LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
admin By Oyebola Owolabi
The Afinni family of Lagos State has called on the state government to create an avenue for the aborigines to tell their story so it can be archived as a piece of history.
This, the family said, would help preserve history and prevent any untoward displacement of the original lagosians and their ancestral history.
The family took this stand at a news conference to celebrate the 110th death anniversary of their progenitor, Alhaji Buriamoh Afinni. The current head of family is Dr. Oluyomi Finnih, a member of the Lagos State Governance Advisory Council (GAC).
According to Dr. Finnih, the family waited for 110 years to celebrate their ancestor because it took this long to conclude the research on his life and times.
From left: Member, Planning Committee (Great grand-child) Chief Abimbola Bode-Thomas; Great grand-child, Dr. Sola Labinjo; Dr. Finnih; Great grand-child, Abiola Lateef Finnih and Alhaji Ajibola Ganiyu Finnih at the news conference
He said: “The late Buraimoh Afinni, our progenitor, was a colossus of his time and there is a lot to be said about him. He was of Benin origin and very deep in the Islamic religion. He also contributed a lot to the construction of the Lagos Central Mosque. To this end, he was given the Otun Balogun title, which has now become a family title sort of. Alhaji Ajibola Finnih is the current Otun Balogun.
“To celebrate his life and time, the family will be launching a book on July 25.”
Chairman of the planning committee Dr. Sola Labinjo, said the family is coming up with the historical book to ensure that the real history of Lagos is not eroded and the people lost.
He said: “If you go to Australia today, you will ask where the real aborigines are because they have gone into extinction. It’s one thing to say you are a Lagosian, but it’s also important to have it documented because most cosmopolitan cities or commercial centres stand the risk of its population being diluted.
“So, to avoid the disaster of extinction, we need to document our real history. The popular one is that written by the colonialist from their coming, but people lived on this land before the colonialists came. That is what we need to put right, and also urge the Lagos State government to key into this initiative by commissioning an official documentation of this history as told by the original Lagos families.”
Author of the book, Lateef Finnih, said the initiative is a way to preserve the history of Lagos so its people do not become extinct.
He noted: “This is a call on true Lagosians to emulate so we can have the complete history of Lagos from the true aborigines. The true Lagosians had their roots planted here over 200 years ago, predating the arrival of the Europeans, and return of slaves from Brazil and Sierra Leone. We have some semblance of true Lagos history in the stories of the ‘Idejo’ and other White Cap chiefs.
“It therefore becomes incumbent that the trail we are blazing today will ignite blazes in other families to also document their history before it is too late. The aborigine Lagosians must be committed to writing for the benefit of not only the coming generation, but as a piece of the puzzle telling the story of Lagos and how it emerged as a tolerant and accommodating place.
“We, therefore, wish the government will create an avenue for families to tell their stories and archive it a piece of history from its aborigines.”
Other activities to mark the anniversary include special Jumat prayers for the family tomorrow July 19 at the Lagos Central Mosque, general prayers at the family house and Buraimoh Afinni’s grave on July 22, and the grand finale/book launch on July 25.
