By Hamilton Nwosu
A former Lagos State Governor and former Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, has called for the preservation of Lagos’s rich historical heritage amid ongoing controversies surrounding streets naming and renaming in the state
Speaking at the public presentation of Discover Lagos State: A History Puzzle Book (Volume 1) at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Fashola highlighted the importance of safeguarding the state’s history to prevent distortion and promote civic values.
Fashola explained the significance of proper documentation, citing the digital archives of the University of Glasgow, which detail the contributions of figures like Dr. Isaac Ladipo Oluwole, the first African medical officer of health in the Lagos colony.
He said: “The archival heritage is a valuable testimony to the socio-political and economic development of humanity.
“For instance, the Glasgow University archives service gives fascinating insights into the influence that the university, its staff and students have had in the history and development of many countries, including Nigeria,” he said.
He said records also contain information about the first Nigerian students at the University of Glasgow at the time, including Dr Issac Ladipo Oluwole, who was enrolled in 1913 and graduated in 1918.
Referencing the archive, Fashola added: “Dr Ladipo Oluwole returned to Nigeria to become the first African medical officer of health in the Lagos colony.
“He pioneered school health services, with school inspection and vaccination of children in their schools, and started the first Nigerian school of hygiene at Yaba in Lagos in 1920. So that’s the Ladipo Oluwole. But the records were kept well in Glasgow, Scotland.
“So those of us who drive through streets such as Ladipo Oluwole Street in Ikeja will probably now understand and contextualise the contributions of such a man and why it was considered such a high honour to immortalise him by naming a street in his memory.
“But it is perhaps instructive that we are discussing street naming and street unnaming and I keep my gunpowder dry,” he added.
“Today I reiterate those words about street naming and Dr Oluwole and with a greater conviction to reinforce my message that the preservation of our history and the documentation of our progress should be taken seriously.”
The New Diplomat reports that this comes amid ongoing controversies following the renaming of Charly Boy Bus Stop to “Baddo Bus Stop” in honor of rapper Olamide Adedeji by the Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
