Transnational aspects in the history of lagos: Place names and built forms

It may seem curious that Lagos, a city of many millions, recognised as a world metropolis, should still be known by most of its Nigerian inhabitants among themselves as Eko. This chapter aims to trace the toponymic history of Lagos over the 400 years since its original settlement, making analytical connections between place naming and built form. From Oko to Eko, from Curamo to Onim, and from Onim to Lagos - each of these name transfers represents a layer in the rich and cosmopolitan past of the city. Through multiple primary and secondary sources (written and oral histories, cartography and architectural evidence), the shifting meaning of toponyms within the urban complex can be scrutinised. Transnational and multilateral aspects of sub-Saharan Africa’s history will be highlighted, with the aim of exposing the complexities of the simultaneous usages in Lagos’s names. These constitute a fertile ground for juxtaposed memories on the part of the involved agencies, ethnic groups, and political, economic and cultural powers, memories which sometimes challenge one another, and are sometimes complementary.