Idanre city: Just Dare going past the Dark Sailor

main street of Idanre

Idanre is famous for its rocky hills popping out of the surrounding plain. The first inhabitants came there from Ile Ife and settled on the hills' plateau. Then in 1928, Christians left under pressure from the Traditionalists to settle outside of the hills in Alade. Later in 1933, some Traditionalists followed the Christians and built their houses at the foothill, which is now known as Idanre city. There are a few recent buildings and a lot of brazilian style houses that have weathered through the years without much maintenance. Like everywhere in Nigeria, roofs of corrugated iron are the norm, recognisable at the rusty colour they soon develop after a few rainy seasons. Red soil and rusty red roofs give the city its colour tones.
The hills, visible from any corner of the recently created city, are like an intermediary between the earth and the sky.

old brazilian-style house with modern extensions

The city is stretching, between the hills, like a long ribbon that starts at the north-eastern entrance where the road from Alade passes narrowly between two boulders. One of them wears an advertising for Dark Sailor's rum "Just Dare".

Dark Sailor's "Just Dare"

Nowadays the Christians and Muslims have colonised the city and live among the Traditionalists whose number is difficult to assess. We met some at the bottom of a close, at the foot of a rock. There was a burial ceremony which had something joyful about it. Tents were set-up under which people were gathered, seating on plastic chairs, to drink. One of the marquees had been arranged as a dancefloor. A little bit further down the road, Elders were equally sitting on plastic chairs, but this time along a house whose ground was elevated compared to the level of the street. It was like a narrow stage on which they would be lined-up, but also provided them with a very good vantage point on what was going on in the street. I was introduced to the most senior Baba and made to understand that a small donation would be appreciated. Some of the men were very enthusiastic at the prospect of all the things we could do together (money, money). I politely assured them that I would gladly come to see them again and would be delighted to come for the festival in May.

a wife in the waiting

Women begged me to photograph them, one of them with a baby wrapped in a bed cover around her hips. She asked for my number which I gave. Since then, many flash-calls have followed but time is the greatest eroder of determination, so she probably gave up the idea that I should marry her, that is, until we meet again!

Elders sitting at the burial ceremony

I noticed that the old houses had very often small wooden shacks built in front of them along their facade, probably not for aesthetic reasons but rather as a convenient way to lean against existing structures and also to optimise the use of space. Those constructions were usually for workshops, shops or beer parlours (very popular from the morning onwards).

rocky landscape for moto-taxis

The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the

no hawkers allowed on kingsway

no hawking Sign of hawkers this was my discovery of the week in the urban signage section. I had to think hard what the "damaged hat" was all about? Until I saw a couple of people walking with large flat baskets on their heads loaded with small portions of peanuts wrapped-up in plastic bags right by the signage. I then understood that they were not supposed to be there if the signage is of any relevance. Exactly why is another matter. Perhaps for safety reasons as in the past people hijacking cars could have been mistaken with the hawkers selling wares in the traffic. Today Kingsway, the large avenue crossing Ikoyi and coming straight out of Victoria Island through the Falomo bridge, is fairly safe. Its 2*2 lanes are often packed with slow traffic and therefore a good place for hawkers to do business. Youth's future on Kingsway Two billboards attracted my attention along Alfred Rewane avenue (the new name for Kingsway). One was a representation of a young a

The mysterious stones images of Esie

turned into Stones Chief J. Agbo Ooye had been waiting in the shade of a large tree, in front of the National Museum of Esie, dressed in ceremonial costume with a velvet hat incrusted with crystal beads sown in the shape of his title and his name. He was sitting next to his wife on a bench, expecting our arrival. His wife, he would tell us later, was his best friend and she was actually demonstrating it by guiding his frail body from one place to another and guiding his hand when it came to sign autographs of his books. Chief Agbo Ooye is the author of two booklets on the Esie Stones. The first one, called A Personal Account of the Esie Stones is giving an overview of the differences between the scientific and the traditional interpretation of the Esie Stones. The second one is called the History of Esie and gives a brief account of Esie's history from the early settlement of Yorubas in various groups (Esie, Oro, Eku Apa, Igbonla, Edidi, Igbesi, etc...) to the present day. Thos

Nigeria, the land of plenty

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