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

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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 ...

Iragbiji, the town of Chief Muraina Oyelami

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Lagos Island - Balogun market

hot sales Lagos urban area is said to count around 20 million inhabitants. 1 million additional everyday. People say Lagos is like a giant market and one of its epicenter is Lagos Island. Besides former colonial administrative buildings and the banks and insurance who built skyscrapers along the Marina, there is a large area devoted to trading and markets. The densest one is probably Balogun market which is located between the central mosque and Tinubu square. Three or four floors of shops, people, goods all so tightly packed that cars are not welcome and motorbikes have a hard time moving. pick what you need During the day 4 million people are coming to Lagos Island to do business. They will rent a space for an hour, half a day, a day or longer and trade. hen lost in the clothes section One can find pretty much everything, one needs only know where things are. But generally organised by specialized clusters. There is so much happening that one can only get a small glimps...

Nigeria, the land of plenty

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