- Safiu Kehinde
In the wake of the ongoing controversy over the change of bus stop named after veteran musician and activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, some prominent Lagosians have stood up in defence of the decision as they recall how the singer was ejected from his residence in the area.
NPO Reported that the outgoing Chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Kolade David, had yesterday announced the change during the inauguration of newly renamed roads and landmarks within the council area.
Charly Boy bus stop located along Gbagada road was renamed, Badoo bus stop, after popular Nigerian rapper, Olamide.
The development had however sparked mixed reactions from the public and activists.
Charly Boy reportedly had the bus stop unofficially named after him by Gbagada residents who were familiar with his old residence in the area.
However, the wave reactions over the change in name of the popular bus stop had seen some netizens and columnist recalled how the entertainer was ejected from the residence.
Reacting in a post on his Facebook page, Duke Olabode, former Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government Civil Service Commission, confirmed that the bus stop was never officially allocated to Charly Boy, adding that he left the residence which earned him the name u dear quarrelsome circumstances.
“Charlie boy was never officially allocated any Busstop in Gbagada, Lagos. Though people fondly called the place Charlie Boy probably because of the attention-seeking bike he imposingly mounted in front a rented apartment where he lived back then before leaving in quarrelsome circumstances.
“The local government would have been smarter by just officially naming the place Olamide Baado Busstop. Not renaming it from Charlie Boy to the new name.
“How can a Busstop be named after an ejected tenant who severally defied court orders to quit before being forcefully ejected. Or can we ideally honour a 70-year plus man who refused to grow into his 30s at least, in conducts and appearance? Hell no!
“At any rate, whether naming or renaming, the pronouncement had been made and it is therefore official with the full backing of the law. If you continue to call the place Charlie Boy, it is personal to you as it makes no difference as far as the law and official records are concerned.
“The popular road known as Kudirat Abiola today, was Oregun road for decades. So getting used to Olamide Baado too is just a question of time.” He wrote.
Similarly, a reitred teacher and former neigbour of Charly Boy, Ebunola Adebusoye, held that the entertainer does not deserve a bus stop.
Adebusoye, in a post on X, maintained that naming a bus stop after Charly Boy is an attempt to glorify immorality as the entertainer was alleged to have terrorised residents of the community- including his landlady who he owed seven years rent.
She recounted how Charly Boy and his gang allegedly terrorised Gbagada which forced her and her family to leave the neighbourhood.
Adebusoye alleged that the initial name of the bus stop was pulled down by the entertainer.
“First of all, I thank the Chairman for living up to the expectations of the people of Gbagada where Charles Oputa, alias Charly Boy also referred to as Area Father lived and tormented the residents for many years.
“As a Lagos indigene and from the Royal home, we are proud of what the Chairman did. At 65 and as a retired School teacher, I have a sense of what morality means.
“Having a Bus Stop with the name Charly Boy is an attempt to glorify immorality of the highest order. Firstly, Area Father never had a Bus Stop allocated to him at Gbagada.
“When he moved here many years ago, the first thing he did was to pull down the existing Bus Stop signpost which was second Pedro named after a prominent Lagos family that had put in sweat and blood to the growth, fame and rise of Lagos. Charly Boy was never officially allocated any Bus Stop.
“That is the truth. Calling the place Charly Boy was his own creation. Secondly, Charly boy lived in this area as as a little beast. He tormented the residents, turned the place into a jungle, a hub for hard drugs including cocaine and hooliganism. I lived close to him for about 5 years.
“Myself and my husband had to relocate to Ikorodu because of this nuisance. He was an extremely bad influence on youths and the core values of Yoruba Nation. I recall his attack on a 70 year old Mr Akinyemi who challenged his rascality.
“He ordered his thugs to beat up the old man who he stripped naked. I recall the children of this old man who came to challenge him were also beaten up.
“These actions if taken in any civilised world would have been challenged by the relevant authority and Charly Boy would have been sent to jail. He was contemptuous of Yoruba people who he derided and insulted so often. He has no respect for the tradition and values of his host.
“He owed his landlord 7 years rent which he never paid. The landlady, a Yorubaland woman died of hypertension Charly Boy converted the rented apartment into a studio that his wife managed. He pulled down the fence and converted the building to his own shape.
“He would insult and harrass the woman, playing music all day and all night. The woman died.
“People who support Charly Bus stop should tell us what single contributions he made to Lagos or to the people of Gbagada. Monuments should be named after heroes not hooligans and common criminals.” she said.
The retired teacher further slammed human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, over his agitation against the remaning of Charly Boy bus stop.
“I’m shocked that a certain Omoyele Sowore is supporting Charly Boy. Does it mean that he learnt nothing from the University of Lagos he claimed to have attended?
“Does it mean he has no tradition, no culture and no morality? Does it mean Sowore never read history and he is unaware of what is called the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People to the extent that Indigenous people exist in Lagos, a history Sowore wants to eraze through his unbridled, shallow, crude, infantile and self serving revolutionary pretences?
“A true Revolutionary should deserve honour nor scorn. Perhaps this is why his futile ashes-in-the-wind Presidential ambition is nothing but a profit driven venture to scam people and enrich himself.” She added.
Another X user, Felix Oyediran, attested to the terror reign of Charly Boy during his time in Gbagada.