An ex-Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos state, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Olasupo Shasore, has preferred that Lagos should be given a unique position in Nigeria owing to the contributions it has made in the history of Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Shasore to journalists during a press briefing in preparation for the public presentation and launch of his new book titled POSSESSED: A History of Law and Justice in the Crown Colony of Lagos: 1861 – 1906.
Furthermore, while buttressing his point on the indispensability of Lagos in the history of Nigeria, Shasore said, ‘’The recognition to be given Lagos is because of the uniqueness which it doesn’t share with any part of Nigeria. It is the truth that there had to be a colony in Lagos before there could be a colony in Nigeria.’’
Also, he maintained that it was very vital to highlight the outstanding and special status of Lagos in order to put into proper context ‘’Where we are coming from, where we are now and where we are going,’’ adding that history puts human experience in context and allows us understand ourselves as a people and culture; and helps people understand past triumphs and tragedies, so as to fashion out a way to succeed where others have failed.’’
According to Vanguard reports, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, while trying to make the achievements of Lagos known noted that during the colonial era, ‘’There were people from all walks of life, from all parts of the West Coast of Africa, living in the colony of Lagos, who proudly referred to themselves as Lagos-Africans, which forged a great sense of unity and communion and de-emphasised ethnicity into a much larger picture, thereby giving them the force to survive, and ultimately defeat colonialism.’’
He also disclosed that among the many reasons why he wrote his book was to emphasize the true strength and position of the former federal capital in the history of Nigeria, and also to use it spur people to recognise, and emulate the gift that Lagos will always offer to the existence of the country.
He explained from a legal perspective why he wrote the book, which Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State wrote the foreword.
He said, ‘’I have chosen law and justice for obvious reasons; largely to do with my principal vocation as a lawyer. I am privileged to be able to write on history and law, subjects for which I have considerable curiosity and passion; but which is by no means intended to be a comprehensive history of Lagos.
‘’It is merely an account through records of the interplay between pride and prejudice, power, liberty and the struggle for the independent development of Lagos.’’
On what potential readers should expect from thhe book, the former Attorney General said, ‘’In this book, I have tried to employ narrative history for several reasons, not the least being the desire to tell the story from recorded fact, to avoid interpretative ambiguity.’’
Moreover, he mentioned his expectation of an outbreak of both constructive and destructive criticisms from different people who will someday read the book.
