City history
From its origins as an Awori settlement named Oko and a Benin war camp called Eko, Lagos grew through colonial rule into Nigeria's mega-city, adopting West Africa Time (UTC+1) in 1919.
Chapter one
Indigenous name
"Farm"
The initial Awori Yoruba settlement on Lagos Island was named Oko, meaning farm. Following conquest by the Benin Kingdom in the 16th century, it was called Eko, meaning war camp in Edo, before Portuguese navigators named it Lagos after its coastal lagoons.
Farm or agricultural settlement
Named by the original Awori Yoruba settlers under Oloye Olofin on Lagos Island before Benin expansion.
War camp
Assigned by the Benin Empire under Oba Orhogbua when establishing a military outpost; still the primary Yoruba name for Lagos today.
Lakes or lagoons
Coined by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century due to the area's coastal lagoons and formalized under British colonial rule.
Chapter two
The Southern Nigeria Protectorate introduced Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+00:00) in Lagos on July 1, 1905, establishing early colonial time standardization.
Lagos temporarily discontinued Greenwich Mean Time on July 1, 1908, returning to local solar time (UTC+00:13:35) until national unification.
Following the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria into a single protectorate, a unified offset of UTC+00:30 was established nationwide.
Nigeria transitioned to West Africa Time (UTC+01:00) on September 1, 1919, fixing standard time to the 15th meridian east without daylight saving changes.
Chapter three
Oba Dosunmu signed the Lagos Treaty of Cession, establishing a British crown colony and integrating the port city into British imperial maritime schedules.
Construction began on the Lagos Government Railway toward Ibadan, establishing strict transit scheduling and station timekeeping across the coastal region.
Lagos was designated capital of amalgamated Nigeria under Lord Lugard, centralizing official colonial administration, postal communications, and civil service timekeeping.
Construction progressed on the present Cathedral Church of Christ on Lagos Marina, featuring a five-story clock tower with chiming bells crafted by Smith of Derby.
The official seat of the Nigerian federal government moved from Lagos to Abuja, though Lagos remained the nation's chief economic center under West Africa Time.