History
Victoria Island was originally entirely surrounded by water - bordered by the Atlantic ocean on the south,the mouth of the Lagos Lagoon on the West, the Five Cowrie Creek to the north North and swamps on the East. The colonial government began the process of filling in the eastern swamps to reduce mosquito breeding areas. This created a land bridge between Victoria Island and Lekki Peninsula ending its existence as a true island. After independence, successive state governments expanded this development, culminating in the construction of a highway connecting Victoria Island to Epe. This activity, along with the rapid commercialisation of Victoria Island, served to stimulate residential development along the Lekki-Epe corridor, starting with Lekki Phase 1.
The area of the land bridge, composed of the former swampland (which was called Maroko) became a large slum which housed many of the new migrants to Lagos State. Residents of the Island complained about this problem, leading the then military Governor of the State – Raji Rasaki – to forcibly remove/displace these squatters (some of whom had legal title to their property). This area – called Victoria Island Annex – was then cleared and sold to residential buyers. Subsequent reclamation has expanded this area to the extent that it is now connected to the Lekki Peninsula. This new, enlarged area is referred to as “Oniru Estate” after the ruling family of the area.
Read more about this topic: Victoria Island (Nigeria)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“What we call National-Socialism is the poisonous perversion of ideas which have a long history in German intellectual life.”
—Thomas Mann (18751955)
“In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side of the cut has anything to do with anything on the other side.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (18381918)
“A poets object is not to tell what actually happened but what could or would happen either probably or inevitably.... For this reason poetry is something more scientific and serious than history, because poetry tends to give general truths while history gives particular facts.”
—Aristotle (384323 B.C.)