The Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso has said that only anarchists say that Lagos is a no man’s land because there are no empirical facts to support such a bogus and vacuous claim, nor can it be validated through any available record. The battle to straighten the records is therefore between archivists who are trained in the art of record keeping and preservation, and anarchists who make sweeping and unsubstantiated claims.

Omotoso made the observation recently at an event organised by the Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB) at its Magodo Office to commemorate World Archives Day, adding that there is a lot to be done to protect the state's heritage.

He said the battle for the protection of our heritage has to be fought on two fronts; number one is technology, the other is ideology. The second challenge is what I call the question of people who claim that Lagos is a no-man’s land. There is no empirical fact to support this bogus and vacuous claim, nor can it be validated through any available record. So the battle in my own view is between archivists and those who lay claim to this notion of no man’s land, who are in my own view anarchists.

The Honourable Commissioner opined that we must leverage technology to make our various archival materials accessible to the public and keep them in the consciousness of our people. “We are talking about Lagos here, all the beautiful buildings that we have, all the things that our Kabiesis and royal fathers are preserving for us, none is showing here. It is because we are not in control of the technology. I think we need to join the world in using technology to show what we are capable of doing, what our forefathers did, and the kind of future that we are confident that our children will have”.

Commending LASRAB officials for a job well done while encouraging them to keep the flag flying, Omotoso promised that the State government will ensure that the bureau gets the required resources to fight all those anarchists in the technological front, such that the power of technology can be deployed to the story of Lagos and deepen it.

Also present at the event were the Head of Service, Lagos State, Mr. Olabode Agoro; the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal; representative of the Oba of Lagos, the Opeluwa of Lagos, Chief Lateef Aderibigbe Ajose and Erelu Abiola Dosumu, Erelu Kuti of Lagos, amongst others.