Makoko

Makoko is a shanty town in Lagos, built on wooden stilts upon the lagoon backwaters. This sprawling slum of 200,000 on the edge of the Atlantic is better experienced, than told. Large number of them are from far away Togo & Benin and speak French, unlike the Nigerian Pidgin. The locals are Egun, Ilaje and Ijaw speaking riverine tribes of South East Nigeria. The residents move about in canoes which house the mobile shops - selling everything from daily grocery needs to jewellery and electronics! It is a self-sustaining economy with little social interaction with the rest of Lagos. There is an economic connect with the Modern Lagos though; Makoko residents supply Lagos with fish and seasoned wood.

We visited Makoko today, even before it woke up. Ready to capture the residents on photos as they go about their daily lives. Some residents were curious, some diffident and other plain indifferent. We were escorted by an armed policeman and the established goodwill of Noah, a local school teacher. A Black Label and some cash for the Village Chief sealed the deal. Area Boys were told to keep a distance from us. Area Boys are unemployed youth who collect illegal tax from traders and visitors for providing them with protection. The tax collected fund their drunkenness and debauchery.

It was an experience. Much like what I experienced during my Kabul-by-foot trip that took me to out-of-bound, forsaken areas in Afghanistan. Look out for a series of photos I will keep posting over the next few days. They will take you through Makoko, a life you will never get to see the way it should be seen. Here are a couple: they show the vast expanse of the village.