Which of the ‘Islands’ are you talking about? By Sobo Sowemimo

Has it occurred to you that lately many Lagosians do not bother to distinguish between Lagos Island and Victoria Island again when referring to these two places? They simply lump together everywhere beyond the three bridges leaving the Mainland and call them just “Island”.

This is especially so with the younger generation. Hence, you hear people say: “I live on the Island” or “his office is on the Island” and you begin to wonder where exactly they are referring to since there are actually two main “islands” in that axis with distinct features – Lagos Island and Victoria Island.

Lagos Island

Coming from Lagos mainland through any of the three bridges (Carter Bridge, Eko Bridge and the Third Mainland Bridge), the first place you reach after crossing the body of water called Lagos Lagoon, is Lagos Island. Lagos Island is a real island as it is completely encircled by water – the Lagos Lagoon and its distributary, the Five Cowries Creek.

Lagos Island’s original Yoruba name is Eko and it is a pre-colonial city that was first called Lagos by Portuguese traders, the same name that the whole state eventually inherited. When you are anywhere within Lagos State and you hear people still say (in Yoruba) that they are going to Eko, they are meant to be referring to Lagos Island only.

However, over time, Yorubas have colloquially expanded where Eko is used to describe to include every other part of the state excluding Epe, Badagry, Ikorodu and other smaller towns and villages in the exterior sections of the state. The real Eko or Lagos however still remains Lagos Island.

As relatively small as it is, Lagos Island is regarded as the commercial nerve centre of Lagos State and indeed Nigeria as that is where most of the headquarters of leading business interests in the country are located. Lagos Island also hosts some of the busiest and specialized markets in Nigeria. For these two reasons, Lagos draws a huge population of visitors every day from different parts of Nigeria and the West Coast of Africa. Some of Lagos Island’s popular markets include Idumota, Balogun and Jankara markets.

Lagos Island used to be the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria when Lagos was the Federal Capital territory. As a result, the island has a sprawling residential area called Ikoyi which was reserved as living quarters for the country’s top government functionaries. Today, Ikoyi has become one of the most exclusive real estate locations in the country.

Lagos Island is also the heartland of the indigenes of Eko (Lagos) and most Lagos families still have residential compounds in different parts of the city. Some of the suburbs of Lagos Island include Onikan, Obalende, Marina, Campus Square, Tinubu Square, Lafiaji, Ita Faji, Broad Street, Olowogbowo, Bamgbose, and so on.

Victoria Island

When you cross the Five Cowries Creek using either the Bonny Camp Bridge at Marina or the Falomo Bridge from Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi or the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge from Alexander Avenue, Ikoyi, you have left Lagos Island and entered Victoria Island.

What is today known as Victoria Island is a former island that used to bear the same name, and the Lekki Peninsula, a narrow and long stretch of land to the South Eastern extremities of the state. The old Victoria Island portion is another exclusive part of Lagos State that was originally acquired for residential development but has grown to become a mixed purpose development.

Some popular streets on Victoria Island are Akin Adesola Street, Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Ahmadu Bello Way, Adeolu Odeku Street, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Ajoseh Adeogun Street, and so on.

As to how Victoria Island ceased to be an island, this is how an article on Wikipedia explains it: “Victoria Island was originally surrounded entirely by water. It was bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the south, the mouth of the Lagos Lagoon on the West, the Five Cowrie Creek to the North, and swamps on the East. The colonial government began the process of filling in the eastern swamps to reduce mosquito breeding areas. This created a land bridge between Victoria Island and Lekki Peninsula ending its existence as a true island.”

The area of the landbridge which joined former Victoria Island with Lekki Peninsula was composed of a former swampland which over time became a large slum called Maroko Town. It was forcibly removed by the regime of military Governor, Raji Rasaki, in 1990 after which it became known as Victoria Island Annex and sold to residential buyers.

Lekki Peninsula has been described as one of the fastest growing areas in the world. It is known for its luxury estates, shopping malls, and recreational facilities, especially beaches. With its proximity to Victoria Island and Ikoyi, Lekki has become an attractive location for real estate investment. Some of the developed suburbs of Lekki Peninsula include Lekki Phase 1, Ajah, Sangotedo, Badore, Langbasa, Lekki Phase 2, Ikate-Elegushi, Osapa London, Ajinran, Ibeju, Jakande, Chevron, Lakowe, Ikota, Victoria Garden City, Aoyaya, etc.

As can be seen from the foregoing, one cannot just be using “Island” to refer to everywhere described above as they are all quite different places within Lagos State. Once we know where the place falls into, for clarity sake, it is better we state it as such; either Lagos Island or Victoria Island (for the old V.I.) or Lekki (to summarize all the suburbs of Lekki Peninsula).

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