Lagos

Nickname : Lasgidi
Coordinates : 6°27′11″N 3°23′45″E
Country : Nigeria
Governor : Babatunde Fashola (ACN)
Urban : 999.6 km2 (385.9 sq mi)
Time zone WAT : (UTC+1)
Website : http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng

Lagos (pron.: /ˈlɑːɡoʊs/ lah-gohs, /ˈleɪɡɒs/ lay-gos) is a port city and the most populous city in Lagos State, Nigeria. Officially, the population of Lagos was last recorded in 2006 at 7,937,932. Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest growing city in the world.Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people. Under the leadership of their Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island. In the 15th century, the Awori settlement was attacked by the Benin Empire following a quarrel, and the island became a Benin war-camp called "Eko" under Oba Orhogba, the Oba of Benin at the time. Lagos is a metropolitan area which originated on islands separated by creeks, such as Lagos Island, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon while protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From the beginning, Lagos has expanded on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation, including Ikeja (which is the capital of Lagos) and Agege, now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island. Some suburbs include Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry, and more local councils have recently been created, bringing the total number of local governments in Lagos to 57.

History of Lagos

Lagos was a war camp for members of the Benin Empire, who referred to it as Eko. The Yoruba still use the name Eko to refer to Lagos. Lagos, which means "lakes", was a name given to the settlement by the Portuguese. The present day Lagos state has a high percentage of Awori, who migrated to the area from Isheri along the Ogun river. Throughout history, it was home to a number of warring ethnic groups who had settled in the area. During its early settlement, it also saw periods of rule by the Benin Kingdom. Portuguese explorer Rui de Sequeira visited the area in 1472, naming the area around the city Lago de Curamo; indeed the present name is Portuguese for "lakes". Another explanation is that Lagos was named for Lagos, Portugal - a maritime town which, at the time, was the main centre of Portuguese expeditions down the African coast, and whose own name is derived from the Latin word Lacobriga. Lagos was formally annexed as the British Lagos Colony in 1861. This had the dual effect of crushing the slave trade and establishing British control over palm and other trades. The remainder of modern-day Nigeria was seized in 1887, and when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established in 1914, Lagos was declared its capital, continuing as such after the country's independence from Britain in 1960. Along with migrants from all over Nigeria and other West African nations were the returnee ex-slaves known as Creoles, who came from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Brazil and the West Indies to Lagos. The Creoles contributed to Lagos' modernisation and their knowledge of Portuguese architecture can still be seen from the architecture on Lagos Island. Lagos experienced rapid growth throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a result of Nigeria's economic boom prior to the Nigerian Civil War. Lagos was the capital of Nigeria from 1914 up to 1991. The city was stripped of its status when the Federal Capital Territory was established at the purpose-built city of Abuja. On 14 November 1991, the Presidency and other federal government functions were finally relocated to the new capital city of Abuja.