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[The Alausa Blog]: Lagos is great because it is a melting pot of all cultures #LagosAt50

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode , at the Lagos History Lecture held at Eko Hotels and Suites on Wednesday attributed the greatness of the State to its ability to be the melting pot for all cultures.

The lecture tagged “Lagos: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” is part of the round up  activities marking Golden Jubilee anniversary of the State.  Ambode recalled that since inception, Lagos had effectively transited  to a socio-political and economic jurisdiction of global significance that is rated today, as the fifth largest economy in Africa.

 Going down memory lane, Governor Ambode said:

It is important for us at this epochal gathering to refresh our memory about the beginning; the journey of how the AWORI played an important role in the evolution of what we call Lagos today, the same applies to the evolution of the EKO Royalty with the coming of the Bini from present day Edo State and even the momentous role played by the TAPPA in the making of our dear State. 

Our greatness is in our ability to be the melting pot for all cultures and as at today, there is no tribe in Nigeria that is not represented in Lagos. From the Hausa/Fulani to the Igbo to the Kanuri to the Ibibio, the Nupe, the Berom, the Igala and so on and so forth all have spaces to live and live well in our dear State. Lagos is not just national in outlook. It is international. The Americans are here; the British are here; South Africans are in their thousands; the Chinese are not in short supply; and the Indians even have a community in Lagos. 

With all sense of modesty, there is no other State like Lagos in Nigeria. Some may say we owe this to the fact that Lagos used to be a Federal Capital Territory. But I really do not think so. While that may have contributed to our greatness, we are also a unique people ready to make fellow human-beings from other lands feel home away from home,” the Governor said.

Other  Speakers at the keynote lecture were Professor Hakeem Danmole Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al-Hikmah University, the first Town Clerk of the Lagos City Council, Senator Habib Fasinro and former Minister of Works, Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN) and the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.

All the speakers touched on the claim that Lagos is no-man’s island and that those making such claim were ignorant, and abused the history of the indigenous people of Lagos such as the Aworis, Egbas, Binis, Ijeshas, Nupes, Brazilian returnees, among others. On his part, Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu  urged the National Assembly to reconsider the motion to grant special status to Lagos, saying doing so would be in best interest of Nigeria.

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