Renaming Streets In Lagos Is Inferiority Complex – Ohanaeze Ndigbo

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos chapter, has faulted the renaming of some streets in Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Ondopress noticed that most of the Igbo-sounding names were changed to Yoruba names. The total names changed is 24, according to a memo distributed.

With the changes, Imo Eze Street is now Layiwola Oluwa Street, Ezie Street is now Morilat Arogundade, Eze Street is now Erelu Mojisola Street, among others.

Other streets bearing English names were also changed, including George Street which has now become Daddy Showkey Street—in honour of the famous Ajegunle-born musician— and Queens Street now Kola Balogun Street. Other renamed roads include Kirikiri Road, now Moruf Oyekunle Road, and Uzoh Street, now Kalejaiye Adeboye Street.

Ohanaeze, through its state President, Solomon Ogbonna, told Newsmen that the change, which has also been implemented by Google Maps, reeks of inferiority complex.

He said, “I think it is inferiority complex. I don’t think any street will have a name without the owner of the name having property there. It is not about ethnic fight but inferiority complex.”

He went on to advise the authorities in Lagos not to stop at that but to go ahead and end the intermarriage between Yoruba and Igbo people.

“If they think it is important to change the names of streets bearing Igbo names, then they should try to disorganise the intermarriage between us, that is, Yoruba and Igbo,” he said.

According to him, if there’s an Igbo man already married to a Yoruba woman, the authorities should take back the wife and give the Igbo man an Igbo wife.