In early November, a street-renaming notice issued by the Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government started to circulate on social media.
According to the notice, which was signed by an unnamed council manager, the old names were being revoked in place of new ones.
The streets affected include Imo Eze street, Oyikere street, George street, Uzor street, Agbe street, Emordi street, Osho Drive, Deliverance street, Achakpo street, Iwu Lane, Hospital Road, Ebubedike street, Ezie street, Eze street, Ben Onyeka street, Nise street, Jones Waribi, Anosike street, Ogbowankwo Lane, Mba street, Queens street, Oboh street, and Kirikiri road.
Many social media commentators pointed out that 15 out of the 24 streets bore Igbo names and were being replaced by Yoruba names.
“This will cause tribal tensions,” one X user said. “Why did you give them the names when you know you will take it back?”
Ajeromi-Ifelodun council responds
In response to the backlash, the supervisor for information, strategy, and communications at Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government council, Mr. Samson Idowu-Alaba, denied any ethnic motivation behind the renaming.
He said the decision was purely administrative and aimed at enhancing the local government’s internally generated revenue.
“Renaming of streets is one of the functions of a local council,” Mr. Idowu-Alaba told Ikeja Record, noting that streets previously lagging in renewal payments were selected to generate new revenue.
When asked about the lack of resident notification, Mr. Idowu-Alaba said prior notice was not a requirement.
To facilitate the transition, official announcements have been made in local newspapers, offering businesses legal support to update their addresses, the council official said.
Mr. Idowu-Alaba also noted that the new names honour prominent local figures who have contributed to the community.
“We have enormous pride in our diversity, and there’s nothing the LG does that leaves any ethnic group behind,” he said.
Uzor street residents speak
Meanwhile, some residents of Uzor street, one of the newly renamed streets, told Ikeja Record that the street’s name should not have been changed to Kalejaiye Adeboye street.
Mr. Kalejaiye Adeboye is the current representative for Ajeromi-Ifelodun Constituency at the Federal House of Representatives.
According to a resident, Mr. Saint Okeke, Adeboye hasn’t fulfilled the campaign pledges he made to residents during the election.
“Yes, recently he brought streetlights to Uzor street; aside from this, he hasn’t done anything for us. Is it because of his streetlights he wants to change our street name? He should come and take them back,” Okeke said.
Mr. Okeke further disclosed that there is already a street named Kalejaiye Close in that same area, where Chop Life Hotel used to be located. This hotel was owned by the politician before it was closed, Mr. Okeke claimed.
A landlord in the area, Alhaji Sikiru Kuku, complained that streetlights have caused a rift between residents, as they were not installed in all parts of the street.
He vehemently opposed the street name change, stating that if it should be renamed, it should be called Ijero street, not Kalejaiye.
“Who is Kalejaiye? If it wants to be changed it should be called Ijero; this was the name before Uzor claimed it many years ago,” the landlord told Ikeja Record.
Another resident, Ben Adetola, urged the local government to find other ways to generate revenue instead of changing historical street names.
“Street renaming is the least of our problems in this local government,” Adetola said.