Nigeria, the land of plenty

"Total Help From Above" from the Divine Appointment Ministry Int'l Lekki is a part of Lagos that grows insatiably. It extends eastward from Victoria Island. It is an urban sprawl, that has a feeling of Conquest of the East as it gluttonously expands towards Epe. It spreads over the stretch of sand that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Lagoon of Lagos. Development goes unabated as developers turn unused and cheap land into shopping malls, residential estates and progressively displace eastward poverty and informal markets and replace them by a more organised form of commerce. As a result the value of the area appreciates and the Nigerian middle-class flock there with their cohorts of cars, that have to commute over one single highway. Traffic can be terrible, progressively rivalling with the one of the Mainland. To accommodate this new influx of life in the area, schools, new shops, restaurants, entertainment areas are mushrooming not to mention worship centres (...

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...

selling snacks and contemplating the sea Eleko beach is located on the Lekki peninsula, half an hour away from Lagos Islands. The access is controlled by area boys who are asking for a standard fee of 500 naira per person (visitors) but if you are asking for a receipt you can actually spend much less because then the money goes directly in pocket of the recipient (and perhaps a few other guys who are more senior). One side of the beach is where every goes and the other side is dedicated to beach huts set on a small pieces of land facing the ocean. The huts are on stilts. sea and shipwreck, should we stay or should we go? The one we visited belonged to someone we did not know but the one looking after was happy to rent it for a fee to us. He organised a barbecue with a few fishes, not so big but fresh from the sea. The beach itself was fairly empty, if not for all the plastic wastes. A sea of shoes remains mingling with all sorts  of plastic bottles, etc... C...

Epe fish market by the lagoon Epe (pronounced Ekpe in yoruba) is a small city located on the narrow stretch of water that separates the lagoon of Lagos from the one, further in the east, known as Lekki lagoon. It is built on the small hills that border the water. It is connected by a bridge to the Lekki peninsula. The town is famous for its fish market located on the water side. It is the place to buy fresh water fish, some of them still alive. They are kept in plastic buckets but also directly in the lagoon water in woven baskets. available once a year Many more is for sale such as crayfish, crocodile, turtle, monitor lizard, big snails.  Game meat is also available coming from the nearby forest of the Omo reserve. We saw two wild cats with white spotted black fur and a strong scent; As we left we saw antilope legs arriving to the stall. Some fishes are particular, one is sending electricity shocks when you touch it, another one was looking like a prehistoric fish with ...

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...

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...

nigerian coke serie 1 Supermarkets: is plenty enough? On a Saturday afternoon I accompanied a friend for shopping in Lekki . We went to a large shopping mall called Spar, which is nested among residential housings. It has a large parking lot and a few palm trees giving it an air of Florida. Inside, what really caught my attention was the repetition of patterns as if to show that the shop has plenty of things in great quantity. Perhaps a way of claiming that it is ready to serve the swelling nigerian middle class living in Lekki. Here is a serie which I believe might make you feel satiated once you will have gone through it! la plus belle (pour aller s'essuyer) washes twice more than the cheaper ones removes 101 stains fast action not even the blind could miss it canned fuzzy look water might be polluted, here is a B plan champagne! beer magnum, four at once sealed apple fruit ...