Lagos was a war camp for the Benin Empire who called it Eko. The Yoruba still use the name Eko to refer to Lagos. Lagos was a name given to the settlement by the Portuguese meaning "lakes". The present day Lagos state has a higher percent of Awori, who migrated to the area from Isheri along the Ogun river. Throughout history, it was home to a number of warring ethnic groups who had settled in the area. During its early settlement, it also saw periods of rule by the Benin Kingdom.
Portuguese explorer Rui de Sequeira visited the area in 1472, naming the area around the city Lago de Curamo; indeed the present name is Portuguese for "lakes". Another explanation is that Lagos was named for Lagos, Portugal - a maritime town which at the time was the main centre of the Portuguese expeditions down the African coast and whose own name is derived from the Latin word Lacobriga. Alternative explanations for the name of "Lagos" include a Yoruba deity.
Lagos was formally annexed as the British Lagos Colony in 1861. This had the dual effect of crushing the slave trade and establishing British control over palm and other trades. The remainder of modern-day Nigeria was seized in 1887, and when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established in 1914, Lagos was declared its capital. It continued to be the capital when Nigeria gained its independence from Britain in 1960. Along with migrants from all over Nigeria and other West African nations were the returnee ex-slaves known as Creoles that came from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Brazil and the West Indies to Lagos. The Creole workers had the advantage of Western Education and exposure to the wider world which was why they remained as the core of the African colonial staff of British administration. The Creoles contributed to Lagos' modernisation and their knowledge of Portuguese architecture can still be seen from the architecture on Lagos Island.
Lagos experienced rapid growth throughout the 1960s and 1970s as a result of Nigeria's economic boom prior to the Nigerian Civil War otherwise called the Biafran War. Lagos was the capital of Nigeria from 1914 up to 1991. The city was stripped of its status when the Federal Capital Territory was established at the purpose-built city of Abuja. On November 14, 1991, the Presidency and other federal government functions were finally relocated to the new Capital city of Abuja. However, most government functions stayed in Lagos for a time since Abuja was then under construction.
Lagos Island contains a central business district. This district is characterized by high-rise buildings. The island also contains many of the city's largest wholesale marketplaces (such as the popular Idumota and Balogun markets). It also has the National Museum of Nigeria, a Central mosque,Glover Memorial Hall, Christ's Cathedral (CMS), and the Oba palace. Though formerly in derelict condition, the Tinubu Square on the island is a site of historical importance; it was here that the Amalgamation ceremony that unified the North and South protectorate to form Nigeria took place in 1914.
Victoria Island with its annex is situated to the south of Lagos Island. It has expensive real estate properties and for that reason, many new luxury condos and apartments are blooming up everywhere. Along with Ikoyi, Victoria Island occupies a major area in the suburbs of Lagos which boasts of several sizable shopping districts. On its sea shore along the Atlantic front, there is environmentally reconstructed Bar Beach.
Today, the word Lagos most often refers to the urban area, called "Metropolitan Lagos" in Nigeria, which includes both the islands of the former municipality of Lagos and the mainland suburbs. Lagos State government is responsible for some of the utilities including roads and transportation, power, water, health, and education. Metropolitan Lagos (a statistical division, and not an administrative unit) extends over 16 of the 20 LGAs of Lagos State, and contains 88% of the population of Lagos State, and includes semi-rural areas. Lagos City has a considerable amount of high rise buildings which makes up its skyline. Most of the tall buildings are located in around the downtown Central Business District.
Lagos was the former capital city of Nigeria but it has since been replaced by Abuja. Abuja officially gained its status as the capital of Nigeria on 12 December 1991, although the decision to move the federal capital had been made in now Act no. 6 of 1976. Lagos is also home to the High Court of the Lagos State Judiciary, housed in an old colonial building on Lagos Island.
Lagos is Nigeria's most prosperous city, and much of the nation's wealth and economic activity are concentrated here. Most commercial and financial business is carried out in the central business district situated on the island. This is also where most of the country's commercial banks and financial institutions and major corporations are headquartered. Lagos has one of the highest standards of living as compared to other cities in Nigeria as well as in Africa.
The Port of Lagos is Nigeria's leading port and one of the largest and busiest in Africa. It is administered by the Nigerian Ports Authority and it is split into three main sections: Lagos port, in the main channel next to Lagos Island, Apapa Port (site of the container terminal) and Tin Can Port, both located in Badagry Creek, which flows into Lagos Harbour from the west. The port features a railhead.
The port has seen growing amounts of crude oil exported, with export figures rising between 1997 and 2000. Oil and petroleum products provide 14% of GDP and 90% of foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria as a whole.
The Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway are the major controlled-acess highways in the north of the city and serve as inter-state highways to Oyo State and Ogun State respectively. To the west the congested Lagos–Badagry Expressway serves outlying towns such as Festival Town, which was the location for the 1977 Festival of Black Arts and Culture 77.
Lagos's importance as a commercial centre and port and its strategic location have led to it being the end-point of three Trans-African Highway routes using Nigeria's national roads: The Trans–West African Coastal Highway leaves the city as the Badagry Expressway to Benin and beyond as far as Dakar and Nouakchott; The Trans-Sahara Highway to Algiers, which is close to completion, leaves the city as the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Lagos State recently implemented a bus rapid transit (BRT) system; the first phase was completed in February 2008. It is expected to operate along eight routes using specially designated bus rapid transit lanes running through the city, with the aim of expanding to other routes in the future. The first phase of the Lagos BRT runs 12 miles through Ikorodu Road and Funsho Williams Avenue up to CMS. After weeks of test runs, operations started on March 17, 2008, six months earlier than planned.
It has been estimated that the system will transport about 10,000 passengers in each direction per hour during peak travel times. The LAMATA bus rapid transit corridor covers a distance of about 22 kilometres in length. The system is run by two operators, NURTW Cooperative (Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers) and Lagbus, a Lagos State Government owned Asset Management Company which contributes about 180 high capacity buses for the implementation of the first phase Mile 12 to CMS BRT Lite system.
The cinemas are gradually losing their supporters to the movie industry. Yoruba language films happen to be the most watched in the cinemas, followed by Indian films. Films are not premiered for a long period of time in the western sense, especially with Yoruba language films. Films in English are controlled mainly by the Igbos are the most popular and move directly from the studios to the market.
Iganmu is home to the primary centre for the performing arts and artistes in Nigeria: the National Arts Theatre .