Historicizing a moving target: Lawal’s peregrination on Lagos

Abstract

The works of Prof. A. A. Lawal on various aspects of ‘Lagos’, are examined in this paper. At various periods in its history, Lagos was a British colony, a
colonial and post-colonial capital of Nigeria, a commercial hub and a melting pot, all of which have excited writers of diverse genres. Currently,
Lagos is the largest, fastest-developing megacity in Africa, it is generating even more literary attention because of the ‘Lagos @ 50’ anniversary
celebrations. This paper surveys the idiosyncrasy or motivation of the typical writer or researcher of Lagos that is similar or dissimilar with writers of
contemporaneous conurbations around the world. The review of Prof. Lawal’s writings offers a unique chance to understand the personal constitution, experience and motivation of the typical writer of Lagos history or society and their empathy with the subject. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources and exclusive interviews with the author, the paper summarizes the works chronologically and assesses the major findings
on a subject which can best be described as a moving target. I found the author enraptured with the pace of social change in the city and his
historicism flowed from cultural affinity and academic specialization in economic history, of which the city is hugely symbolic in the country’s
international trade. Specifically, Lawal’s insightful work on street trading was largely prophetic because, as he concluded, the problem has defied
public policy controls till the present day. In sum, the review justifies the thesis that writers focusing on cities often connect to perennial social
problems as a canvas to express their disciplines.