Isale Eko: Cradle of Lagos civilisation

A step into Isale Eko transcends far beyond a welcome into a community; it is a face-to-face encounter with history. The town serves as the host and preservation of both cultural and traditional heritage of the people. The palace of the Oba of Lagos is located in the sprawling Iga Idunganran Street, bringing Lagos royalty […]

A step into Isale Eko transcends far beyond a welcome into a community; it is a face-to-face encounter with history. The town serves as the host and preservation of both cultural and traditional heritage of the people.

The palace of the Oba of Lagos is located in the sprawling Iga Idunganran Street, bringing Lagos royalty into the consciousness of visitors and showing the history of the state.

The street where the palace is located is surrounded by the Igas, who belong to respective titleholders, painting the picture of a royal setting not found in any other part of the state.

While urban dwellers may appreciate the beauty and aesthetics in the cities of Lagos, Isale-Eko, despite its closeness to a thriving business environment, promotes culture.

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The community, which is sandwiched within Ebute Ero and Idumota, is very close to the lagoon, which has been a source of livelihood for indigenes, who are predominantly fishermen and women – while the male go fishing, the women engage in selling the fishes.

It is said that Isale Eko does not sleep, as residents engage in entertainment and social life, almost non-stop, in addition to trade.

 

 History of Isale Eko

According to history, Isale Eko got its name as a result of its location in the area called Eko (later called Lagos).  Its origin dates back to the 15th century when migrants settled in the area. 

Chief Owolabi Egundola Jinadu, the Abore Olokun (priest of the sea), described Isale Eko as a community blessed with two different water bodies: sea and river, saying the presence of both water bodies strengthens its uniqueness.

Chronicling the history of Lagos, he said the Alade-Iganran Oloriaye (Ibinu aro kun tayo) and the Idejo – descendants of Olofin, known as the landowners – are believed to be the two owners of Lagos.

He said that Oba Ado, a migrant from Benin, was the first king to reign in Lagos.

“He came from the Alade clan and settled at Isale Eko with other migrants, namely, Olorogun idodo, Olorogun atebo, Olorogun ide, Olorogun agbeje, Eletu Odibo, Eletu Iwase.  Before the migrants settled here, we had some Akarigbere – Eletu omo, Eletu awo, Eletu ika, Eletu ijebu, Ogboni Iguntafa onilegbale,” he said.

Highlighting the royal hierarchy he said, “The chain of royal hierarchy starts from the Oba of Lagos, then the Akarigbere, who are referred to as first class traditional rulers. Next in line are the Idejo, referred to as Olofin – the Aworis and Oga Alade in charge of appeasing and offering prayers to the deities. Then there is the Abagbon, who are referred to as warlords.”

He added that the Idejo – descendants of Olofin – are believed to have come from Ile-Ife. “We have the Idejo, who are referred to as landowners. They used to be white cap chiefs, but because of expansion in the state, the Oba elevated a lot of them to become kings in their respective lands. Among their descendants are Olumegbon, who is the eldest, Aromire, Onitolo, Onisiwo, Elegushi, Oniru, Oloto and Onikoyi. 

“Descendants of Oga alade include Obanikoro, Oloye Opeluwa, Oloye Onimole, Oloye Onisemo. They are priests. Descendants of Abagbon who migrated with Oba Ado from Benin include Asogbon, Bajulaiye, So enu shashi, Oloye Igbe, Oloye Jakande. The ancestral clans in Isale Eko are Iga Idugaran, Iga Aromire, Iga Olumegbon, Iga Eletu- Odibo, Ogunmade, Elepin, Olodoro,” he said.

 

How the royal stool was established in Lagos  

The Abore gave an account of the royal family ties, saying, “Oba Ado gave birth to Gabaro, Akinsemoyin and Erelu Kuti. When he went to join his ancestor, he was succeeded by Gabaro. After the demise of Gabaro, Akinsemoyin took over the throne. When Oba Akinsemoyin passed on, Erelu Kuti, who was a female, served as regent. Later, her son, Ologun Kutere was installed as Oba while his brother was made the Ogboni Iguntafa. They were both installed in a day. Descendants of this lineage are the heirs to the throne. The current Oba of Lagos, Ridwan Akiolu, is from the clan of Ologun Kutere.”

Saying that Isale Eko does not joke with culture, he explained that the Eyo festival, which is the most prominent among other festivals, is usually organised to honour late prominent indigenes of the community. 

