Lagos is by far the most populous city on the continent of Africa and ofcourse the nation of Nigeria, there live 21 million people in the African megapolis. Situated in an lagoon it was inhabited by the AworI an subgroup of the Yoruba, but the area was conquered in the 16th century by the Benin Empire. Oba (warrior king) Orhogbua the ruler of the Benin Empire founded an camp with the name Èkó, which is still the name in Yoruba of modern day Lagos. In 1472 the Portugese arrived in the area and named it Lagos, maybe after the Algarve maritime town of Lagos or after the lagoon what looks like an bunch of lakes because "lagos" means "lakes" in Portugese. The Portugese mainly traded in spices, ivory and slaves until the British abolished the slave trade and took over Lagos in 1807 and made an protectorate out of it. Later in 1903 the Lagos British Protectorate was merged with the British colonies of Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria to form the Colony of Nigeria. Lagos became the capital of it and later after independence of Nigeria it remained capital until they replaced it in 1991 to Abuja. Lagos is spread out of the islands Lagos where it all started, Victoria Island one of the most exclusive and expensive areas to reside and Ikoyi an affluent neighborhood. On the mainland there is the neighborhood of Apapa where all port activities are, Iddo which is connected with large bridges and an hub of the railroads and from here if you not stuck in one of Lagos notorious traffic jams to neighborhoods like Surulere, Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Lagos Mainland. One thing is for sure, it is never dull in this bustling Nigerian metropolis and it is still growing larger. So let's take an look at the flag.
The flag is the same as the flag of Nigeria with the coat of arms of Lagos in the center. Let's go to the arms which is divided in three parts. First in the red part there is an wheel, this represented industry and Lagos is Nigeria's main industrial hub. The red stands for power generation, which local energy supplier NEPA nowadays miserably fail to do. In the yellow part there are 6 cowries (some kind of snail shells), this represented the past and was used in those days as currency and Lagos today is an financial hub. The yellow stands for foreshore sands which can be found in Lagos and the rest of Lagos State, this arms also used by Lagos State. In lower blue part there are 2 fisherman, this represented the traditional activities of the area and blue stands of the Lagoon of Lagos. On top of the arms there is an white cap called keresimesi, represented authority. The leaves under the keresimesi are called akoko, these are used at the installation and coronation of traditional rulers and to pray the gods for long life for the new ruler. The palm trees represented the agriculture activities in the area. The motto "justice and progress" stands for the obligation to give each citizen rights without fear, bias and favouritism and progress stands for an strong hope of an bright future. Much but good symbol explanation, but they redo this flag, the flag of Lagos State using also this coat of arms with an different background but that is an story for later.
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