Tag: Lagos

 

 

A Lagosian, stranded and helpless, narrated his experience,:

Last Thursday night I ran out of fuel on Third Mainland Bridge.
11pm.
Phone at 2%.
No powerbank.
I want to tell you what happened next.

I pushed the hazard lights on and sat in the car.
Trying to think.
Cars were flying past me.
Nobody slowed down.
Not one person.
Lagos at night on that bridge is a different kind of alone.After about 15 minutes I saw headlights slow down behind me.
A danfo bus.
Old. Battered. One headlight slightly dim.
The driver came down.
Big man. Rough looking. Dirty shirt. Chewing something.
My first thought was fear.
My second thought was I had no choice.He looked at my car.
Looked at me.
Said “fuel?”
I nodded.
He didn’t say anything else.
Just went back to his bus.
I thought he was leaving.
He wasn’t.He came back with a small gallon.
Maybe two liters.
Old plastic container with a rubber pipe attached.
Like he kept it specifically for situations like this.
He poured it into my tank without being asked.
Without negotiating.
Without even looking at me for approval.I started the car.
It came on.
I came down immediately and opened my wallet.
I had ₦15,000 on me.
I held it out to him.
He looked at the money.
Then looked at me.
And shook his head.I thought he wanted more.
I told him it was all I had.
He said “keep am.”
Just like that.
Keep am.
I stood there confused.
This man just helped a stranger on a bridge at 11pm and didn’t want anything.I asked him why.
He leaned against his bus.
Took a long breath.
And said something I have not stopped thinking about since.He said in 1998 he broke down on that same bridge.
Night time.
Pregnant wife in the passenger seat.
No phone. No money. No fuel.
He said he sat there for almost an hour crying and praying.Then a man in a big car stopped.
Suit and tie.
Looked like someone who had no business stopping for a danfo driver.
But he stopped.
Bought fuel from somewhere.
Came back.
Filled his tank.
Refused every kobo he offered.
Said only one thing before he drove off.”Pass am forward.”
That was it.
Pass am forward.
The man in the suit drove away and he never saw him again.
25 years he carried those three words.
Third Mainland Bridge.
Waiting for his own turn to use them.I stood on that bridge and didn’t know what to say.
This man had been holding onto someone else’s kindness for 25 years.
And he chose me to give it to.
A stranger in a car he had never seen before.He got back into his danfo.
Gave me one nod.
And drove off into the night.
I stood there watching his one dim headlight disappear.
Holding ₦15,000 I couldn’t give away.I sat back in my car for a long time before I drove off.
Thinking about the man in the suit in 1998.
Who had no idea what he started.
A chain of kindness that crossed 25 years and found me on the same bridge.I don’t know who that danfo driver is.
I don’t know his name.
But somewhere in Lagos tonight he is driving that old bus.
With one dim headlight.
And a heart that has been quietly changing lives since 1998.
Pass am forward.

*What are you passing forward today*?

Karma!!!!!

You will definitely reap something some day.
Depends on what you have been sowing!!!!

 

 

-By Maj.-Gen.  Tajudeen Olanrewaju

The pivot and the very womb of central Lagos is undoubtedly Lagos Island. It is the heartland of our ancestors . It is the centrality of our beginning, the core provenance that defines our cherished heritage.

It is the home of our great men and women.

It is the beginning of all the Oba of Lagos from Ado Keme, Gabaro, Akinsemoyin, Ologunkutere, Dosunmu Akamọ Ẹkun , Oba Oyekan, to the present Ọba Akiolu.