“We have cultural and traditional duties. Isale Eko does not organise Egun festival; Eyo is our traditional festival organised to pay tributes and recognise the impact of those who contributed to the growth of the state. Examples of such prominent individuals are Justice Coker, Holloway, T.O.S Benson, Elediye, Lateef Jakande, Abibatu Tinubu, Mobolaji Johnson and Otedola. Eyo is a special festival, so it is not an annual event,” he said.

 On the order of Eyo festival and its impact he said, “There is Eyo Oosa, who is the ruler. They are saddled with the responsibility to perform traditional rite for the deceased. Eyo adimu, Eyo ogunran, Eyo laba, Eyo orisa oniko agunyo, Eyo orisa olugbani ologede, Eyo orisa adele are the major ones,” he said,

 

Why Isale Eko is clustered 

He said the architectural design of houses was aimed at strengthening family bonding.

“I would say it is deliberate because our forefathers gave more priority to family bonding – they hardly left one another. Also, we are in the middle of large water, so this helps us to see ourselves almost all the time.

“The lifestyle is a reflection of the peace and tranquility within because no one is a burden. Then our forefathers who were fishermen, railway staff and others used to meet at Atipa – a place on the shore. They ate together,” he said.

He urged the state government to preserve the cultural heritage in the community, especially fishing.

“I will plead with the government to preserve this community because it is ancient. Government should help look at other things that would bring development. We also need government’s intervention for fishermen because if we lose more stations we will erase part of history.

“Government should please leave the only place left for them – from Ebute Abo eja mo,” he said.

 

Cultural heritage of Lagos

Muda Yusuf, an indigene of Isale Eko, described the community as the custodian and epicentre of the preservation of culture and tradition in Lagos State.

“This is where traditional items are situated, like the Iga Idunguran, where the Oba of Lagos resides. Most of the white cap chiefs were Akaridele, Ogaalade and Idejo.

“Isale Eko is the epicentre of cultural heritage of the state, where the king serves as the head, just like Ikeja as the capital of Lagos.

“White cap chiefs and non-white cap chiefs like the Apena and Oluwo play ministerial roles in the palace. Iga is headed by the chiefs; and they are close to communities. If there is an issue in a particular place, such as Iga Aseona, Ikegbe, Basuwa, Asogbon and Eletu, those involved are reported first to the chiefs, who will handle it first and report to the king. 

“It is said that anyone who comes to Lagos without visiting Iga Idunganran has not visited the state,” he said, adding that before civilization, the domain of the Oba of Lagos stretched to Ajah.

Prince Ganiyu Onimole from the Onimole Aga chieftaincy family said they served as custodians of the deity usually appeased before the warriors engaged in battle. 

“We are the custodians of the deity, so warriors have to seek divination before embarking on war,” he said, adding that Chief Ogunwo was the first Onimole and founder of the Onimole chieftaincy family of Lagos. 

He also said that Chief Ogunwo was the custodian of the Ajagbile war shrine, which was presented to the Oba of Lagos by Oba Orhogbua of Benin.

“Chief Ogunwo was in charge of Ajagbile, who had been in existence before Oju-Iyewa. The second Chief Onimole of Lagos was Chief Idewu, who died childless. After Chief Idewu Onimole, Chief Aina Onimole became the third Onimole of Lagos.

Kamiru Mustafa, 69, who was born in Isale Eko, described it as a very strong community in Lagos, stressing the role it played during the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras.

“This is the place where the government of Nigeria started. Oba Ridwan Akiolu resides at Isale Eko,” he noted.

He highlighted the cultural festivals of the community, which include Odun Gelege, Efe, and Okoaje, Iya Sango, Eyo.

“Isale Eko is very accommodative. People come from far away or near; and when they have good intentions to do a good thing for the community, they prosper. Also, Isale Eko is not the town where people are discriminated against.

“We have seasons for celebrating Eyo, which is one of the major festivals in Isale Eko. It is done when an iconic person dies. And it demands many plans to carry it out. It is not what we do every time. There are many Eyos, but we have five prominent ones: Eyo Agemu, Eyo Okolaba, Eyo Onigbo, Eyo Ologede, Eyo Agele. During the celebration, five of them are the first to come out before others referred to as Eyo Oga,” he said.

Darko Olawale Ibrahim, who resided in the town for over 40 years, added that the royal formation of Isale Eko is structured with installation of chiefs called Igas, saying their roles are to support the king.

“The Igas have their own chief. That is why they are called the white cap chiefs of Lagos. They follow the king,” he said.

