Activist Claims Move Targets His Legacy of Defiance and Activism

Veteran entertainer and activist Charles Oputa, known as Charly Boy, criticized the Bariga Local Council Development Area in Lagos for renaming the Charly Boy Bus Stop after hip-hop artist Olamide Adedeji, popularly called Olamide Badoo. The council chairman, whose tenure recently ended, announced the renaming as part of an initiative to honor individuals who have elevated Bariga’s global profile through their talents. Oputa, also known as Area Fada, called the decision a politically motivated attempt to erase his decades-long legacy of challenging authority and advocating for the oppressed. He emphasized that the bus stop’s name was organically given by the community, not politicians, reflecting his grassroots influence. Oputa vowed that his legacy, rooted in the hearts of Nigerians, cannot be diminished by a signboard change, while human rights activist Omoyele Sowore labeled the move vindictive and ethnically charged. The state’s information commissioner clarified that street naming falls under local government authority, not the state.