The danfo conductor yelled, “Baddo! Baddo Bus-Stop!” and, just like that, a Lagos landmark changed personality. For decades, commuters navigated by Charly Boy Bus-Stop—a social compass for Gbagada-Bariga life. Then the signboard flipped, and with it, a chapter of memory.
For Charly Boy (Charles Oputa), the renaming didn’t feel like routine bureaucracy; it felt like a punch to the chest. He admits the storm “almost pushed [him] into depression”, proof that sometimes the quickest way to erase a person is to repaint the place that remembers them.
What Really Changed?
In late July, the Bariga LCDA officially renamed the popular Charly Boy Bus-Stop to Baddo Bus-Stop in honour of rapper Olamide (a.k.a. Baddo) as part of a wider street-and-places rebranding.
To many, it was an easy civic update; to the man whose name once lived on that stop, it was an emotional eviction.
Charly Boy later explained that the original naming wasn’t a political favour—it was organic.
In the early ’90s, the community started calling the spot after him because he lived there, showed up for people, and left fingerprints on local life. In his words, you can change a sign, but “you can’t rename a legacy.”
The Mental-Health Crash
The sudden public demotion hit harder than he expected. He says the backlash, noise, and symbolism around the renaming triggered a depressive spell, and he briefly japa’d to Europe to cool off, see family, and reset.
He has since spoken openly about depression, warning Nigerians to treat it as real and urgent: not every wound is visible; not every pain bleeds.
He even reached for dark humour to cope—dropping lines like “life is a bleep, then we die”—a gallows wink that masks the weight of losing a public identity marker you never asked for but quietly cherished.
The Bigger Fight: Who Owns Public Memory?
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) blasted the renaming spree as unconstitutional and authoritarian, arguing that authorities sidelined the very communities whose memories are being edited out.
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His point lands: public places are more than coordinates; they are archives, eras, stories, and small miracles woven into a name. You don’t rewrite archives without consulting the readers.
This is why the debate is spicier than “celebrity versus celebrity.” It’s about process, consent, and cultural continuity. Rename with the people—or risk renaming over them.
Beyond One Signboard
Mental health is public policy: a renaming exercise shouldn’t become a trigger. Government comms around sensitive changes must consider human impact, not just logistics.
Due process builds legitimacy: town halls, open polls, and transparent criteria can turn controversy into community pride.
Culture is cumulative: honouring today’s icons shouldn’t require deleting yesterday’s. Co-namings, dual plaques, and QR-coded history boards are smarter than erasures.
The Last Bus Home
Charly Boy is still here, louder than a danfo horn at rush hour—using humour to cushion hurt and pushing Lagos to think harder about what names do to people. Names are not just letters on aluminium; they’re contracts with the past. If we must update the city, let’s do it like Lagos: boldly, creatively, and with the people.
Because in this town, even a bus-stop is a time capsule.
