-
In LAGOS Mainland For Almost 50 Years
When Chief Taoreed Faronbi, aka Baba Alado, was lowered into the earth at his Isheri-Osun residence on Saturday, September 26, 2026, it was not just a man that was buried. An era of land administration on Lagos Mainland especially the Mushin to Isolo, Ejigbo, Ago-Palace Way, Aswani, Okota, Ijegun,white sand and Oke-Afa axis was buried with him.
This is because for like 50 years, from the mid-1970s until his death at 84 in 2026,, Baba Alado was the undisputed custodian of the Omo Onile system on the Mainland.
Born into the Alagbeji Royal Family of Papa Ajao, Mushin, Baba Alado’s journey into land began by inheritance, not force.
In the early 1970s, Lagos was expanding rapidly. The Jakande Low-Cost Housing push and the influx of people into Isolo and Ejigbo made family lands valuable overnight. As a young Prince of the Alagbeji family, he was appointed as the family’s land liaison officer.
Family sources say the turning point was in 1976. Following a bitter intra-family dispute where a parcel at present-day Aswani was sold to two different buyers, the elders of Alagbeji made a landmark decision, no land would be sold without Baba Alado’s signature and traditional seal.
By 1978, he had consolidated the Alagbeji land holdings from Mushin to Isheri-Osun and was formally turbaned as Olori Ebi.
The 1980s were the boom years of Lagos Mainland land speculation. As Isolo became a kingdom, the title of Akinrogun of Isolo Kingdom ,the warrior chief in charge of land boundaries and defense was conferred on him despite an interregnum between reigns. It was a traditional validation of his de facto control on land matters.
Two major incidents defined this era,the Aswani Market land war of 1988 when the Lagos State Government attempted to acquire a large expanse of land for Aswani International Market, Baba Alado led the negotiation for the land-owning families against the government. He secured not just compensation, but the commercial rights for the families. In return, the market traders in the early 2000s installed him as Babaloja of Aswani International Market, a position he held till death. That gave him both family authority and market authority.
The Isheri-Osun Settlement Accord of 1992,the bloody clash between Isolo and Egbe families over the Isheri-Osun boundary threatened to spill into Mushin. Baba Alado, then already a respected NURTW chieftain, called a historic meeting at his Alado Bus Stop base. He decreed that any developer must obtain clearance from both sides. That accord ended 10 years of violence and made Alado Bus Stop the headquarters for all land transactions in the area.
During the military era, his NURTW structure became his enforcement structure.No developer could bring tipper, blocks or workers to sites in Mushin, Isolo or Ejigbo without settling the Foundation, Roofing, and Decking fees with his office.
From 2000 to 2019, Baba Alado was at his peak. He was no longer just an omo onile; he was a property institution.
Developers, Estate Agents and even banks building branches in Okota, Ago Palace Way, Isheri, Isolo and Ago-Palace Way had to go through his table at Alado Bus Stop. His system was organized ,with a verification where all receipts were verified. He kept ledger books dating back to the 1970s.
The 3-level Settlement of Foundation, Lintel and Roofing , a structured payment system replaced the random extortion by recalcitrant Omo- Oniles .
His influence was so total that in 2015 during the Ago-Palace Way estate boom, a petition by some Developers to the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbing was withdrawn after the Commissioner for Lands at the time found that Baba Alado’s documentation was more complete than some of the government’s own survey.
Every major land sale in Mushin-Isolo, axis still required a call to Alado at Isheri.
From 2020, age and illness gradually slowed him down. He delegated day-to-day operations to trusted aides but still remained the final arbiter.
With his burial on September 26, 2026, attended by Senator Ganiyu Solomon, Mushin Council Chairman Tunbosun Aruwe, Odi-Olowo LCDA Chairman Dr. Oluseyi Jakande and NURTW President MC Oluomo, the mainland land market has lost an icon,who for 50 years, did not just sell land but ruled it. Baba Alado created a system where the omo onile was a traditional authority, at a bus- stop named after him, Alado Bus Stop in Isheri ,where every block laid in Mushin and Isolo passed through.
Whether that system will survive him, or collapse into chaos, with other rival Omo Oniles, waiting on the wings to take over control, is the question many are asking now.
Wole Alakija
08055001823
