Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, the LGA had a population of 209,437 in an area of 8.7 km². The LGA only covers the western half of Lagos Island; the eastern half is simply referred to as Lagos Island East LCDA.

Overview

Lying on Lagos Lagoon, a large protected harbour on the coast of Africa, the island is home to the

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

fishing village of Eko, which grew into the

modern city Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

of Lagos. The city has now spread out to cover the neighboring islands as well as the adjoining mainland. Lagos Island is connected to the mainland by three large bridges (the Carter Bridge, the Eko Bridge and the Third Mainland Bridge) which cross Lagos Lagoon to the district of

Ebute Metta Ebute Metta is a neighbourhood of Lagos Mainland, Lagos, in Lagos State, Nigeria. History Ebute Metta is known for the production and sale of local food and cloths. It is a very old part of Lagos State, many of its houses were built during the ...

. It is also linked to the neighboring island of Ikoyi and to

Victoria Island Victoria Island ( ikt, Kitlineq, italic=yes) is a large island in the Arctic Archipelago that straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth-largest island in the world, and at in area, it is ...

. The Lagos harbor

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Apapa faces the western side of the island. Forming the main commercial district of Lagos, Lagos Island plays host to the main government buildings, shops and offices. The Catholic and Anglican

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

s, as well as the Central Mosque, are located here. Historically, Lagos Island (Isale Eko) was home to the Brazilian Quarter of Lagos where majority of the slave trade returnees from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

stayed. Many families lived on Broad Street in the Marina. 1962 Lagos Island map detail Lagos Nigeria txu-oclc-441966035-lagos-1962

The poor eastern side of the island contains the main markets and the poor housing. The island is extremely crowded and congested with people and tribes. And government attempts have been made to build new roads out over the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

in order to improve traffic flows. It is the part of

where the Oba (king) of Lagos resides. It is also believed that the Eyo festival can only be held in this part of Lagos.

Economy

Most Nigerian banks' head offices are located on Lagos Island. First Bank of Nigeria is one of the Nigerian

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

s with its head office in Marina, Lagos Island. Another bank that has its head office situated in Lagos Island is the United Bank for Africa (UBA). Other medium and large-scale businesses such as real estate consultancy firms, electrical appliances manufacturers and retail stores are based in Marina, Lagos Island.

Landmarks and tourist attractions

Tom Jones Memorial Hall And Library

Located on Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Idumota, formerly Victoria St, Tom Jones Memorial hall is

noteworthy Noteworthy may refer to: *Noteworthy (vocal group) *Notability * NoteWorthy Composer NoteWorthy Composer (NWC) is a proprietary scorewriter application made by NoteWorthy Software. It is a graphical score editor for Microsoft Windows compute ...

as the venue of the call for positive action by zikists in November 1948. The hall was built by trustees selected by Mr Thomas Jones who died in 1913, In his will, he bequeathed the land and funds for a hall and

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in his memorial.

Freedom Park

Freedom Park is becoming a major tourist attraction and it is located on Lagos Island. The park was formerly a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

yard, back when the country was still under colonial rule and it was known then as Her Majesty's Broad Street Prisons. Freedom park was created to serve as a national memorial in remembrance of the nation's founding fathers who struggled against

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

rule and fought for the country's

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

. The park was opened in 2010 to celebrate Nigeria's 50th independence celebration. The park is now a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

attraction to both locals and foreigners and you can actually find historical statues all over the park. There is also an amphi-theatre which holds

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s, music shows and drama presentations. You can also relax by the numerous ponds and

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were or ...

s at the park or visit the Wole Soyinka Art Gallery to view unique art presentations.

Marina road

The Lagos

Marina A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina dif ...

is host to a number of office buildings, and other structures such as the Bookshop House which was formerly owned by CMS and the Cathedral Church of Christ. Due to the conditions of the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

, the foundations of most of the tall buildings are either piled or raft. Buildings along the marina include National House now occupied by Shell and it is the first tall office building at Marina. The former Central Bank headquarters and the Investment House, headquarters of Bank of Industry were both built-in 1960. The land on which the Investment House was built previously housed the Grand Hotel before it was demolished. New Africa House of UAC, Elder Dempster House, Nigerian Ports Authority head office and

National Electric Power Authority The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), formerly the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), is an organisation governing the use of electricity in Nigeria. During the era when it operated as NEPA, the company managed a football team, NEP ...

's former headquarters are all located along the marina.

Notable Indigene

Babajide Sanwo-Olu Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu (born 25 June 1968) is a Nigerian politician and the current Governor of Lagos State. He became governor under the platform of the All Progressives Congress after contesting and unexpectedly winning the gubernatorial ...

Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello (born 23 April 1964) is a Nigerian academic. She is a professor of physiology and the 9th Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University. Biography Olatunji-Bello was born in Ologbowo community Idumota, Lagos Island in defunc ...

Important places at Lagos Island

Aerial view of CMS, Lagos Island East, Lagos-Nigeria.jpg, Aerial view of CMS, Lagos Island East, Lagos-Nigeria Aerial view of Marina, Lagos Island East, Lagos-Nigeria.jpg, Aerial view of Marina, Lagos Island East, Lagos-Nigeria Cathedral Church CMS, Lagos Island East, Lagos-Nigeria.jpg, Cathedral Church CMS, Lagos Island East, Lagos-Nigeria Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Marina, Lagos Island.jpg, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Marina, Lagos Island Lagos Cathedral, Marina, Lagos Island.jpg, Lagos Cathedral, Marina, Lagos Island Marina Bus Stop, Lagos Island.jpg, Marina Bus Stop, Lagos Island Nigerian Ports Authority, Marina, Lagos Island.jpg, Nigerian Ports Authority, Marina, Lagos Island Cms, Lagos.jpg, CMS Lagos Cms, Motor Park.jpg, CMS Motor Park Cms ROAD, Lagos.jpg, CMS road Cms Bus Park route to marina, lagos, nigeria 09.jpg, CMS route to Marina, Lagos Civic Towers, Ozumba Nbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos.jpg, Civic Towers Church of the Assumption, Falomo.jpg, Church of the Assumption, Lagos 1004 building, lekki road, Lagos, Nigeria.jpg, 1004 building, lekki road, Lagos Marina, Lagos Island .jpg File:Images of Freedom Park 43.jpg, Freedom Park File:Remembrance Arcade, Lagos Island 02.jpg, Remembrance Arcade, Lagos Island

References

External links

Lagos Island Local Government

lagos employment
{{Authority control Islands of Lagos Local Government Areas in Lagos State Islands of Yorubaland Central business districts in Nigeria