Former Lagos State Governor and former Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, has emphasized the need to safeguard the state’s historical narrative, especially in light of growing debates surrounding the naming and renaming of streets in the city.
Fashola made the call on Tuesday during the launch of “Discover Lagos State: A History Puzzle Book (Volume 1)” held at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking at the public event, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, also underlined the significance of recording the state’s historical journey. He commended the Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB) for taking the lead in publishing the book.
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Drawing parallels with global practices, Fashola cited the archival collections at the University of Glasgow, pointing out how the university’s repository preserves invaluable contributions by staff and alumni that have shaped development across various countries, including Nigeria.
“The archival heritage is a valuable testimony to the sociopolitical and economic development of humanity,” Fashola noted.
He went on to highlight how the university’s records include details about the first Nigerian students to attend the institution, mentioning Dr. Isaac Ladipo Oluwole, who enrolled in 1913 and graduated in 1918.
“Dr Ladipo Oluwole returned to Nigeria to become the first African medical officer of health in the Lagos colony,” he said.
Fashola explained that Dr. Oluwole made lasting contributions to public health in Nigeria, particularly in establishing school health inspection services and initiating the first Nigerian school of hygiene in Yaba in 1920.
He stressed that such milestones were preserved thanks to proper documentation overseas.
“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,” Fashola explained.
He then addressed the current discourse around the naming and renaming of streets in Lagos, indicating that such conversations make the documentation of history all the more necessary.
“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.”
Fashola stressed that LASRAB’s mission goes beyond creating informative literature. He described the bureau’s broader objective as the establishment of a dependable and centralized memory bank for Lagos State.
He called for stronger support for LASRAB, particularly in terms of funding.“To make this a reality, LASRAB must be adequately resourced. Mr Governor, LASRAB must be well-funded,” he said.
In his own remarks, Deputy Governor Hamzat expressed delight at the unveiling of the puzzle book, praising it as a creative blend of education, culture, and innovation.“This project is an innovative learning tool designed to stimulate young minds, especially,” he stated.
“It will also promote curiosity, deepen our pride as Lagosians and our collective understanding of the history and heritage of our dear state.”
He further acknowledged Fashola’s legacy in setting up LASRAB, recalling specific directives aimed at institutionalising record-keeping in the state.
“I recall very clearly that he wrote an executive order directing that all documentation, when we build schools, when we build bridges and anything, we just have five copies, one in the Ministry of Science and Technology and one in LASRAB, and all over,” Hamzat recounted.
“This foundational act was not merely administrative. It was an intentional effort to institutionalise, preserve, document, and disseminate Lagos’s narrative for posterity.”
Hamzat concluded by emphasizing the necessity of understanding history in order to maintain societal identity and unity.
“It is important that we don’t only understand ourselves, but we must understand our history so we don’t lose ourselves.”
“This book is a creative method of crafting historical consciousness that informs while it also entertains. That way, we don’t distort our history and we don’t misunderstand our being.”
