Lagos Is a Vortex of Energy
The British Nigerian photographer Ollie Babajide Tikare took note of those aspects, capturing daily Lagos in his recent book, “Èkó,” a collage of scenes and portraits from the city, taken from 2023 to 2025. Several of the photos are taken in media res: people walking in a market, venders moving through traffic with their wares, a man wading into the blue-green waters of Tarkwa Bay, a striking image of a man framed by trees and a tall building, straddling a bicycle while he is on the phone. Every Lagosian has a different version of the city, from water-based shantytowns to opulent housing estates. But they are all united by the city’s streets. The eccentricities of a city define it; in Lagos, transportation is one of them. There are people who walk to get around, and others who board minibuses called danfos which follow specific routes through the city. To get to their destinations more quickly and cheaply, some Lagosians get on the backs of okadas, or motorcycle taxis. Tikare photographs one resident resting his arm through the window of a bright-yellow danfo; another is caught in the rearview mirror of his car as he drives.
“Woman in Red,” Tarkwa Bay, 2024.
Lagos’s style is displayed through these photos, too: the easy confidence with which residents wear bold outfits and hair styles. A male fashion designer wears jeans that are deliberately torn and patched with printed fabrics; another man has low blond curls. Lagosians’ sartorial experimentation and reverence for occasion-attire rival those of any fashion capital; it’s a place where you can never be accused of being overdressed. Tikare photographs a woman taking a rest from selling snacks on the street, clothed in an elegant skirted outfit in a traditional orange and brown print, paired with flip-flops; and another woman who could be on an outdoor break from her shop job, in a pencil skirt and tailored shirt. Tikare continues through Lagos, stopping at the legendary night club the New Afrika Shrine to capture Femi Kuti performing; at the beach to photograph young people at play; and in the streets to take warm, natural portraits of students and older people surrounded by green foliage and color-saturated walls.