Alimot Ajala, who sells at Oju Olobun market, outlined the varieties of fishes sold there to include Shawa, Ede, Yojayoyo and Agbodo.

“It was the place where my grandmothers traded during the olden days. We go to the market every three days. The market has been here for a long time. It is an ancient market,” she said.

The chairman of Ijoko Agba Isale-Eko, Faruk Adele, said the group, established in 1984, was targeted at executing development initiatives in the community.

“I joined in 1990, but the group was established in 1984. This was not the first group; there are several others that date back to 1920. There was a group called Itaomo Welfare Council established in 1960. One of the founders was Ganiyu Sulaimon, known as Montana, who won a title as Nigeria featherweight champion as a boxer in 1954. Some of the founders were Ganiyu Dosumu, Alhaji Biliami Kareem and Femi Okunu.

“We look after the welfare of the residents in Isale Eko. We have plans to empower youths so that they can become independent. It is very important to the wellbeing of the community. It offers support to the indigenous people of Isale Eko,” he said. 

Moruf Anisere, a fisherman, described fishing as the major occupation of the indigene of Isale Eko, saying the town enjoys peace and tranquility.

“Our forefathers were fishermen while our mothers sold the fishes.  We mainly eat fish. Civilisation has, however, paved way for our children to become educated. And there is less criminal activities,” he said.

Wasiu Onisemo, a fisherman, decried the decline of water bodies, saying the sand filling of water bodies has constrained their business.

“The sea stretches from Idumagbo to Ilubinirn and Ebute Odin, where our fathers used to catch fish. But the government began to sand-fill the sea and we can no longer catch fish in those parts, a situation that makes us go 10 to 15 miles before we can catch fish. As a result of this, most of our people have stopped fishing.

“We need support to give a facelift to our shore, with fishing nets and engines,” he said.

Ganiu Jugo, a fisherman, lamented the dwindling revenue in fishing business due to reduction of water bodies triggered by sand-filling.

“We inherited fishing as an occupation from our fathers.  Isale Eko does not have land for farming; ours is fishing.  We plead with the state government to come to our aid because we have challenges.  Sand-filling has reduced the water body, limiting the number of fishes inside the sea, which has affected our revenue by 70 per cent,” he also said.

According to Alhaji Lateef Shomefun, 84, who was born and raised in the community, indigenes of the community have a knack for both academic and vocational excellence. 

“I was born here, grew up here, moved to Iju Water Work but returned to Isale Eko. Later, I relocated to Otto, but my house got burnt and I returned to Isale Eko. The lifestyle in Isale Eko is built on the different cultural events we have, such as Gelede and Efe. The young ones either go to school to get formal education or learn vocational skills,” he noted.

He, however, raised concern over worsening youth restlessness in the community, noting, “Recently, there was a cult rivalry clash.”

Gerard Aboredola, the chairman of the Isale Eko Community Anti Crime Team, known as Folumo, stressed on the recent cult clashes in the community, saying, however, that all hands were on deck to stop the menace.

“Recently, there has been an increase in cult rivalry clashes, which led to loss of lives, but we have been able to curb it. We hand anyone we arrest to the police. We work alongside the Joint Task Force (JTF). The government should help to tighten security in the community.  We are working assiduously,” he said.

He attributed the rise of cult rivalry clashes to moral decadence and urged law enforcement agencies to tighten enforcement.

“Parents are trying, but at this age, we pray that God would help us to train our children. Sometimes we go round the community to search for children who are out of school and send them back, but these bad gangs influence them.

“Although the government has stipulated long years of imprisonment as punishment for anyone arrested as a cultist, the enforcement is still low because sometimes when we arrest them and hand them to the police, but after few days, they would be released. They initiate children in the community before they gain admission,” he alleged.

He appreciated the Oba of Lagos, Ridwan Akinolu for his support to the team, saying, “The team has been in existence for a long time. It was formed by the current Oba of Lagos to ensure peaceful co-existence in the community. Before the team was formed, there used to be spate of fights among people in the community.

“When it was formed, we discussed with those who were fighting to reduce the clash, but we handed those who were bent on fuelling the fire of unrest over to the police and the people could walk freely in the community,” he said.

Abiodun Jokobola, 84, also called on the government to come to the aid of the elderly ones to access medical care and provide more support for education.

“We need the government to help us with free medical services. Also, not all the children want to get serious with their education, which requires an iron hand. There is high abuse of drugs among young ones. 

“In the community, not everywhere has modern buildings. This is an ancient land; and there are many idol places of worship in Isale Eko,” he said.