Lagos State

Lagos State is an administrative division of Nigeria, located in the southwestern part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria's states, Lagos State is the most populous state in Nigeria and arguably the most economically important state of the country and west Africa,^[4] containing Lagos, the nation's largest urban area. The actual population total is disputed between the official Nigerian Census of 2006, and a much higher figure claimed by the Lagos State Government.

History

Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 states. Prior to this, Lagos Municipality had been administered by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the City of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (Colony Province) of Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry were administered by the Western Region. The State took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the State and Federal Capital. However, with the creation of the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos Island ceased to be the capital of the State which was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the Federal Government to Abuja on 12 December 1991, Lagos Island ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country.

Government

Since its creation in 1967, the state has been administered either by a governor and a House of Assembly in civilian or quasi-civilian (under Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida's administration) federal administrations, or by Sole-Administrators or Military Administrators in military dispensations . Since December 2007, Yoruba has been the second official language of debate and discussion for the House of Assembly after English.

Administrative Divisions and Local Government Areas

Lagos State is divided into five Administrative Divisions, which are further divided into 20 Local Government Areas, or LGAs:^[2]

The first 16 of the above LGAs comprise the statistical area of Metropolitan Lagos. The remaining four LGAs (Badagry, Ikorodu, Ibeju-Lekki and Epe) are within Lagos State but are not part of Metropolitan Lagos.

In 2003 many of the existing 20 LGAs were split for administrative purposes into Local Council Development Areas. These lower-tier administrative units now number 56: Agbado/Oke-Odo, Agboyi/Ketu, Agege, Ajeromi, Alimosho , Apapa, Apapa-Iganmu, Ayobo/Ipaja, Badagry West, Badagry, Bariga, Coker Aguda, Egbe Idimu, Ejigbo, Epe, Eredo, Eti Osa East, Eti Osa West, Iba, Isolo, Imota, Ikoyi, Ibeju, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ifelodun, Igando/Ikotun, Igbogbo/Bayeku, Ijede, Ikeja, Ikorodu North, Ikorodu West, Ikosi Ejinrin, Ikorodu, Ikorodu West, Iru/Victoria Island, Itire Ikate, Kosofe, Lagos Island West, Lagos Island East, Lagos Mainland, Lekki, Mosan/Okunola, Mushin, Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye, Ojo, Ojodu, Ojokoro, Olorunda, Onigbongbo, Oriade, Orile Agege, Oshodi, Oto-Awori, Shomolu, Surulere and Yaba.^[5]

Universities in Lagos State

• University of Lagos, Lagos
• Lagos State University, Lagos
• Caleb University, Lagos
• Yaba College of Technology, Lagos
• Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos
• Lagos Business School

People

While the State is essentially a Yoruba-speaking environment, it is a socio-cultural melting pot attracting both Nigerians and foreigners alike.

Indigenous inhabitants include the Aworis and Eguns in Ikeja and Badagry Divisions respectively, with the Eguns being found mainly in Badagry.

There is also an admixture of other pioneer settlers collectively known as the Ekos.

The indigenes of Ikorodu and Epe Divisions are mainly the Ijebus with pockets of Eko-Awori settlers along the coastland and riverine areas.

Transportation

Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Ikeja and is one of Nigeria's 3 major international airports.

See also

• Nigeria portal
• Lagos
• Lagos Island
• Surulere

References

1. ^ See List of Governors of Lagos State for a list of prior governors
2. ^ ^{a b} "Lagos State - Population". http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/index.php?page=subpage&spid=12&mnu=null. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. http://www.cgidd.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
4. ^ Nigerian Congress - Administrative Division Description
5. ^ "Local Government Areas". http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/index.php?page=ministrylist&mcat=lga&mtitle=Local+Government+Area&mnu=null. Retrieved 2010-03-20. 

External links

• Lagos State Government Official Site
• Lagos Interactive Maps & Sat Navs to travel around.
• Lagos Digital Street Maps.
• Lagos State Community WebSite.
• http://universitiesofnigeria.com/tag/universities-in-lagos-state/