Unexpected encounter in Mushin

a friend in need, a friend indeed

Mushin is a suburb of Lagos on the Mainland that is known for several reasons: it hosts Bruce Onobrakpeya, a famous Nigerian artist, but it is also the go-to place to find car spare-parts. There are countless workshops and a vast market that borders the Apapa - Orowonshoki Expressway.

looking for the right part

This is the territory of Igbo traders who have progressively established camp here. As one moves through the dirt streets, full of potholes, both sides of the street are laden with all sorts of goods and vehicles.

of charcoal and windshield

Traffic is not for the faint-hearted as space left for vehicles is scarce and drivers daring. But somehow, with time on one's side, there is a solution to everything and there is always someone to offer assistance because it is in the common interest that traffic does not clog the area completely.

The market is busy, hawkers everywhere, workshops full of people repairing or buying and selling parts, the ground is littered with plastic. Suddenly an unusual figure appears in the midst of the crowd. Holding with a gloved hand a long stick made from the branch of a bush, wearing trousers and top of the same fabric, the top actually carefully joining a hood which has a net to hide the face of the wearer: an Egungun is collecting money. We call him " Egungun" and he comes to get a small note and goes further collecting.

Egunguns seem to roam the market on a regular basis. The money they collect is apparently to fund the Egungun festival ceremony that happens towards mid year.

on a money collection mission

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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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