Who Owns Lagos? Isheri Monarch Counters Oba Of Benin Says 'Awori People Settled Here First'

“Olofin Ogunfuminire left Ile-Ife to settle at Isheri before migrating with his wife, Ajaiye, to present-day Iddo in the heart of Lagos. It was at Iddo that Ajaiye was blessed with the fruits of the womb. Her offspring are the Idejo who are the actual traditional landowners of Lagos.

“The spatial region of the land owned by the Idejo spans from Lagos Mainland (Iddo) to Lagos Island and up to Eti-Osa which he allocated absolutely to his children and other descendants.

“In this regard, he assigned Iru to the Oniru, Ikate to the Elegushi, Lagos Island to Aromire, Iganmu to Ojora, Otto, and mainland to the Oloto (up to Odo–Iya Alaro). Isheri was the dispersal point where other Olofin Ogunfunminire descendants left to found other Awori towns. For instance, Akeredun left Isheri to establish Igbesa, Odoyi left Isheri to find Agboyi, and Osolo and Eleidi Atalabi left Isheri to find Ota.

“These facts are firmly established and supported by extant literature written by foreign authors and researchers such as Kristin Mann who in his book titled ‘Slavery and Birth of an African City: Lagos 1760- 1900,” wrote and I quote: ‘Migrant fishing people first settled in Lagos and from the beginning water and canoes had a prominent role in the lives of its inhabitants. Before the 16th century, Aworis, the southernmost of the Yoruba-speaking people, dispersed from Isheri, a village 12 miles up the Ogun River.

“A group of them settled at what is now Ebute Metta, on the mainland until the need for greater security drove the community to a smaller island in the lagoon opposite Lagos Island. There, they established two settlements, Otto and Iddo, and soon attracted fresh immigrants. In time, people from Iddo moved to the northwestern corner of the larger Island opposite, which eventually became known as Lagos, looking for land to farm.

“The settlers recognised the paramount ruler called the Olofin, based in the more populous community of Iddo but tracing mythical descent from Isheri and via the founder of that village to Ile-ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilisation.”

“The Benin, who later came to Lagos as mere traders, met Olofin and his descendants on the island of Iddo and its neighbourhood where they (Benin) settled down and were well received and hosted by the community. As time went by, a feud broke out between the Benin and their hosts. Facing imminent defeat, they called for reinforcements and assistance from the Oba of Benin.

“Olofin Ogunfunminire and his mentees vehemently and successfully repelled these attacks. As a compromise, and as part of the tolerant disposition which is the character of the typical Awori, the Benins were eventually relocated to live with Aromire on his pepper farm on Lagos Island at Iga Idungaran (Idungaran in Awori means pepper farm) where they after a while and probably due to the indifference of the original land owner, introduced a more structured organisation.

“The first settlers in present Lagos are Aworis and the dispersal point of Aworis is Isheri. As the Olofin of Isheri and Adimula of Awori Kingdoms, I implore The Oba of Benin to retrace the origin of the Benin Kingdom to Ile Ife, as the Aworis have always done”,

“First, I have spoken about this issue several times. And you see, if people refuse to use common sense and do research and use relics for their argument, why do you waste your time?

“All these things that have been said have the evidence, relics and proofs for a whole lot of these for you to be able to bring the story to the right perspective.

“Everybody is talking from different corners of their mouths especially those who don’t even know anything about it.

“How old are they, how many of them who are kings today grew up within an environment where they could be impacted by the authentic history of their people?

“I became Erelu in my early 20s, and I was sitting with 80 and 90-year-old men, and those men had at least another 90 years of experience and narrated verbatim before I started getting it from them.

“So, already 200 years of verbatim story I got it from the source. I am almost 80 and I have acquired another century of information by myself.

“If I say anything, I am saying it from at least 300 years of verbatim fact.

“So, some people talk from here, another one from there, who are they? What was the point of their entry? Some of them may be, they started imbibing the culture and traditions five years ago and they make themselves authority.

“Hopefully that’s one of the things we will be unveiling here at the centre.”