Benin people ‘owned’ Lagos, Aworis paid royalties to them —Erelu Abiola Dosunmu
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(Written by Charles Kumolu) (Last Update June 16, 2021)

Her Royal Highness, Erelu Kuti IV of Lagos, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, in this interview, shares her perspective on the controversy over the ‘ownership’ of Lagos and declares that the former federal capital was an extension of Benin Kingdom. She explains that there are no ambiguities regarding the ancestry of the aborigines of Lagos, saying they are predominantly Benin. Abiola Dosumu maintains that the Awori ,after settling in Lagos, paid royalties to Benin people. Excerpts:

Erelu Abiola

Are you not concerned about the controversy over the true aborigines of Lagos?

I would not say I am concerned because I know the truth. The history of Lagos is not obscure, it is very clear. If people are going to say the truth, we all know what the truth is.

A friend was saying to me if I was not sure there is no third party trying to take the rights of Lagos through this raging controversy. We all know the story of Lagos from childhood.

Even a play was staged about the beginning of Lagos last year. I just know that the truth will surface after this raging controversy because a lot of the gladiators are being miserly in some of their discussions.

Can you give clarity on some of the things you consider not to be factual among those that have been said so far?

The territory of Lagos has always been an extension of the Benin Kingdom in the sense that they used it as a passage to the port for their trading and interaction with foreigners.

We all know that foreigners visited the Benin Empire long before colonialism and signing of the treaty of Lagos.   This is their passageway and hunting ground.

As soon as strangers came to settle down, they would pounce on them and make them pay royalties. Like all human beings, when you settle in a place for a long time, it is expected that you will have the right of ownership.

And the foreigners were not ready to be subservient and refused to pay Isakole (royalty) and the Benin king did not take kindly to that. He sent an expedition and subjugated the foreigners and set up his own administration in form of a kingdom.

Therefore, when I say that we are purely and predominantly Benin, it is the truth. The royalty of Lagos is predominantly Benin.

But we have all intermingled and have since inter-married with people from Yoruba land and people from other places. And we are enjoying the two cultures. We are even enjoying more because we now have Igbo, Hausa and other tribes settling in Lagos. We are not enjoying the Yoruba influence alone, we are also enjoying other influences.

Prior to the institution of the royalty with Oba Ado as the first king, who were the people that the Benin met on the ground?

The Benin has always known about Lagos because they considered it as part of their territory and they used it for many purposes. And when the Awori came from Ife to settle in the areas of Lagos, the Benin quickly got them to pay royalties. Benin was landlocked but, as Benin Empire, they were interacting with people from other parts of the world.

It was Benin Empire and, when the Portuguese and others came, they also had to pass through the Kuramo waters to get there. They had already laid claim to the land called Lagos. Whether they gave it a name or not, it was an extension of their playground. And when another group of people came to settle there, the Benin said they already had authority over the palace.

That was what informed their decision to make the Awori pay royalties.   And after paying the Isakole for a while, they (Awori) decided not to pay anymore. That made the Benin to decide not to leave a vacuum anymore and set up an administration.

That is why I am saying that there is no ambiguity in the history of Lagos if we are going to tell the truth. All these people, who have been talking, never mentioned that they paid Isakole but we all know that.

It is written in books that they paid Isakole. That was the main reason the Benin came and took Olofin away. He refused to be subservient to them. The Benin came here because it is their territory. There is evidence that an expedition was sent from Benin, there is evidence that they were conquered because there was an obaship in place.

Even if they did not have anything and just sent an expedition to conquer, when someone conquers, he takes over the land and property of the conquered territory. Now, we want to unify our views and have a consensus so that those people, who are trying to take our rights away, can be confronted to see if we can get some kind of compensation for our children.

This is not the first time such controversy is raging, what do you think is responsible for its recurrence?

What I did at NIIA was to state that Oba Dosumu was an unsung hero. It was to state that the treaty for which he was being castigated was a masterstroke. He was a forward-looking king who had the interest of his people at heart. He did not allow his position to go into his head by allowing his subjects to be destroyed in a meaningless battle.

