With the backing of the local monarch, residents of “Ilaje Road,” in Bariga area of Lagos, have rejected the renaming by the local council of the major street as “King Sunny Ade Road,” in honour of the legendary musician.
The aggrieved residents poured into the streets to voice their disagreement with the renaming carried out by the Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), in a public protest on Wednesday.
Placards carried by the protesters read:
“Ilaje Road, our history, our identity, we oppose renaming,”
“We deserve better treatment,”
“Ilaje is a tribe in Yorubaland,” and
“We Ilajes say capital NO to renaming, the road remains Ilaje Road, Bariga LCDA.”
The immediate past Chairman of the LCDA, David Kolade Alabi, had last week renamed the street along with some others in the area amidst protests by residents of the area.
Addressing residents of the area before the protest around Ilaje Road, the Baale of Ilaje/Bariga Community, High Chief Kayode Ayetiwa, who stated that the renaming was unacceptable, added that the new Chairman of the LCDA, Bukola Adedeji, had promised him on the phone that the decision would be reversed.
“The new chairperson of the council called me on phone and begged me that we should not welcome her to office with protest. She promised to do whatever we want, but I told her that we will still protest around the area and submit a protest letter to the council.
“We will not allow them to change the heritage of our people, as the community came into existence in 1948, and it has always been called Ilaje Road, and we want it like that,” he said.
In the protest letter signed by the monarch and others, the community said: “The entire Ilaje community, Bariga, Lagos, by this letter hereby tender our unreserved peaceful protest against the announcement by the outgone Chairman of Bariga LCDA, David Kolade Alabi, who had acted unconstitutionally and in breach of the legislative endorsement by the councillors of the LCDA.”
They stated that they have resolved, by letter, to oppose the renaming of Ilaje Road, which they said is a communal milestone, distinct from any person’s or entity’s name, no matter how famous.
“We therefore urge you to use your good office to revert to Ilaje Road as distinct to King Sunny Ade Road, notwithstanding the fame of the Juju maestro,” the letter read.
Also speaking during the protest, the President General of Egbe Omo Ilaje, Mr Raphael Irowanu, stated that there is a grand plan to erase the Ilajes from Lagos State.
Irowanu, however, said that the history of Lagos State is not complete without Ilaje people, adding that the Ilajes have a population of about four million in the state.
“Our forefathers used to be Obas in Ile Ife, Osun State. We are the original Yorubas. We are not foreigners, we are true children of Oduduwa. They have been demolishing our settlements in Lagos State. So, we are not surprised by what they did with the Ilaje Road. But we want them to know that it will have political consequences on the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 if it is not reversed.
“The renaming of Ilaje Road as King Sunny Ade Road is meant to cause crisis because the popular musician is from Ondo State where we hail from. We are against the interests of David Kolade Alabi because he is against our interests,” they said.
