Ibadan A Pleasant Change from The Bustle of Lagos
Babafemi A. Badejo, Ph.D.
For a change, my wife and I spent 26-29 July, 2018 at Ibadan, that sprawling largest city, (I believe not just in West Africa as I was taught in geography as a kid), but arguably in Africa. It had the largest population in my younger days. But today, is not populated like Lagos that once had the advantage of being the political capital that remains the economic capital. Ibadan is estimated to be only 3.5m. It was the political capital of Yorubas and was the base of conversion of proceeds from sales of cocoa by a hard-working people into a free primary education for all which to date remains a boost to Yoruba contribution to human knowledge. Obafemi Awolowo, working with others from Ibadan just for about 4 years showed the British a phenomenal can-do spirit. Apart from investing in the birth and growth of my generation, they built the first skyscraper in Africa, first stadium in Africa and first television station in Africa – Western Nigeria Television (WNTV). Little wonder Britain preferred people without can-do spirit to govern Nigeria. Nigeria has remained the loser for that colonial manipulation of census among other political machinations including the rejection of independence by 1956 by other leaders which Britain supported.
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