Nigeria, the land of plenty

moving in on wheels Isolo is an area of Lagos situated on the mainland near the airport. It has a huge market on Tuesdays and hosts also a lot of craftsmen. Next to an unappealing waterway, some sort of natural canal turned sewer, there is a memorial for victims of a bomb blast that took place a few years back and which caused a few tenth of fleeing residents attempting to cross the water to drown in it. deadly waters Adjoining the water is a hill covered by shacks. One corner is occupied by meat producers. They breed zebus and goats and produce meat. From a distance one could see the easily recognizable shape of the long-horned zebus against the sky as well as minarets of a nearby mosque. a hill with horns and minarets The hill is muddy, no pavement, just earth mixed with garbage. In places, the ground drops abruptly and reveals layers of trash accumulated over the years. One wonders if a modern breed of plastic archeologists would not be fascinated by the...

of people and horses Down by the ocean, Elegushi beach is one sandy stretch on the Lekki peninsula. It is a "private" beach, meaning it calls for a 1000 Naira entrance fee per person, not to mention the parking fee that follows shortly after the entrance fee has been collected. For that amount the beach is cleaned everyday. Place Vendôme in Elegushi beach We visited on a cloudy day. The approach was not exactly a very appealing one with wooden constructions, painted in various colours, some of them under planned repair (they have been dismantled and the wood pieces had collapsed like a mikado. On the back of buildings, where people park are some children games, air-filled jumping castles and so on. On the whole the place is fairly run-down and washed-out by the salt, the sun and humidity. awaiting reconstruction Once on the beach side of the row of wooden construction, a young and fairly well-off crowd is indulging in bathing, selfie-taking, horse-rid...

desire begins action: cheers That day, at the entrance of Third Mainland Bridge, Martini was greeting cars with an electronic advertising inviting to party with its latest sparkling rosé wine. The ad was obviously not targeting those leaving right underneath in their raw houses covered with corrugated iron. It was rather for those going to work or leave on the Islands. In any case a fancy advertising. sail made of rice bags On both side, of the bridge, wooden boats with the bottom rugged with metal are parked. Their sails are made of rice bags. They are used by sand dredger who go in the middle of the lagoon away from the land to collect sand for construction. A moment later Lagos' skyline appears along the Third Mainland bridge on the horizon. Lagos skyline in the smoke On the right side, in the direction of Lagos Island a large patch of water is used to transport and store wooden logs. On the shore a land atelier where men are cutting...