By Our Reporter
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has strongly condemned the recent renaming of streets and bus stops in Lagos State without public consultation, describing the move as unconstitutional, authoritarian, and socially insensitive.
Falana’s criticism follows the decision by the immediate past Chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Kolade Alabi, to rename several roads. Notably, the popular “Charly Boy Bus Stop” on the Gbagada–Bariga axis was renamed “Baddo Bus Stop” in apparent honor of singer Olamide. Two other streets were reportedly named after President Bola Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Earlier this year, billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote similarly named streets after the late Herbert Wigwe and President Tinubu.
Falana warned that these actions disregard the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which grants the exclusive authority to name roads and streets to local governments.
> “The naming of roads and streets, and numbering of houses in any part of Nigeria is one of the exclusive functions of local governments, as outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” Falana stated.
He cited the case of Chief Obidi Ume v Abuja Metropolitan Management Council & 2 Ors, where the High Court ruled that only the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) had the legal right to name streets in the capital, and ordered the removal of unauthorized signs.
According to Falana, similar illegalities are being repeated in Lagos, particularly by LCDAs and individuals acting without proper authority. He also criticized the replacement of organically derived names—like “Charly Boy Bus Stop,” which emerged from the local communities—with politically motivated ones.
“We have confirmed that the Charly Boy Bus Stop was not named by Bariga LCDA, but by the people of Bariga and Gbagada. The name is rooted in local history and the contributions of Charly Boy to the area’s cultural identity,” Falana noted.
Describing the renaming as authoritarian and culturally tone-deaf, he said the move reflects a disturbing trend of replacing the names of influential Nigerians with political figures while retaining colonial-era names with negative connotations.
“It is regrettable that a state which continues to uphold names of colonial oppressors is now erasing those of Nigerians who have positively impacted society,” he said.
Falana concluded by urging local governments to adopt transparency and constitutional due process in street-naming decisions, beginning with public hearings that reflect community sentiment.
“Street names should not be changed arbitrarily to satisfy political interests or promote ethnic chauvinism. Going forward, local government legislative arms must hold public consultations before making such decisions,” he said.