Falolu succeeded Oba Eshugbayi Eleko as the Oba of Lagos from 1932 till his passing in 1949. Falolu was a fisherman before he became Oba. He belonged to the Lagos-based House of Dosunmu, a royal family. The succession to Oba Eshugbayi Eleko was a contentious issue upon his death in 1932. There were two primary groups that surfaced: one sided with Sanusi Olusi, who had been Oba for a short while before resigning to allow Eleko to return, and the other with Falolu Dosunmu.
Falolu’s backers, which included members of the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), the Ilu Committee, and the Jamat Muslim group, moved swiftly to ensure his installation as Oba. Consequently, Falolu Dosunmu was formally acknowledged and installed as the Oba of Lagos on November 3, 1932. Protests broke out because Sanusi Olusi’s followers were not satisfied with Falolu’s victory. Governor Donald Charles Cameron responded by establishing the Ward-Price Commission in 1933 to look into the selection procedure. At first, the panel discovered that the different groups of Lagos chiefs were not clearly in order of selection.
But in response to popular unrest, a Selection Committee was established, and in the end, a majority vote recognized Falolu Dosunmu as the legitimate Oba of Lagos.
Oba Falolu Dosunmu implemented a number of reforms during his rule to bolster the authority and self-sufficiency of the Obaship, or the Oba institution. He created official archives for the Obaship, which included records of native laws and customs as well as meetings between the colonial authority, the Oba, and his chiefs.
Falolu likewise refused to submit to the colonial commissioner’s authority, preferring to hold talks at his palace, Iga Idunganran, or through middlemen. This declaration of independence played a crucial role in preserving the Obaship’s independence during the colonial era. Oba Gabaro was the third Oba of Lagos, the son and heir of Oba Ado, and the grandson of Oba Falolu Dosunmu. He passed away on September 2, 1949, and was interred at Iga Idunganran, the royal palace that Oba Gabaro erected.
