5 FACTS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT LAGOS

1    1. Lagos, which means “lakes”, was a name given to the settlement by the Portuguese. The state first came to the attention of the Portuguese in the 15th century when Portuguese explorer Rui de Sequeira visited the area in 1472 on a trade expedition, naming the area around the city Lago de Curamo; indeed the present name is Portuguese for “lakes”

    

L    2. Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people. Under the leadership of the Oloye Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island.

Sunset Picture taken by LEKKI PEOPLE magazine at ATICAN BEACH RESORT. LEKKI.

5       3. In the 15th century, the Awori settlement was conquered by the Benin Empire and the island became a Benin war-camp called “Eko” under Oba Orhogba, the Oba of Benin at the time. The Yoruba still use the name Eko to refer to Lagos.

6       4 Lagos was formally annexed as the British Lagos Colony in 1861, 26 years before the other parts of Nigeria were annexed in 1887, and Lagos was made the capital. It remained so after Independence in 1960, until the federal capital territory was moved to Abuja in 1991.

5.    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.