Eleko

Eleko, tells the story of Oba Esugbayi Eleko, son of Oba Dosunmu, who signed the 1861 treaty ceding Lagos to Britain. He ascended the throne in 1901 following the death of Oba Oyekan, and his first period of rule (1901-1925) overlapped with growing British administrative control over the colony. Tensions arose in 1908 when he opposed Governor Walter Egerton’s proposal for a pipe-borne water supply funded by a levy on Lagos residents, stating that existing wells met local needs and that Europeans should cover the costs.