Lagos State

Early History

Before the Portuguese name of Lagos had been adopted, Lagos' initial name was Eko which referred mainly to the Island. The first to settle in Eko were the Aworis. The Awori hunters and fishermen had originally come from Ile-Ife to the coast. The name Eko comes either from the Yoruba "Oko" (cassava farm) or "Eko" (war camp). Over 650 years ago, the Oba of Bini sent warriors to Eko who were received in a welcoming manner by the residing Awori fishermen. The Bini Prince, Ado, who led the war party, was asked to become their leader. From that point on, Eko belong yoruba.

Postcolonial Era

Lagos State was created on 27 May 1967 according to the State Creation and Transitional Provisions Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria into a Federation of 12 states. Before the issuance of this Decree, Lagos city, which was the country's capital had been administered directly by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs. However, Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry were administered by the then Western Region Government. Lagos, the city, along with these other towns were captured to create the state of Lagos, with the State becoming fully recognized as a semi-autonomous administrative division on 11 April 1968. Lagos served the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital until 1976, when the capital of the State was moved to Ikeja. After the full establishment of the Federal Capital Territory, the seat of the Federal Government was also formally relocated to Abuja on 12 December 1991. Nevertheless, Lagos still remains the financial centre of the country, and also grew to become the most populous city in the state and the country.

Lagos

Lagos is the most populous city in the state and in Nigeria as a whole. The conurbation is one of the most populous in the world. As of 2015, the population of Lagos city was approximately 16 million. Lagos is a port which originated on islands separated by creeks, such as Lagos Island, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon while protected from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) east and west of the mouth. The Metropolitan area of Lagos include: Ikeja (which is the capital of Lagos State) and Agege and Mushin.

Ikeja

Ikeja is the state capital of Lagos State. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, clean and quiet residential and commercial town with shopping malls, pharmacies and government reservation areas. The Murtala Mohammed International Airport is located in Ikeja. Ikeja is also home to the Femi Kuti's Africa Shrine and Lagbaja's Motherlan', both live music venues. It now boasts a shopping mall, Ikeja City Mall, which is the largest mall in the Mainland of Lagos State and also has a cinema.

Lekki

Lekki is a city, which is located to the south east of the state. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, which is still largely under construction; As of 2015, only phase 1 of the project has been completed, with phase 2 nearing completion. The peninsula is approximately 70 to 80 km long, with an average width of 10 km. Lekki currently houses several Estates, gated residential developments, agricultural farmlands, areas allocated for a Free Trade Zone, with an airport, and a sea port under construction. The proposed land use master plan for the Lekki envisages the Peninsula as a "Blue-Green Environment City", expected to accommodate well over 3.4 million residential population and an additional non-residential population of at least 1.9 million.

Ikorodu

Ikorodu is a city located north east of the state along the Lagos Lagoon, it shares a boundary with Ogun State. As of the 2006 Census Ikorodu had an enumerated population of 535,619.

Eko Atlantic

Eko Atlantic is a planned city being constructed on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean. It is located on former Lagos’ Bar Beach. Upon completion, the new island which is still under development is anticipating at least 250,000 residents and a daily flow of at least 150,000 commuters. The development will also have a positive environmental impact; its purpose is to stop the erosion of the Lagos coastline. The Eko Atlantic City project received global recognition in 2009, as the Lagos State government and its private sector partners on the Project, South Energyx, received the Clinton Global Initiative Commitment Certificate.

Badagry

Badagry is a coastal town in the state. It is situated between Metropolitan Lagos, and the border with Benin at Seme. As of the preliminary 2006 census results, the municipality had a population of 241,093.

Epe

Epe is a town located on the north side of the Lekki Lagoon. Epe is popular for the fishing activities attributed to the city, the 2006 Census the population of Epe was 181,409.

Ojo

Ojo is a town with a population of 507,693 Lagos State University is located in this town.

Economy

Lagos State is a major economic centre of Nigeria. It would be the fifth largest economy in Africa if it were a country.

Government

Since its creation in 1967, the state has been administered either by a governor and a House of Assembly in civilian or quasi-civilian (under Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida's administration) federal administrations, or by Sole-Administrators or Military Administrators in military dispensations . Since December 2007, Yoruba has been the second official language of debate and discussion for the House of Assembly after English.

Administrative Divisions and Local Government Areas

Lagos State is divided into five Administrative Divisions, which are further divided into twenty (20) Local Government Areas, or LGAs. They are:

The first 16 of the above LGAs comprise the statistical area of Metropolitan Lagos. The remaining four LGAs (Badagry, Ikorodu, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe) are within Lagos State but are not part of Metropolitan Lagos.

In 2003, many of the existing 20 LGAs were split for administrative purposes into Local Council Development Areas. These lower-tier administrative units now number 56: Agbado/Oke-Odo, Agboyi/Ketu, Agege, Ajeromi, Alimosho , Apapa, Apapa-Iganmu, Ayobo/Ipaja, Badagry West, Badagry, Bariga, Coker Aguda, Egbe Idimu, Ejigbo, Epe, Eredo, Eti Osa East, Eti Osa West, Iba, Isolo, Imota, Ikoyi, Ibeju, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ifelodun, Igando/Ikotun, Igbogbo/Bayeku, Ijede, Ikeja, Ikorodu North, Ikorodu West, Ikosi Ejinrin, Ikorodu, Ikorodu West, Iru/Victoria Island, Itire Ikate, Kosofe, Lagos Island West, Lagos Island East, Lagos Mainland, Lekki, Mosan/Okunola, Mushin, Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye, Ojo, Ojodu, Ojokoro, Olorunda, Onigbongbo, Oriade, Orile Agege, Oshodi, Oto-Awori, Shomolu, Surulere and Yaba.

List of current Local Government Area Chairmen.

Tertiary Institutions in Lagos State

People

While the State is essentially a Yoruba-speaking environment, it is a socio-cultural melting pot attracting both Nigerians and foreigners alike.

Indigenous inhabitants include the Aworis and Eguns in Ikeja and Badagry Divisions respectively, with the Eguns being found mainly in Badagry.

There is also an admixture of other pioneer settlers collectively known as the Ekos.

The indigenes of Ikorodu and Epe Divisions are mainly the Ijebus with pockets of Eko-Awori settlers along the coastland and riverine areas.

Notable people

Transportation

Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja is one of Nigeria's 5 major international airports.