Brief History of “Ojota, Abule Egba, Apongbon, Magodo, Epetedo, Ebute-Metta, BroadStreet, Agidingbi, V.I”
1 Ojota
Ojota used to be a military settlement in the late 18th century and soldiers practised their shooting there. The area had several gun firing spots and became known as “Oju Ota” in Yoruba which means “Bullet spots”. It later metamorphosed into Ojota which it is called now.
2. Abule Egba
This area is on the outskirts of Lagos and got its name from the early settlers who were Egba people from Abeokuta. The area was first called “Abule awon egba” in Yoruba, which means “Village of Egba people”. It later became “Abule Egba”.The area was settled upon by the aworis of ota who later grant the egbas to settle as customary tenants.
3. Apongbon
Apongbon is one of Lagos’ most popular markets, and it’s also quite close to the popular Oke-Arin market. It got its name from the then acting governor of the Lagos colony, William McCoskry, who had a Red Beard. The Yorubas who couldn’t pronounce the colonial governor’s name decided to describe him by his red beard and started calling him *“Oyinbo to pon ni agbon”* (Apon l’agbon) meaning a red-bearded man. It later became Apongbon.
4. Magodo
Magodo is now a posh area, but in the past, it used to be sacred land. The residents had a lot of taboos and one of them was to avoid using mortars and pestles, “Ma gun odo” which means “Don’t pound it”. It later became Magodo
5. Epetedo
Epe is named after the early settlers who were Epe traders. The area became dominated by the Epes and they still trade there until today. Epetedo people are the Epe people entourage who followed King Kosoko and his friend Oshodi Tapa back to Lagos when King Kosoko was exiled in Epe. Magodo is a twin brother of Igodo.
6. Ebute-Metta
Ebute-Metta is one of the earliest harbour docks where British ships berthed at. It was a hub for trade and commerce in colonial times. Ebute-Metta is a fusion of the words “Ebute” which means the seaside in Yoruba, and “Metta” which means three. The three shores are Iddo, Otto and Oko baba.
7. Broad street
The broad street used to be one of the longest and widest streets in the city. It got its name from its broadness. However, Broad Street was later changed to Yakubu Gowon Street but later changed back to Broad street when Gowon was accused of participating in the coup that led to the death of Murtala Ramat Mohammed.
8. Agidingbi
The British Naval forces invaded Lagos in 1885 under the pretext of stopping slavery and human sacrifice. The noise their canon made was really loud, and the sound was heard around the streets of Lagos Island. The people described the sound as “A gidi n gbinnn”. Which means a loud groundbreaking noise. The name Agidingbi was borne out of this.
9. Victoria Island
Victoria Island was also a major hub for commerce and British ships berthed there often. It’s named after Queen Victoria of England who was Queen from 1837-1901.
10. Ikeja
Ikeja, which was formally called “Akeja” was named after a deity of the Awori people of Ota. It was originally settled by the Awori people, and the area was raided for slaves until the mid-19th century. Early in the 20th century, it became an agricultural hinterland for Lagos. The opening of the Lagos-Ibadan railway in 1901 and the growth of Lagos as a port transformed Ikeja into a residential and industrial suburb of that city. In the mid-1960s an industrial estate was established, and in 1976 Ikeja became the capital of Lagos state
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