Nigeria in 1951
© David Jefferies (click on the image to see the full picture)
I found the Diary of A. Margaret Jefferies (via Rabinal) which was written on her trip to Nigeria in 1951. Just to warn in advance that you may find some of the comments offensive. This picture of a young kid giving change is a reminder how little Nigeria has changed.
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Comments (5)
Your blog looks good to me! great photo and the diary is a real treasure - the remarks are what one would expect from an expat during that period (though wouldnt be surprised if they still talk like that now).
I wish you could find more. If that photo with the little boy is bar beach then much has changed since then. I have sent the link to everyone I know - brought some excitment into an otherwise dull week.
Likewise, was rather thrilled to find the diary. Some of the stories were so funny like guy wanting rubber shoes as opposed to leather. Worth a read.
[…] An interesting anthropologic piece in the form of a diary written in the early fifties by a caucasian lady Margaret Jefferies- the wife of one of the then Nigerian expatriates - is making rounds over the blogosphere. Here is the progression thus far and hope I haven’t left some sites out of the sequence: Rabinal’s flickr page to Aderemi’s Notebook, to Blacklooks, now on EthnicLoft. […]
First things first, I have to say that her entries were very descriptive and informative. I raised my eyebrows a number of times at the bluntness of her words, but I felt like I was seeing Nigeria through her eyes, and it was really cool to read about the simplicity (innocence?) of my country before independence, you know? I’m feeling extremely nostalgic now… I can’t explain it. I’ll stop writing. Thank you for posting that. (You know I copied it, right?) :-)
Nothing much changed? You must be joking. 5 hours to get anywhere, people getting up at 3am to get to work on time.
I have just spent a couple of years in Nigeria, luckily most of it in Abuja but I did go to Lagos and found it teeming with people, cars, animals, noise etc. A vibrant city yes, but I was glad to go back into the “bush”.
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