Nigeria, the land of plenty

16.30 - fun time at Elegushi Beach Harmattan is filling the air with thin particles of sand. Lagos skyline is blurred as if there was fog and sun at the same time. It is the last of day the year. Victoria Island and Ikoyi are asleep, most Lagosians are busy on the outskirt of the city to prepare the New Year celebrations, be it at Church or with their families. And the Young sleep in anticipation of the night to come. Lagos Island though is still alive, particularly the Balogun market which buzzes are usual, perhaps a little less because of no deliveries being made that day. Customers and sellers were still out and about to buy and trade goods of all sorts. 12.00 noon - gingery view at Balogun market I was looking for a hat, of the kind of Panamas. A year ago, I had got one chinese paper-made that looked nice at that time. This time, going through the market, it looked like the latest version of something similar to a Panama hat was everywhere the same (paper-made bu...

Omar at Lagos Jazz Series 2016 End of November came the new edition of Lagos Jazz Series in Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island. The music event organised by Oti Bazunu. Same setting as the year before, a lawn with individual mats to enjoy live music in a picnic mood. Food, wine and a new concoction called Catuma (Riesling wine infused with natural extract of guarana) which is claimed to be a mild aphrodisiac for ladies. In other words a sweet sparkling wine to be had on ice. Catuma girl The show started a little later than advertised, 20.30 instead of 18 which even by Nigerian standards is fairly late. Some people came and left before the start of the music as a result. But it was well worth the wait for those who wanted to discover some new nigerian talents like Maka or Evelle who played accompanied by the Lagos Jazz Quintet turned into a septet for the occasion. Evelle and Sandro joining forces Then the mood turned to Cabo Verde with three artists playing either...

Lagos photowalk job A gathering of photography amateurs, in 65 cities in the world, took place on Saturday 17th September. Lagos was one of them, the purpose of the walk was to take photographs around the theme of movement and adventure. People gathered early afternoon at Tafawa Balewa square (TBS) which looks like a stadium from the Munich Olympic Games the 1930's with metal eagles and standing horses guarding the building. someone had a party long time ago The highlight of the walk was the climbing of a nearby abandoned concrete tower of 25 floors, known as the Independence building on Cable street. The place was made accessible to the participants for the occasion. The climb was easy, letting us discover mostly empty floors with a few signs of occupations such are archives left there in the a wooden cubicle - waiting to be rediscovered or trashed sometime in the future. The lower floors had some graffitis colouring the otherwise grey concrete structure. The light was di...

KM 31 is nearing, smile Saturday February 6th, 2015 was the day of the 2016 Lagos marathon. Hold on a Saturday not to collide with church service on Sunday. The event, started at 7am, ran through much of the city. It started on the Mainland at the National Stadium then went through Oshodi before coming to Third Mainland bridge, the emblematic bridge of Lagos that runs on the lagoon for over 10km and offers a view on Makoko where streets are replaced by water and house are perched on wooden pillars. From the bridge one can have a look at the skyline of the islands. Then the marathon went on through Ikoyi to the Lekki Bridge before reaching Victoria Island, going back to Ikoyi before finishing on Bar beach next to the future city of Eko Atlantic. everyone is welcome Many participants joined the run, numbers up to 20,000 could be seen on the bibs. Kenyans arrived on first and second position; an Ethiopian arrived third. The weather was hot and it probably took a toll on the run...

Happy New Year! New Year's Day in Lagos, what can one do? Going to the beach is obviously an option. The sun shines as usual and this is where many of us are going to have a good time. so let's do it! The day will go by easy, for most, while some will go the extra mile to have fun. Acrobats taking advantage of the piles of dead plants that invaded the lagoon in the past few weeks, some kind of water jacinth, to jump and do saltos. wishing you a safe landing this year Some will play football with the tenue de rigueur ( yours underpants must be clearly visible above your shorts). it's cool to show you're wearing underpants Some others will prefer a warm bath at sunset. taking a happy dip In any case don't neglect your style. flower power