He found a way to a roundtable discussion and was able to retain integrity for his kingdom, while still retaining the friendship of the colonial people. There are many countries in Africa where people don’t remember their culture but he found a way to get a concession by which he was allowed to remain a king and sustain the culture and pride of his people as independent human begins.

And the people actually enjoyed the benefits because they were able to carry British passports and get scholarships to study abroad.

That is why a lot of early educated people were the indigenous people of Lagos. For example, people like the late Justice Elias, Justice Junaidu, and Prince Ajose were among the early educated people. Our fathers and grandfathers were all products of King’s College, they were either great bankers, doctors, pharmacists, etc. It is wrong to think that Lagos people are lazy. It is not the indigenous people of Lagos, who are lazy, it is those who come from other places.

This kind of controversy happened before and it is here again. In the light of that, how can the issue be resolved because oral history is easily distorted and told to suit individual and group interests?Therefore, when I say that we are purely and predominantly Benin, it is the truth. The royalty of Lagos is predominantly Benin.

But we have all intermingled and have since inter-married with people from Yoruba land and people from other places. And we are enjoying the two cultures. We are even enjoying more because we now have Igbo, Hausa and other tribes settling in Lagos. We are not enjoying the Yoruba influence alone, we are also enjoying other influences.

Prior to the institution of the royalty with Oba Ado as the first king, who were the people that the Benin met on the ground?

The Benin has always known about Lagos because they considered it as part of their territory and they used it for many purposes. And when the Awori came from Ife to settle in the areas of Lagos, the Benin quickly got them to pay royalties. Benin was landlocked but, as Benin Empire, they were interacting with people from other parts of the world.

It was Benin Empire and, when the Portuguese and others came, they also had to pass through the Kuramo waters to get there. They had already laid claim to the land called Lagos. Whether they gave it a name or not, it was an extension of their playground. And when another group of people came to settle there, the Benin said they already had authority over the palace.

That was what informed their decision to make the Awori pay royalties.   And after paying the Isakole for a while, they (Awori) decided not to pay anymore. That made the Benin to decide not to leave a vacuum anymore and set up an administration.

That is why I am saying that there is no ambiguity in the history of Lagos if we are going to tell the truth. All these people, who have been talking, never mentioned that they paid Isakole but we all know that.

It is written in books that they paid Isakole. That was the main reason the Benin came and took Olofin away. He refused to be subservient to them. The Benin came here because it is their territory. There is evidence that an expedition was sent from Benin, there is evidence that they were conquered because there was an obaship in place.

Even if they did not have anything and just sent an expedition to conquer, when someone conquers, he takes over the land and property of the conquered territory. Now, we want to unify our views and have a consensus so that those people, who are trying to take our rights away, can be confronted to see if we can get some kind of compensation for our children.

This is not the first time such controversy is raging, what do you think is responsible for its recurrence?

What I did at NIIA was to state that Oba Dosumu was an unsung hero. It was to state that the treaty for which he was being castigated was a masterstroke. He was a forward-looking king who had the interest of his people at heart. He did not allow his position to go into his head by allowing his subjects to be destroyed in a meaningless battle.

He found a way to a roundtable discussion and was able to retain integrity for his kingdom, while still retaining the friendship of the colonial people. There are many countries in Africa where people don’t remember their culture but he found a way to get a concession by which he was allowed to remain a king and sustain the culture and pride of his people as independent human begins.

And the people actually enjoyed the benefits because they were able to carry British passports and get scholarships to study abroad.

That is why a lot of early educated people were the indigenous people of Lagos. For example, people like the late Justice Elias, Justice Junaidu, and Prince Ajose were among the early educated people. Our fathers and grandfathers were all products of King’s College, they were either great bankers, doctors, pharmacists, etc. It is wrong to think that Lagos people are lazy. It is not the indigenous people of Lagos, who are lazy, it is those who come from other places.

This kind of controversy happened before and it is here again. In the light of that, how can the issue be resolved because oral history is easily distorted and told to suit individual and group interests?

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Benin kingdom copy right