coming to Lagos Island

Lagos Island, the old business center

Back to the 70's

what is striking about Lagos Island is the amount of ageing concrete buildings worn out by the heat, the salt and the humidity. It was probably at its peak in the late 60s or 70s.

The streets are generally one-way and narrow, full of bustle and traffic during the day. Life is everywhere on the street, even late at night. Government offices are still partly there. The Central Bank building towers it.

Lagos Island is actually the link between Mainland, Ikoyi and Victoria Island.

Freedom park, the old prison

The old prison was turned into an event space called "freedom park" accessed from prison street. This is a popular hangout place for middle-class Nigerians and foreigners. It is hosting a monthly edition of Afropolitan Vibes, an evening when local bands come and play.

This year, it hosted the Lagos Jazz Festival, which is displaying local bands playing all sorts of music with a possible jazzy twist to it.

The heart of the city

wood and corrugated iron versus concrete

When driving from the mainland, the modest skyline appears magically about the water of the lagoon. It comes as a stark contrast to the wooden huts that have grown on the water edge and which host wood workshops.

Timber is indeed carried over here by water way. Trunks are assembled in rafts which are filling up a large part of the lagoon and on which locals are walking. This is a convenient storage place.

floating timber

Comments

Benin City, at the heart of the Benin Kingdom and its great past

Benin City's popular fashion Benin City is one of the largest cities in Nigeria. It is the capital of Edo state. It probably shines less than it used to a few centuries ago when it was a powerful and advanced kingdom, lauded for its administrative and military strengths by the first Europeans who came to trade in the 15th century. Nowadays modern Europeans hear more about Benin City because Edo's gangs export girls for prostitution and compete with the mafia in Sicily on some markets. Traces of the past are very present, for instance the Oba's palace is still surrounded by a large mud wall. The city has sprawled in all directions. Trading buildings, administration buildings are among the tallest, most of them worn out by time, dusty winters and strong rainy seasons. Large avenues are running through the city, but as soon as one leave them to adjacent roads, potholes and dirt roads slow down navigation. Easier for motorbikes. Market areas are usually buzzing with peopl...

tanker for sale

tanker for sale As in Singapore, many ships are crowding the horizon on the sea along the Atlantic coast of Lagos. These are patiently waiting for their turn to come to unload or load their containers in the harbour of Apapa or Tincan Island. Most of them come and go after have completed their duty. But unlike Singapore some are just staying longer than expected, by design or by accident. Hence the coast is littered by ship wrecks which are rusting away and sinking in the sand progressively so that, in the end, they are no longer visible. once a great ship Stories point out human error as a reason for the ship's beaching. The captain went to see his girlfriends and the ship drifted ashore... seriously? More probable is that these ships are either beyond repair or the company owning her in financial trouble and therefore the ship is abandoned. from raw material to recycling One of them was a complete tanker standing ominously on the sand at the e...

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 ...

Nigeria, the land of plenty

Search This Blog