Ejinrin, a coastal town in the Epe District of Lagos State, was the first beneficiary of a European mode of communication in Nigeria. A post office was sited in the town that radiates the splendour of Lagoon and sea water for good living of its people in 1854. The choice of Ejinrin by the gunboat diplomats who carried out the British order was to prepare the ground for a new format of commerce that boasted trading in industrial goods and services in exchange for farm produce that were raw materials that fed the guzzling varacious appetite of industry in Britain. In a word, the industrial revolution made abolution of slave trade inevitable.
Post office was a novel means of communication. It facilitated not only intra-Yoruba community communication through letter, telegram and payment for goods and services by postal order or money order. Post office also provided abroad lee way over the ocean to European countries. The immediate impact of this innovation in Ejinrin was a commerce avenue that sprang to life in the town. The road and houses that lined both sides of the road were beautiful.
To consolidate the commercial status of Ejinrin, a jetty was built. Thus the town became a mini-port that facilitated export of farm produce to Europe and received imports of different industrial goods in exchange. To maximise the benefit of the jetty and post office in the town for maximum advantage.
John Holt, ABC Market, Patterns and Zochonis, quickly built their offices and warehouses in what was later to become a business district in the town.
Thus, Ejinrin became a trading hub that attracted the patronage of home traders who paddled farm produce in their local canoes to the market and returned to their different coast towns with manufactured wares that were brought to Ejinrin. These were outside of large industrial consignments that were brought by steam-engine-large ships. The phenomenon tempted indigenes of Ejinrin and their neighnours to wax an axiom: Bi oko kan o re Ejinrin, egbe-egberun e a lo/ Literally means the volume of commerce in Ejinrin and its benefits are too rewarding to be ignored by vessel owners who fall upon one another to go there and benefit.
Absence of one verssel could never be felt. More than 100 years after the berth of post office in Ejinrin, Chief Ebenezer Obey, a Juju maestro, waxed a theme in commemoration of Ejinrin prominent role in commerce in 1854 and beyond: Bi oko kan o re Ejinrin, egbe-egberun e a lo to recall the glorious commercial period in Ejinrin.
With his pioneer status in commerce attainment, could any person, who value development for the comfort and progress of people, blame the Yorubas for not joking with Ejinrin.
Post office came in 1854. It was the first in Nigeria. What a land mark project that linked people and places for mutual and symbiotic relationship. It promoted communication that quickly spread awareness among people and towns in the neighbourhood. A man in town ‘A’ could furnish a man in town ‘B’ of the things that were available for sell. To the business men of the day, it was nothing but an entrepreneurial journey to promote voyage that lifted buying, selling and inter-community communication for the benefit of all. In the then new commercial zone were offices and warehouses of major trading firms in Nigeria.
It was central business district that elevated the architectural opulence of the town. It was a pace setter for the future in building of houses and offices. When Apapa Port was later developed and embellished with railway station, it became a major means of moving people and goods from the coast to the hinterland and vice versa. The new port at Apapa thus became a relegative influence on the importance of Ejinrin that was earlier a pacesetter in that realm.
Ejinrin got its name from an anti-biotic plant whose leaves were used in the past to cure many anti-body infections.
As a town that enjoyed slendour of coastal water, Ejinrin was a gateway to hinterland towns such as Ijebu, Ibadan and many other settlements.
The significance of the post office and other monumental buildings in the town that was facilitated by the sea and lagoon abundant water led to the proverb that says: “Bi oko kan o re Ejinrin, egbe-egberun e a lo”. Literally meaning if a vessel refuses to sail to Ejinrin, thousands of such vessle would. Some people believed that it was vehicles that were mentioned in the axiom. No. It was water vessels that were spoken about not vehicle or petrol-powered vehicles.
At the time Ejinrin rose to preminence and was at its vogue, petrol-powered vehicles were few. As a coastal town, petrol-powered vehicles were even a ravity. Besides, the roads were not there for the running and movement of vehicles.
As the second port city in Nigerian Ejinrin boasts of many arcades, obelisks and sites of worship of water and sea gods. Todays, a film village is being built in Ejinrin.
This makes people believe that the town still has a future.
Send Us News, Gist, more... to citypeopleng@gmail.com | Twitter: @CitypeopleMagz
