ADEREMI'S NOTEBOOK

— Check out The two sides of Nigeria, a photoessay put together in the run-up to the elections. (2)

Nigeria in 1951 (5)

© 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.

Jay-Z to tour Nigeria and South Africa (29)

Jay-Z in partnership with MTV has been invited by the United Nations to raise water crisis awareness around the world. He will be doing an international tour covering various cities in Europe and Africa to spread the word. The dates and venues for African part of the tour are as follows;

October 04 - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Diamond Jubilee)
October 06 - Accra, Ghana (Accra Conference Center)
October 07 - Lagos, Nigeria (Ocean View)
October 09 - Luanda, Angola (Cine Karl Max)
October 11 - Cape Town, South Africa (Belleville Velodrome)
October 13 - Durban, South Africa (ABSA Stadium Outer Fields)
October 14 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Coca Cola Dome)

MTV will produce “Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life” during the tour.

Worth Listening to the press release. I was not impressed with Jay-Z’s response to the press during the Q&A session. He seemed very unprepared and failed to answer most questions. Hard to believe it was his idea.

Nigeria to send aid to Scotland (2)

Why is Nigeria sending aid to Scotland. Someone please tell me why?

This issue again, why would you call Nigeria, an African state? Lagos is a state in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country. ahhhhh!!!

Lagos: A city of hope (0)

Edward Popoola on missing Lagos;

Lagos is still the most attractive city to Nigerians. At least from the fact that, even with its obvious distractions, people still troop to the city. No matter how bad things seem to be in Lagos, people will still find their way.

Lagosians are happy not because everything works, but because of the cliche that says while there is life, there is hope. ‘God dey’, ‘Man pickin go survive’, ‘E go better’, ‘I go big tomorrow’ are some popular lines written on commerical buses in Lagos

This is so true. Read my Notes from Agidigibi about Lagos.

— Some progress for detectives probing the assassination of Engr. Funsho Williams #

— Andrew Esiebo’s Life goes on in Lagos featured in Photoblogs Magazine. #

— Found this photo on flickr; what the Lagos-Ibadan expressway used to look like in 1973. On a heavier note, Total, the oil company is now a caterer (tagline: fuel in ur tank, food in ur belle…) #

African Town (7)

Why do people insist on saying “African Town“, when they can say “Nigerian Town or a town in Nigeria“. It puts things into context.

On a related note, I thought Festac Town was just a massive estate in Lagos. Does Lagos actually have any defined towns?

Lagos: A City at Work (0)

I found the book, “Lagos: A City at Work” at Terra Kulture, whilst attending a poetry reading session during my recent trip. I forgot about my little discovery until I saw this detailed review by Ayodeji Lawal at Lagos live.

It is shame the editors choose not to feature a few pictures to illustrate their work on book’s website. The review however covers the book extensively, so you know what to expect

He [Odia Ofeimun] details the failures of the Lagos Masterplans of 1974-81 and 1980-2000 – arguing that age-old conflicts between Federal and State government need to be brokered once and for all.
…
Without doubt, this book is, as the cliché goes, a landmark achievement. Kunle Tejuoso and Weyinmi Atigbi should be given a flagon of palm wine each, in gratitude
…
As stated above, a city without structure could be said to deserve a book without structure; however, this recommendation can only go so far. A bit like Third Mainland Bridge, this structure is not strong enough to keep the whole thing together.

The book also has a dvd produced by Lanre Lawal, the award winning designer. Orders can be placed on the website.

The next mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to create a photolog/web version of “Lagos: A City at Work”.