2025/06/20 by Titilola Halimat Somotan · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #African history and culture studies #African studies and sociopolitical issues #Urban and Rural Development Challenges
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0963926825000124
openalex publication_date 2025/06/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract This article examines land disputes in Epetedo, a Lagos neighbourhood established in 1862, to explore how city dwellers interpreted their past and defined their area’s identity. After its establishment, Epetedo became the centre of conflicts over the ownership of its 21 compounds. From 1927 to 1947, two factions produced competing historical narratives in an effort to change property laws and disseminate their quarter’s history. Drawing on disputants’ records like petitions and letters, I demonstrate how residents articulated the meaning of a neighbourhood through historical writing, as well as through their socio-political and spatial engagements.