My attention has been drawn to a publication of Daily Sun Newspaper published on Thursday 25th July, 2024 over the lingering matter on wrongly interpretations and placement of Ode Omi town in Ogun State on Lagos State map.
I wish to state unequivocally that the publication was totally misleading and an act of re-writing the history of Ode Omi town in an unjustifiable way.
From time immemorial, Ode Omi community has always been under Ogun Waterside LG Area of Ogun State.
Politically, Ode Omi is ward 10 of Ogun Waterside LG Area. Besides, all the infrastructures and social amenities such as public primary and secondary schools, health centers, bore hole water projects, roads, drainages etc are provided by the previous and present government in Ogun State.
The residents of the community also pay their individual taxes to the government of Ogun State.
Therefore, the goggle map being referred to by the person who wanted to re-write the history of Ode Omi and Ogun State in general as his source of claims is full of errors and also misleading as well, as the misleading information was published on a national dailies for public consumption.
The originator or rather the author of the map posted on the internet has no idea of geographical location of each town in Ogun Waterside LG Area, and not to talk of Ode Omi community in particular. This can be crosss-checked on the said google map available on the internet.
Without mincing words, the result of the goggle map is what is being referred to as “Garbage in, garbage out” in data input/analysis in computer system.
The National Boundary Commission can authoritatively confirm the geographical boundary and location of any, village, town or city in Nigeria to avoid any unnecessary boundary dispute, which Ode Omi community also is not an exception.
Since the creation of Ogun State out of old Western Region in 1976, Ode Omi is never under Lagos State.
It was initially under Ijebu East LG Area of Ogun State until around 1988 when it was carved out and now under Ogun Waterside LG Area of Ogun State.
Ode Omi only has proximity of about one kilometer to a village called Aboreji under Lagos State through land.
The boundary of Ogun State and Lagos State in the coastal area of these two states in Ode Omi is Okun Aboreji in Lagos State and Okun Iseki in Ogun State. While Lorunkon stream is the boundary in Lagoon axis during the colonial era.
Iseki was under Ijebu Province while Aboreji was under the Lagos Colony.
When the Western Region was created and Lagos Colony became a state, these places still remain the boundary till date.
When Ogun State was also created in 1976, the same place remains unchanged as the boundary.
However, I am using this medium to appeal to all sons and daughters of Ode Omi anywhere across the globe not to rewrite or misinterprete any history that can cause inter-state crisis between Ogun and Lagos State.
In addition, the Gov Dapo Abiodun led-administration has reiterated his promise to make Ogun Waterside local government area an investment destination of the state in which more investors would come to make positive use of natural resources abound in the local government area of aquatic splendor.
Lastly, I will like to commend and appreciate the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for embarking on Lagos -Calabar coastal road which passes through Ode Omi. The project after completion will improve the socio-economic activities of Ode Omi in Ogun Waterside LG Area and its environs.
Hon Lawal Adekunle Samusideen wrote this piece as one of the concerned authorities, a representative at the Ogun State House of Assembly, Abeokuta, and also as an indigene of Ode Omi community in Ogun Waterside local government area of Ogun State.
