluyede Layeni, the first generation and progenitor of the Layeni, may have provided an opportunity for former Minister of Communications, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd), to correct a wrong motion about the City of Lagos, his own ancestral land in Nigeria.

The opportunity came when, on invitation, he graced the book launch as Chairman of the occasion and, in his chairman’s speech, he reacted to a part of the document that tends to re-write the history of Lagos and present it like a “no man’s land”.

Author of the book, “A Footprint On The Sand Of Time”, Mr David Olusoga Fayemi, has written to project the picture of Lagos as a city populated by different sets of migrants and that Eko never had native settlers.

Setting the record straight, General Olanrewaju said, “This is far from reality,” adding that, “The Aworis came before the Portuguese (1472), whilst the Binis came 100 years later and set up the royalty system. The traditional land owning families remain with the Awori natives up till today.

“The returnees started their return journey in 1830 and settled in the Southeast of Lagos. Lagos has never been a ‘no man’s land’. Oba Oyekan ll shut that debate 35 years ago. It was a global news item at that period,” the General corrected the notion.

Read the full statement below:

BEING THE CHAIRMAN SPEECH BY MAJOR GENERAL TAJUDEEN OLANREWAJU (RTD) DELIVERED DURING THE OCCASION CELEBRATING ONE OF THE PATRONS OF COMMERCIAL LAGOS AND LAUNCH OF JOURNEY OF THE PATRIARCH OF LAYENI FAMILY – A Footprint On The Sand Of Time

PROTOCOL

1. I’m very proud to be invited to this special occasion of a book launch in honour of famous patriarch the great grandfather Oluwole Oluyede Layeni, the first generation and progenitor of the Layeni

2. The book is my first chance to read the history of the Layeni Court and the descendants of their progenitor, although I’m familiar with Mr Alfred and Ibitola Ore-Dawodu through friendship and a distant cousin, Late Alhaji Yunusa S Layeni again through my great grandmother Iya Oja in Isalegangan Street in central lagos. Alhaji Yunusa was mentioned in the dispatch in the book under review. It is most interesting to read this book through the prism of the author, Mr David Olusoga Fayemi, about the greatness of the patriarch of the Layeni family.
3 The author traced the birth place of Pa Oluwole Oluyede Layeni to Owu, Abeokuta, in Ogun state of Nigeria, but Papa lived the rest of his life in the City of Lagos. He had three children and many grand and great grand children. He left a legacy of good name behind and a nexus of families living in the ancestral home on Broad Street.

4. The great strength of this House On The Broad Street ( HOBS) lies in its richness of the details and truth about the community living in the court. I must congratulate the author of this book for his thought process and for presenting the book for public review and information by reviewers and public interest groups.

5. One of the most befitting observations that I have seen about Broad Street and the site of HOBS was the beautiful remembrance of the entire stretch presented in the Colonial Business District (CBD). There was a beacon of ambience of the Avenue that also implied the variable legacies of elites and very important personalities who domiciled there. The history of Eko cannot be complete without exemplary contributions of Oluwole Oluyede Layeni Clan.

6. Inside the book, you will find biological highlights and career benchmarks of the second, third and fourth of each child of Oluwole Oluyede Layeni. There are four branches. You will be proud of their achievements. The narratives were readable, lucid with crisp insights. The Layeni as a family group are in various fields of endeavour. They are in business, law, judiciary, armed forces, governments, and other innovative employments.

7. As a matter of fact, it was a beacon of pride to live in that community of HOBS in Eko City during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial up to the early 70s. Pa Layeni’s name was listed in the journalism Dispatch circulating among the Lagos Entrepreneurs as Merchants in 1851-1931. Other were Thomas Francis Cole 1812-1890, my own progenitor Sunmonu Animashaun 1810-1895, Alli- Balogun 1850-1933, Joe Thomas 1810-1880, Doherty Josiah Henryson 1866-1928, Samuel Crowther jnr,1829-1900, Jawando Selia 1855-1950, Rocha Joao Esan da 1821-1891, Ogunbiyi Jacob 1805-1886, Olukolu Fasheke 1824-1906, Blaize Richards Beale 1845-1923,& Taiwo Daniel Conrad 1824-1901.

8. Although, I seemed to have the impression from reading through some sections of the book that Lagos City was populated by different sets of migrants namely Aworis, Ijebus, Binis at different times, and some others; and that Eko never had native settlers but traders. This is far from reality. The Aworis came before the Portuguese (1472), whilst the Binis came 100 years later and set up the royalty system. The traditional land owning families remain with the Awori natives up till today. The returnees started their return journey in 1830 and settled in the Southeast of Lagos. Lagos has never been a ‘no man’s land’. Oba Oyekan ll shut that debate 35 years ago. It was a global news item at that period.

9. Another long-debated perception regarding the ownership and identity of Eko was addressed by Brig-Gen Mobolaji Johnson, the first military governor of Lagos State. The headline captured a historic declaration that: ‘LAGOS IS NOT A ‘NO MAN’S LAND’, Says Johnson’, but rather the homeland of its original inhabitants – the Awori, a sub-Yoruba group along with other early settlers such as the Binis and Brazilian returnees. Brig-Gen Johnson further emphasised that the cultural and historical identity of Lagos must be respected even if it evolves into a national and international urban centre.

10. On the basis of this issue of Lagos being treated as No Man’s Land by non-indigenes, I wrote an ‘Open Letter’ to the governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on the urgent need to cleanse Central Lagos Business District following the unfortunate incident around Mandilas area on the Broad Street in Lagos Island. The District has degenerated and turned the once decent, clean, and traditionally peaceful pace of commerce into a confusing medley of choking human parade. The traders have stretched their goods unto the roads, hindering motorists’ passage ways. It is indeed an unsightly flow of ‘push and shove’. We must step back from this wrack and ruin. The governor must wield the big stick. The laws are already in place. Let him promptly put the laws into effect. A new regeneration or restoration plan must be put in place urgently and reclaim the glory of Broad Street.

11. I congratulate Mr David Olusoga Fayemi for putting together an impressive blend of history, culture, and social narratives about the progenitor of Layeni Family and the various generations that make up the entire Layeni community in Lagos. The book, ‘The House On Broad Street’, is an illuminating narrative of Eko before, during the lifetime of Papa Layeni and beyond his time.

12. I recommend the book for Lagos State indigenes, residents, all members of the Layeni Court home, and abroad, friends and well wishers and institutions as well. Thank you for your kind invitation to chair this event.

Maj-Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju, RTD, ndc, psc(+),
Msc in Strategic Studies
Former Minister of Communications & Former Member Provisional Ruling Council,
Forme GOC Third Armoured Division Nigerian Army.