It is here that sprung Alhaja Pelewura, Alhaja Alaṣọ Oke, Olaniyonu of Isaleko-Offin, Oshodipipẹ of Isalẹ- Ọffin, Dawodu, Kosoko, Olusi , Doherty, Jk Randle, Fashina , Olayeni, Olanrewaju, Bank Anthony, the Coles of Olowogbowo, the Williams, Taiwo Olowo, Salawu Ado-Dosunmu, Bello Fashola, Shitta Bey, Alli-Ọlọkọ, Gbajumo, George family of Evans street, Agunbiade alias Baba Oṣa, LJ Dosunmu, Alfa Momoh Tinubu, Dr Maja the Rhodes family, I.S Adewale, Gbajabiamila, Oki, Fashina, Muritala Animashaun, Landude, Smith of OkeArin/ Alakoro, Pa Dallass of Evans Street, Herbert Macaulay ,Fashanu of Isalegangan, Jinadu of Faji enclave Okunnu of Isaleeko,Savage and so many numerous names of illustrious men and women of distinctions who actually built Lagos and gave it the magnetic commercial allure that still remains the envy of the world.

It is the home of the famous Pelewura market which now lies in ruin and a severe eyesore. It is the abode of the once prosperous Jankara market which presently festers in a glaring perpetual wasteland of unrelenting miseries and un-abating economic chaos amid a vast growing rot of decay and abandonment by successive local government leadership.

 

From the far fringes of Lafiaji in the east to Sandgrouse, Okepopo, Campos, Itafaji, Ọnala, Arọlọya, Idumayingbo, Dosunmu, Idumọta, weaving across Tinubu fountain in the west, hurrying towards the choked huddle of Balogun, the cluttered largeness of Isalẹ -Ọffin, Oke-Arin and the tumultuous stretches of Apongbon on the western edge of Lagos Island- our beloved and once beautiful pride of place is gradually deteriorating into an unrecognizable, distorted landscape of lost hopes, of perished dreams and shattered vision.

It is now a place of moribund lives where septic waters run across homes, where the stench of putrid , clogged drainages hover from the living spaces into schools , into mosques , into churches and the derelict, muddy, flooded crumbling expanses of the streets and the markets.

It is here the grim stare of poverty confronts us all in the abject faces of unemployed youths taking refuge in drugs and illicit activities, where the young and old are resigned to a life of despair and penury, where the very harsh symbols of irredeemable destitution imperils the essentiality of existence.

This is the ugly face of our new Lagos Island we now invite Governor Sanwoolu to do a physical working tour of determined and thorough evaluative examination with the ultimate resolve to rehabilitate, cleanse the dirt and the odium pervading our ancestral home.

We at De Renaissance Foundation borne upon the common bond of our Ọmọ Eko Pataki ethos are now respectfully tasking the governor to go round the aforementioned neighborhoods and streets not in the screened , intimidating distance of endless convoy of Sports Utility Vehicles but alas in the intimate proximity and the humbling embrace of the common man tricycle popularly known as kẹkẹ marwa .

Yes. Let the governor remove himself from the elite based promotional agenda of water sports or Formular one elegance of Hollywood themed events and subject himself to the harsh and worsening realities of our peoples lives.

We do not ask him to demolish or eviscerate our heritage like they are now doing with the ancient Itafaji market. We do not ask him to remove our people from their ancestral homeland. We are surely not against modernization. But modernization does not and should not entail a destruction of cherished ancestral structures and spaces.

The Vatican City is about 2000 years old and no one has ever suggested its replacement with a modern architecture. So is the Élysée palace or the 300 hundred years old Buckingham palace.

The Megalithic temple of Turkey is about 11,000 years old and is still standing fit and firm save for strict renovation work whenever it is necessary. No one has ever suggested its modernity. It is considered a national treasure. So is the 7, 000 years old megalithic temple in Malta.

What we request is restoration, renovation, a cleansing that does not destroy our history which we rejected in our recent intervention about the proposed demolition of the old Randle hospital .

Everywhere in the enlightened world, a people’s heritage is never allowed to decay. They are treasured, revered, respected iconic places of pride like the Stonehenge in England which is about 5,000 years old, the Coliseum in Rome is almost 2,000 years old, the Pyramid of Djoser in Egypt is about 4,600 years old , the city of Jericho on the West Bank is 9,600 years old, while the ancient tower of Pisa is about 850 years old .

