My Camera Saw It

Classified: To Let

2012-09-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

You need an apartment in Lagos? He's your guy! I have no idea who he is by the way, I just thought, this is ingenious. He apparently does not have budget for classifieds, and as such, decides to put it in full view where folks pass daily. How about that?

Titanic 2.0

2012-09-23T13:42:00.002-07:00

Believe it or not, the house in the middle is actually sinking, literally! It is skewed if you can detect it, not a pretty sight at all. The area is marshy though, might explain it.

Center For Stress Management

2012-09-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is the Center, make that Football viewing center! This is the only place you get to scream at people and they don't mind, because they are shouting right back, all defending their honor- football club. If you zoom in, you can see the fixtures written on a board at the center of the photo. Here is where I go to let off steam accumulated at work during the week. It is therapeutic for me, and that's all I know. I enjoy when my team wins, but I don't go overboard when they lose, because, after all is said and done, they don't pay me a dime. Hian!

The Sun Rest

2012-09-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

After a hard day's job, the sun finally calls it quits, but not before my camera caught it just above the Marwa Gardens buildings. Glorious!

Platoon of Strangers

2012-09-23T13:20:00.001-07:00

Just to answer your question, no, there is nothing amiss. As a matter of fact, that is the picture of a normal day at Ikeja along, area of Lagos, Nigeria. If you look closely, you can see a seeming cacophony of activities, but believe me, they are like a single organism. I did buy Puffins from the stall in the top-right side of the photo, yum yum,

For The Love of B&D

2012-09-23T13:14:00.002-07:00

Just in case you didn't figure it out, B&D means Beans and Dodo (where Dodo is the local name for Fried Plantain). This is a sumptuous meal that is reserved only for the brave. This is because your flatulence levels goes astronomical, so, be considerate when you are thinking of towing this long and lonely road.

Twine Bags

2012-09-23T13:09:00.004-07:00

Yet another one for the creative arts, these bags are all hand-woven and they are made using this plasticky rope that is sometimes used to make lines for sun-drying clothes. Took this shot at their design studio.

Creativity

2012-09-23T12:59:00.001-07:00

Drama day at Daystar 2012, don't you just love the arts? Magnificent!

Work-Chop Ad

2012-09-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

All well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Talk about making do with what you have!

Bread of Life

2012-09-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

The title is only apt because I think there is no other explanation for people queueing for oven-fresh bread at Shoprite. Don't get me wrong, the bread is delicious, but the queue can be killing, so it all depends, how bad do you want it?

Law and Order

2012-09-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) Officers harassing a Commercial Motorcycle Operator (CMO/Okada) after the latter must have broken some sort of unwritten rule.
C'est La Vie in Lagos.

Wine Glass for Giants

2012-09-23T12:29:00.002-07:00

This seem to be the latest fad at events in the Lagos area of Nigeria, West Africa. These giant wine glasses look like something Goliath must have drank wine with back in the days. I don't know what their purposes are on the tables at events, but I do know they don't pour our drinks in there.

Loo Ads

2012-09-23T12:25:00.002-07:00

The writings are justice enough, I won't spoil the fun.

Law Loophole

2012-09-23T12:11:00.001-07:00

The instruction says, post no bill, it didn't say, paint no bill, and that's what the sharp guy exploited. By the way, he meant to write "Bricklayer", go figure!

Who Needs Valium?

2012-05-07T05:09:00.000-07:00

The above is a delicacy in the south-western part of Nigeria; it is a combination of Pounded Yam with melon soup, accompanied by beef and cow entrails.
You see, treating yourself to the triplet wraps as displayed is more than enough to ensure you experience ITIS (the drowsy sleepy feeling you get after eating a large meal).
I ask again, who needs sleeping pills? This meal pack will all but knock you out with flawless precision. You should also know that the nutrients are well accounted for, from the Carbs in the yam, to the vitamins in the melon, to the protein (all be it minimal) in the beef, you are sure to be filled (if you don't have a gigantic appetite that is (washing the above down with about half a litre of chilled water (or carbonized drink, whatever your poison is).

Smoke to Jail

2012-04-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I remember back in 2002 during the FIFA World Cup which took place in Japan and South Korea. One of the journalist who was on ground to cover the event mentioned that if anyone drove a car with this much smoke coming out of the exhaust, they would be thrown in jail for endangering the lives of other people in the community. Little wonder that the average life expectancy in South Korea is 80.3 years, compared to a paltry 50.9 years in Nigeria.
That is real value for human life, and it is upheld to the optimum, but we simply do not care, because whatever doesn't kill us in the immediate gets a free pass, but in the long run, we are cutting days, sometimes, months of our lifetime at a go, with the enormity of harmful smokes given off by various automobiles, electricity generating sets and other mechanized equipment, it is a great wonder that we last as long as we do.

Stubborn Rat

2012-04-19T00:53:00.002-07:00

I saw this beside my office and the phrase stood out! Make up your mind though, because I am not sure how the classification of "Stubborn Rat" came to be, but hey, its worth a shot, don't you think so?

