Olamide vs Charly Boy: Why Naming, Renaming Streets in Lagos May Violate the Law – Falana

Abiola Olawale
Writer

Ad

The Gift of Hindsight: What I Would Tell My Younger Self, By Johnson Babalola

By Johnson Babalola @jbdlaw Hindsight, they say, is life’s most generous teacher—but it sends its lessons late. It is only after the storms that the patterns become clear; only after the wrong turns that the map begins to make sense. As I celebrate another birthday today and have grown older, I often find myself reflecting…

Gasoline Prices Drop Toward Pandemic-Era Lows

The national average price of gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon over the weekend. GasBuddy has predicted that prices will go even lower in the coming weeks, with good prospects of motorists enjoying sub-$3 prices for extended periods. This drop is overwhelmingly being driven by the significant increase in oil production from OPEC throughout 2025.…

Alleged Christian Genocide Claim is Damaging Nigeria’s Image– Tuggar Laments

By Abiola Olawale Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has voiced concern over what he described as the damaging impact of the "Christian genocide" narrative on Nigeria's international image. This is as the Minister claimed that the country's complex security challenges are being falsely simplified as religious persecution. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit…

Ad

By Abiola Olawale

A frontline human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Femi Falana has criticised the recent renaming of the Charley Boy Bus Stop to Baddo Bus Stop in honor of rapper Olamide Adedeji.

This is as Falana labelled the move as illegal. This comes after the Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA) announced its decision to rename the bus stop after Olamide.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Falana condemned the renaming of streets in Lagos, including the Charley Boy Bus Stop, as a breach of constitutional protocol.

According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the naming and renaming of roads, streets, and house numbering in Nigeria fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of local governments, as outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Falana argued that the Bariga LCDA’s decision represented a “usurpation of powers”. He said: “However, we have confirmed that the Charley Boy Bus Stop was not named by the authorities of the Bariga Local Council Development Area by the people of Bariga and Gbagada communities. Not withstanding that fact, it should be adequately appreciated that the Charley Boy Bus stop acquired its name and identity sociologically for its apparent functionality and due to the positive impact which Charley Boy has historically made in the area. Renaming the Charley Boy Bus Stop without consulting the Bariga and Gbadaga people smacks of authoritarianism,” he said.

“It is sad to note that a state that has continued to retain the streets named after murderers and economic saboteurs from the former colonial empire is busy renaming streets and bus stops named after Nigerians who have made their contributions to the development of the society.

“Given the serious objections to the diversionary renaming of streets in Lagos State, the legislative arms of the local governments should henceforth conduct public hearings.

“Streets should not be renamed arbitrarily without following the due process of the law with a view to pleasing the whims and caprices of political leaders or to suggest the retrogressive idea of ethnic chauvinism, particularly in a capital city like Lagos.”

Ad

X whatsapp