6.4500° N, 3.4000° E

LAGOS

Most Famous People Born in Lagos, Nigeria

Notable people
795
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1983
Most distinctive
Songwriter 7.5×

A football factory in a city of twenty million. More than two in five of Lagos's notable births play professional football — the highest share of any single profession in any city in the dataset — and most of the rest are basketball players, boxers, activists, and the songwriters of Afrobeats. Almost everyone is born after 1960, and almost everyone leaves at some point to play somewhere else.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Lagos during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 252 notable births.

What Lagos Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Lagos's biggest profession — 43% of all notables (343).

Lagos over-indexes on songwriter7.5× the global rate.

Lagos under-produces politician — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Football343
  2. Actor48
  3. Basket40
  4. Politician32
  5. Singer24
  6. Lawyer19
  7. Boxer17
  8. Writer13
  1. Songwriter117.5×
  2. Boxer175.4×
  3. Activist84.7×
  4. Basket404.0×
  5. Football3433.9×
  6. Photographer112.9×
  7. Business131.6×
  1. Politician320.3×
  2. Writer130.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Lagos's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

18251850187519001925195019752000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Art & Design
  • Writing
  • Other
All795
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Showing 40 of 795 notable people

0055 SINGER

James Reyne

Born 1957

Preview
0056 LAWYER

Yemi Osinbajo

Born 1957

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0062 PHOTOGRAPHER

Rotimi Fani-Kayode

1955 - 1989

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0075 FOOTBALL

Segun Odegbami

Born 1952

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0084 ACTOR

Bolaji Badejo

1953 - 1992

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0088 PLAYER

Nduka Odizor

Born 1958

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0201 POLITICIAN

Ben Murray-Bruce

Born 1956

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0223 FOOTBALL

Best Ogedegbe

1954 - 2009

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0245 PHYSICIAN

Ameyo Adadevoh

1956 - 2014

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0272 JOURNALIST

Edward Stourton (journalist)

Born 1957

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0311 POLITICIAN

Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa

Born 1955

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0320 POLITICIAN

Bola Tinubu

Born 1952

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0325 ACTOR

Isaac George

Born 1957

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0340 BOXER

Davidson Andeh

Born 1958

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0381 POLITICIAN

Jimi Agbaje

Born 1957

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0395 FOOTBALL

Ade Coker

Born 1954

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0405 LITERARY

Femi Ojo Ade

Born 1950

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0409 ENTREPRENEUR

Hakeem Belo-Osagie

Born 1955

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0416 POLITICIAN

Musiliu Obanikoro

Born 1957

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0422 BANK

Femi Pedro

Born 1955

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0436 DRUMMER

David Reyne

Born 1959

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0438 JUDGE

Nicholas Mostyn

Born 1957

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0466 MUSIC

K1 De Ultimate

Born 1957

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0509 ACTOR

Yinka Quadri

Born 1959

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0535 ACTOR

Davis O. Nejo

Born 1953

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0551 FOOTBALL

Emilio John

Born 1950

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0561 POLITICIAN

Babatunde Fowler

Born 1956

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0564 BUSINESS

John Momoh

Born 1957

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0566 POLITICIAN

Ademola Rasaq Seriki

Born 1959

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0578 BOXER

Obisia Nwankpa

Born 1954

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0587 ART HISTORIAN

Moyo Okediji

Born 1956

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0625 WRITER

Ahmed Yerima

Born 1957

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0628 CIVIL SERVANT

Stephen Osagiede Oronsaye

Born 1950

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0630 ACTOR

Babatunde Omidina

Born 1958

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0646 ECONOMIST

Akpan Hogan Ekpo

Born 1954

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0679 JOURNALIST

George Noah

Born 1957

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0688 ACTOR

Victor Olaotan

Born 1952

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0701 BUSINESS

Wanle Akinboboye

Born 1958

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0736 HISTORIAN

CBN Ogbogbo

Born 1953

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0739 COACH

Laila St. Matthew-Daniel

Born 1953

Preview