1. SEE WHY LAGOS BELONGS TO THE
YORUBAS
There has beenthislongtussle amonginhabitantsof Lagos,especially betweenthe industriousIgbo
people andculturally-orientedYorubas overwhichethnictribe actuallyownsLagos.If the regional
proximityof the state inrelationtothe south-westof Nigeriaisnotenoughtounderlinewherethe
lagoon-filledstate actuallybelongstothenwe should take apath downto the roots of the first
migrantswhodiscoveredthe region.

2. Accordingto history,the firstinhabitantsof Lagosstate are the Awori people.“Awori”,asa term
means“the plate sank”and it can be linkedtotheirsojournbefore theyfinallysettled.The founder
of the Awori people isOlofin Ogunfunminire.He isbelievedtobe one of the prominentsonsof
Oduduwa,the fatherof the yorubas.Before Olofinmigratedfrom Ile-Ife inOsunState,he had a
numberof familydisputesandasa result,decidedtoconsultthe Ifaoracle whorevealedtohimthat
mustleave Ile-Ife andstarta settlementata distantland.The oracle maintainedthatbefore Olofin
leaves,he mustdigupa particularportionwithinhisfather’shouse.There he wouldfindamud
plate (awo inYorubalanguage) witharoyal crown and otherregal items.The mudplate wasto be
placedinthe riverand where everitsank(ri inYoruba language), there he wastofinallysettledown.
He wasalso meanttooffera white ram as sacrifice towardoff any formof dangeralongthe way
before commencinghisone-wayjourney.
Olofindidasinstructedandtookalong16 of his32 childrenandotherfollowerswhowere willingto
go withhim.The mud plate wasseton the watersurface and itbegandriftingaway.Theyfollowedit
intheirboats andthere,theirjourneybegan.The plate wasrecordedtohave stoppedatmany
locationsalongthe way.Particularlynear IganhuandIro,in presentday Ogunstate,theyfaceda
terrible stormwhichcausedthemtolose theirpaddles,sotheywere forcedtopaddle byhandtill
theyreachedIsheri where the plate sankbutonlytemporarily. Initially,theybelievedthiswastheir
final destinationandsettledthere forover200 days onlyforthe plate tostart driftingagain.Atthis
pointOlofindecidedtocontinue the journeyalongwithsome membersof hispartyincludinghis
childrenwhileotherschose toremainthere permanently.

3. Theyfollowedthe mudplate forafewdaystill itstoppedat Iddoin Lagos where itstayedfora
while.Some of hisfollowersstayedbehindatIddowhile Olofinfollowedthe plate asitlaterstarted
floatingtowards Idumota,the central partof Lagos. It whirledinthe waterthere andfinallysankto
the bottom,nevertoreturnagain. OlofinreturnedtoIddoandwhenaskedwhere the plate was,he
replied“Awoti ri”whichtranslatesto“the plate has sunk”. Thisis where the name Awori came into
beingandhas beenusedtorefer to the firstsettlerseversince.Some of Olofin’schildrenlaterleft
Iddoto settle atvariousparts of Lagos Islandwhile othersdispersedtoBadagryand beyond.