Meet The Former Slave Who Became The Richest Man And Owned Broad Street on Lagos Island

People walked through broad street in the heart of Lagos.

But it probably hasn’t occurred to them or heard about the story of the man who was the owner of the land tens of years back.

His name is Taiwo Olowo, a man who was famous for his wealth back in the pre-colonial days.

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Chief Daniel Conrad Taiwo who was famously called Taiwo Olowo because of his wealth, he came to be known by that name which means ‘the owner of money’!

Taiwo Olowo is considered by many as the owner of what is today known as Broad Street on Lagos Island.

One of the richest men in Eko (Lagos state), Wikipedia has it that he was born in 1781 in Isheri and his father, Oluwole, was a chief.

Olowo was a big slave trader, arms dealer, and a big political figure in the colonial era. In 1840, he was a protégé of Oba Kosoko who reigned in Lagos from 1845 to 1851.

History has it that Taiwo was a former slave from Isheri who however rose to become one of the richest men in Eko, which is what is now known as Lagos was called years ago.

He apparently defied all limitations to rise to became so wealthy that he could own such a prominent place as we now know Lagos to be.

See photos of his tombstone below: