a stroll through Yaba and Lagos Island

training for the best

Saturday afternoon is a good time to explore some parts of the Mainland as traffic is much lighter than during the week. A perfect occasion to see what people do away from the rich islands of Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island.
Well, kids play football, markets are packed and full of buzz like any other day, hawkers are also on the street. For some office people it is time for shopping.

MACK moving containers in town

Yaba's streets are divided in horizontal layers: ground floor is for shops and markets, pedestrians carrying all sorts of things, cars and even lorries. Then from the 1st floor onwards, habitations, offices, clothes drying opportunities, balconies and air-conditionners.

keeping an eye on them

Market streets are full of people and merchandise, usually grouped by theme, the area of generators, padlocks, etc...

Abiola Bookshop trumpeted

there are a few bookshops too.

walking to seize a new opportunity everyday

from Wiesbaden to Lagos

lagos island skyline

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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

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

The Arala of Benin Kingdom and his large family music band

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Nigeria, the land of plenty

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