Let's Go Fetch Water

2012-04-14T04:25:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty familiar sight, grew up with it, and seen it every single day for a greater part of my life. However, it doesn't mean it is normal, it is the result of poor planning. Around here, folks just build houses without proper planning, then the basic amenities become just that--amenities after the house(s) have been built.
In this photo, a couple of kids are going about their chores (which includes but not limited to fetching water from wherever they can find it). The inhabitants of this compound planned ahead and sunk a bore hole or dug a well, which means they always had access to water. The law holds through, those who do not have will naturally tend towards those who have.
This process is ingrained into these children and as is human nature, monkey see, monkey do. We can do better than this, the Water Corporation do not have coverage extended to this area, the topography alone is a challenge, close to swampy in the lower parts. I still wonder though, who gave approval to all the structures here, including the ones built over the drainage. I guess its nobody's business, we have a long long way to go.

Not For Sale!

2012-04-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

Don't get any ideas, the message is clear enough!

Pepper Grinding Tradition

2012-04-12T23:41:00.002-07:00

I have spent almost three decades on this planet, on the eastern side of the GMT and the northern half of the equator, and we have been grinding pepper the one and same way ever since. I took this shot because it is exactly the same way I remember it from the moment I could tell my right from wrong.
Whatever happened to the innovators, fabricators, engineers, inventors? Granted, the environment is not conducive, but the opportunities abound still and one would imagine by now, we would have alternatives. One that does not require noise, metals rubbing each other and producing that irritating high-pitched noise, grease, and the works.
The electric blender available does not grind the pepper to a fine mixture, the seeds are left ungrinded, and that is the advantage the traditional pepper grinders have. I discovered they even have an association of pepper grinders, which informs they will most likely be around for the next half of a century unless we find a better way.

Peppered Fried Beef

2012-04-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

The local name is "Eran Dindin" which transliterated means "Fried Meat", and it is a local delicacy in Western Nigeria, beef is diced into little cubes, boiled with onions, seasoning and spice, then poked with toothpick, then deep-fried; a sauce is prepared already with more pepper than tomatoes and onions to make it hot (to the tongue) and the fried beef is rolled around in it, then served. Yummy!

Crash Helmet or Rice Bowl?

2012-04-12T03:24:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Nigeria started a campaign that is geared towards enforcing safety measures in place for the Commercial Motorcycle Operators (CMOs) in the country. Needless to say, it was met with pessimism and I was one of them. A miserly 15 months after the launch date, it was not a well-though-out plan and it was doomed to fail.
All the imported crash helmets that were imported will naturally degrade and maintenance and/or replacement was in order, but hey, our myopic thinking did not make allowance(s) for that and the lower level of a crash helmet (at least in my country) is at best, a rice bowl with straps or at worst, a paint bucket.
There is an image I will request permission to use, and it will show you the paint bucket in action.

Vote for Me, Vote for Roads

2012-04-10T01:12:00.002-07:00

Before General Elections 2011, this is what you get. The same old BS that has been dished out to the gullible members of the community since I knew my left from right. A few weeks to the elections, they dole out cash to second-rate cock and bull construction companies who haven't done more than buy and sell sand for construction companies, hand them the contract to rehabilitate the roads. This will yet again deceive the members of the community that the public office holders actually care about their well-being, neglecting the fact that they don't give a hoot what happens to them the entire 46 months until the next elections.

See well-graded road, the only problem? That is all they will do, the rains will come (as they have been from time immemorial) and return it to a worse state than it was before their hogwash of a job.

The only thing left, clear the drainage system, tar the road, and maintenance will be minimal at least for the next decade, but I guess that is too much work and will require much more money than was budgeted (or re-budgeted).

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Fast-forward 12 Months

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Well, it seems re-forestation is in order in this part of town because this is the same road above, only that it is a year later and the elements have had a go at it.

A lake is in the works as well, and this is exactly how it will continue to deteriorate; I will get you another shot by 2015 and you will see the transformation that would have occurred by then, even though I can't guarantee it will be any different from the above photos of caricature transformation.

Am I saying that the government should be responsible for clearing the grass, of course not! I am saying however, that the members of the community have remained gullible for too long and this will soon get out of hand.

Proper planning they say, prevents poor performance; this is way off-side and until the people realize that they have the power to run this marauders out of town, they will remain in perpetual ignominy.

Under the Truck

2012-04-08T04:08:00.001-07:00

I was shopping for pepper and while I was waiting on a bench, I saw this monster coming towards me, I was tempted to get out of its way (even though he was just trying to turn around) but reached for my phone instead and this is the result. You can deduce a lot from this but the view would have been wow if I had a fish-eye lens.

Loo Writings

2012-04-08T04:00:00.001-07:00

What goes on in people's minds when they are doing major in rest rooms (loo)? This was on the door of a restroom at a company in Lagos. Is it supposed to be a signature of sort? Or an advertorial? You decide.