Note this: some of us write to educate, present facts and burst lies made by mischief makers and ignoramuses on this blog. What you see sometimes as long proses are actually remedial courses for fact finders and intellectuals. I hate injustice. First off, that bus stop wasn’t officially named by the LGA after the King of Area Boys but it has become popular in Gbagada after several decades. Bus drivers and commuters made it so. Secondly, Charly Boy doesn’t have a personally built house there contrary to general belief. It was a rented house he lived in for many years with his family before later relocating to Abuja. Infact the house was involved in serious litigation after Charly Boy refused to pay rent to the landlady for 7 years. She died heartbroken. There’s another Charly Boy b/stop along Kubwa road in Abuja. Coz of his notoriety, people tend to name wherever he lives as bstop. He has since relocated again from Abuja to his state in Ala Igbo. A couple of years ago, I implored Nd’Igbo living in Lagos to be very careful with their suicidal ‘Lagos is no man’s land’ cry. It’s ominous and makes no sense. Hitherto hospitable and friendly Lagos indigenes would see this as an affront to their ancestral land. Now the chicken is coming home to roost. Lagos HoA is currently making serious efforts to Yorubanize landmarks and indigenize everything including spoken language at public functions. Govt is blocking non indigenes from attaining higher positions in the Civil Service. If you’re not from Lagos State, you can no longer aspire to represent it unlike in the past when non indigenes including Igbo become commissioners in Govt Cabinet and Representatives at the State and National Assemblies. And this isn’t restricted to only Igbo speaking residents. It affects even Yoruba speaking people outside Lagos state. It wasn’t so until Nd’Igbo started claiming Lagos as ‘no man’s land’. Today, you may be Yoruba speaking person but if you’re from Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo or Kwara, there’s no more inclusiveness. Gone are those days when Rauf Aregbesola from Osun state would be made Commissioner for Works for two terms and still insult and betray Lagosians or Ben Akabueze from Anambra as Commissioner for Budget Planning. If you’re not an indigene, you’re OYO. If you won’t allow non indigenes to claim top govt positions or name landmarks after non indigenes in the SE, you also have no right to demand same in Lagos or anywhere outside your state. Anambra won’t employ someone from Ebonyi into top position and vice versa even though they’re both Igbo from the same region and share language, cultures and traditions. However, that bstop should remain Charly Boy’s for the simple reason that, it takes nothing away from the new indigenization policy of Lagos State. That’s fair and common sense. As for those shouting Lagos is no man’s land, this is the salvo to the wahala you’ve been seeking for a long time. Lagos is no longer business as usual coz of what happened in 2023. Always remember this: when you’re settled anywhere as non indigene or immigrant; either in Accra, Lagos or Johannesburg, don’t insult your hosts just coz they’re welcoming. Before Lagos waa made the federal capital of Nigeria, there were indigenes who laid claims to it and so it will continue to be after it was stripped as capital city. What you won’t do in Kano or Lokoja shouldn’t be tried in Lagos. Be happy you live with your hosts in peace and thrive without molestation. Enough said.