We remember vividly some decades ago when some people suggested that the leaning tower of Pisa should be straightened up. That it should not lean and tilt again. The Italian government rejected the suggestion outright and engaged in the renovation and strengthening of the leaning tower of Pisa. Today it still remains a leaning tower. That is the preservation of an heritage. That is an appreciation of an historic monument.

We have gone to this length to illustrate how iconic structures are often embraced as historic treasures that remind a people about the creativity and the ingenuity of their ancestors. We do not disdain our past. We are proud of the attainments of our ancestors.

While we agree with Governor Sanwoolu that those who deliberately built on canals and drainages at Festac , Alaba, Trade fair and other places are scoff laws, our concern here is preservation of our own Lagosian ancestry against the seeming indifference of our elected government. The governor should kindly hasten on this pro-people’s tour to protect our endangered ancestry. As they say, a stitch in time saves nine.

We believe it is the duty and responsibility of government to protect and serve its people with diligence and passionate candor. This is the moment our own governor should stand up firmly and courageously and yield genuinely to the yearnings of our people. Now is the time to rectify and mend the broken places . Now is the time to restore our pride of place as anchored by our ancestors.

– Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju rtd, (ndc)
– Former GOC Third Armored Division
– Former Minister of Communications
– Alternate Chairman De Renaissance Foundation

 

By Ademola Adekusibe

A storm of outrage is engulfing Lagos as fresh evidence suggests that the Lagos State Government under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are openly backing individuals accused of desecrating Yoruba culture and heritage.

The controversy centers on the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Idris Aregbe, who admitted in an official statement to meeting with controversial artist Uzo Njoku (UzoArt) and entertainment figure Noble Igwe. The meeting, he claimed, was part of his duty to “provide diplomatic guidance.”

In his widely circulated press release, Aregbe described Lagos as a “true cultural melting pot” which has triggered widespread condemnation. Critics argue that the language deliberately dilutes the Yoruba identity of Lagos, reducing the state’s indigenous heritage to just one ingredient in a mix of outside cultures.

“This is more than careless,” said one enraged observer. “It is calculated betrayal. Lagos is not a melting pot. Lagos is Yoruba land. For a Yoruba son and government official to use such words while meeting with someone accused of mocking Yoruba culture is unforgivable.”

The fury only intensified when UzoArt herself responded publicly, quoting Aregbe’s statement and boasting about the meeting. She declared it was a “pleasure” to meet him and claimed she had presented her case to him and other Lagos officials. In the same post, she brushed aside the accusations against her:
•That she appropriated Yoruba culture by stamping Igbo words on Yoruba adire fabrics.
•That she insulted and cursed Yoruba people during the height of the backlash.
•That she refused to apologize despite repeated calls from cultural custodians.

Labeling all the accusations as “not true,” UzoArt offered no apology, no remorse, and no acknowledgment of the cultural harm. Instead, her dismissive tone paired with the Special Adviser’s embrace has left many Yoruba stakeholders convinced that the Sanwo-Olu government has taken sides against the people.

“This is not just UzoArt anymore,” a Lagos cultural advocate fumed. “It is now Sanwo-Olu’s government and the APC using their machinery to protect and promote those tearing down Yoruba values. They have shown us where their loyalty lies and it is not with the sons and daughters of Oduduwa.”

Political watchers warn that the implications go far beyond art or culture. With elections on the horizon, the perception that APC is shielding those accused of tarnishing Yoruba heritage could ignite deep resentment at the grassroots level.

“This is betrayal at the highest order,” another analyst noted. “If APC cannot defend Yoruba culture in Lagos, the very seat of Yoruba civilization, how can they claim to defend Yoruba interests anywhere else?”

For many, Aregbe’s meeting and subsequent defense have become symbolic of a government willing to trade Yoruba dignity for political correctness and personal alliances. The uproar has sparked mounting calls for accountability, with demands that both Aregbe and the Lagos government explain why outsiders who disparaged Yoruba identity are being elevated while cultural defenders are ignored.