The Lagos state assembly has called for the renaming of sites and monuments named after colonial masters in the state. The state assembly made the pronouncement in line with the advocacy of the Black Lives Matter Protest.
The Speaker of the Lagos state assembly, Mudashiru Obasa also directed its clerk, Azeez Sani, to address a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking an Executive Order that all streets named after colonial masters should be changed.He explained that the intention of the motion was not about deleting history, adding that history could not be changed.
According to Obasa, the kind of treatments that was given to George Floyd in the United States must be stopped and that we should support those who protest against such an act. He also said the names of some of some buildings and streets renamed after colonial masters should be changed because it reminds us of these people that enslaved our people.
“The motion is about us, about Africans. We have to tell the world about our own civilisation. The resolve is not broad enough. It is not about Lagos State alone. We have to tell African Union about reparation started by the late Chief M.K.O Abiola”. Contributing to the motion, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu representing Eti-Osa Constituency 2, explained that any history that makes a black person feel inferior should be changed.
”This is a right step in the right direction and we need to change our psyche and history that will not make us feel as human beings. We need to change the narrative that connotes superiority in our history. I want my colleagues to support the motion.
Photo Credit: Getty
