Veteran entertainer and activist, Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, has responded to the Lagos State Government’s decision to rename a bus stop in Bariga previously associated with him.
On July 25, 2025, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu officially commissioned a street renaming exercise in Bariga Local Government Area. Among the changes, Ajidagan Street was renamed Olamide Adedeji Baddo Street, while the popular “Charly Boy Bus Stop” was also renamed “Baddo Bus Stop” in honour of the rapper Olamide.
Reacting to the development, Charly Boy took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account to issue a fiery response, asserting that while a name can be changed, a legacy cannot be erased.
“Dem say dey don change the name of Charly Boy Bus Stop. Hmmm. Very interesting. But let me remind you of something simple: You can rename a place… but you can’t rename a legacy,” he wrote.
He continued: “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! 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 suggested that the decision to rename the stop was rooted in a desire to suppress a radical voice that had long confronted authority.
“So what do timid people do? They change the name like e go wash away their shame. Bariga, Gbagada, the entire Lagos knows the truth. That 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.”
The self-styled Area Fada insisted that he remains a living symbol of resistance, declaring: “They may change the signboard. They may pretend not to remember. But let me remind them Area Fada no dey finish… He’s a movement. He’s an institution. He’s a warning.”
Charly Boy concluded his post with a message to those responsible for the renaming: “So go ahead, change the name. But remember—you can’t change the truth. You can’t erase fire. Area Fada no dey finish. Still here. Still standing. Still fighting. His legacy? Will outlive yaall.”
The renaming has sparked debate online, with many weighing in on the legacies of both Charly Boy and Olamide, and the broader implications of erasing or reassigning public memory.
