Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana, has criticised the ongoing trend of renaming streets and public spaces in Lagos State without following constitutional procedures or consulting residents, describing the actions as unlawful and undemocratic.
In a statement issued yesterday, Falana condemned recent instances, including the renaming of the popular “Charley Boy Bus Stop” to “Baddo Bus Stop” by the former chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Mr Kolade Alabi. He also cited reports of two streets being named after President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as well as industrialist Aliko Dangote’s alleged naming of streets in honour of the late Mr Herbert Wigwe and President Tinubu.
According to Falana, these actions violate the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which clearly vests the responsibility for naming and numbering streets exclusively in local government councils. He referenced a key legal precedent, Chief Obidi Ume v. Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, in which a court ruled that only the Abuja Municipal Area Council, AMAC, has the authority to assign names to streets and roads within its jurisdiction.
“The usurpation of the exclusive functions of local governments on street naming by certain individuals and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State cannot be justified under the Nigerian Constitution,” Falana stated.
He particularly faulted the renaming of the Charley Boy Bus Stop, which he described as a landmark historically named by the Bariga and Gbagada communities.
“Charley Boy Bus Stop acquired its name sociologically due to its functionality and the positive impact which Charley Boy has historically made in the area,” Falana noted. “Renaming it without consulting the Bariga and Gbagada people smacks of authoritarianism.”
The rights lawyer also expressed concern that Lagos has left untouched many colonial-era names associated with oppression, while targeting names that honour Nigerians who have made positive contributions to society.
Falana urged the legislative arms of local governments across Lagos to take immediate steps to end arbitrary renaming of streets and to introduce transparent processes, including public hearings, to ensure community involvement in such decisions.
“Streets should not be renamed arbitrarily to please the whims and caprices of political leaders or to promote ethnic chauvinism, especially in a cosmopolitan capital city like Lagos,” he said.
