Veteran singer and activist, Charles Oputa, known as Charly Boy, has kicked against the renaming of a popular bus stop in Lagos named after him.
The Bariga Local Council Development Area announced that Charly Boy Bus Stop will now be called Badoo Bus Stop, in honour of rapper Olamide Adedeji, also known as Olamide Badoo.
The chairman of the council, Kolade David, whose tenure ended on Friday, said the change was part of efforts to honour those who had brought pride to Bariga through their craft.
“Ajidagan Street will now be called Olamide Adedeji Badoo Street. That means Charly Boy Bus Stop will now be changed to Badoo Bus Stop, no more Charly Boy,” David said.
But reacting on his X page, Charly Boy said the move was more than a name change. He accused the council of trying to wipe out his legacy and silence his voice as a long-time critic of injustice.
“You can rename a place, but you can’t rename a legacy. You can replace the signboard, but you can’t erase the spirit. And you definitely can’t silence a voice that shook your tables for decades,” he wrote.
He added, “This is not just about a bus stop; this is about fear. Fear of a boy who refused to bow. Fear of a man who challenged the oppressors. Fear of a man who didn’t beg the system to be accepted.”
Charly Boy also insisted that the name ‘Charly Boy Bus Stop’ was not given by any government, but by the people of Bariga themselves.
“Bariga, Gbagada, the entire Lagos knows the truth, that the name Charly Boy Bus Stop was not given by politicians. It was named by the people, the same people Fada fought for, walked with, and empowered,” he said.
He said even if the government changed the signboard, it would not erase the impact he had made.
“So, go ahead, change the name, but remember you can’t change the truth. You can’t erase fire. ‘Area Fada’ no dey finish,” he said.
Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, also criticised the move, calling it “vindictive, haphazard, and laced with ethnic undertones.”
Sowore said in a statement, “I strongly condemn the cynical renaming of the Charly Boy Bus Stop—an iconic landmark tied to decades of creative resistance and people-powered culture in Nigeria. This act is not just petty; it is a spiteful rewriting of history meant to silence dissent and discredit voices that have long challenged authoritarianism.”
When contacted, Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Gbenga Omotosho, said the state government was not behind the renaming.
“Street naming is a local government matter. The state government doesn’t have that responsibility. The law gives local governments the right to name or rename streets. The state government does not have the authority to regulate that,” Omotosho explained.
