What’s there to do in Lagos?

“There is nothing to do in Lagos!” is something you might have heard or said a number of times. I myself have ransacked the internet looking for interesting non clubbing things to do in Lagos. I have become that person who knows where all the fun spots are but never goes to them because of one thing or the other.

BOGOBIRI

I be up in the gym just working on my fitness…

…he’s my witness! oooh weeeee

After years of whining about how I want to be fit, I have finally joined a gym. Even more interesting, I actually go to said gym. As I write this post, my arms are protesting in pain because my triceps, biceps and whatever other ‘ceps I possess are sore. Workout pain feels so bad and so good at the same time. I like stretching and feeling a little pain in my abdomen.

War, rats and weird traditions.

Syria has been in the news lately, thanks to the ongoing civil war which has displaced millions of people and turned Syrians into refugees. Even though a lot of attention has been given to the Syrians who have fled the country, there are still a lot of people in Syria who are still dealing with the strife of war. One of the youngest casualties of the war is a little baby girl, who suffered her first war wound before she was even born. Her mother, heavily pregnant with her, was injured in a missile strike in Aleppo. Doctors battled to save both mother and unborn baby, and their efforts were rewarded. The baby was pulled out of her mother’s womb with a piece of shrapnel above her eye. What a start to a life. Thankfully the doctors were able to remove the shrapnel and both mother and baby are fine. War is sickening and so stupid, and childish.

TO GREXIT OR NOT TO GREXIT

You may have heard of the crisis in Greece. Perhaps you briefly heard the reporter on CNN mention it, as you were switching over to the food network. You may have been wondering what all the commotion is about. In this post I am going to explain the Greek crisis as best as I can, from one dummy to another.

Let’s step back a bit.

Basquiat!

At first glance, Basquiat may seem like another overrated artist, unworthy of the veneration accorded to him. I felt that way at first, and while I liked the artist, I thought his art was juvenile. To me, this was just another case of “Emperor’s new clothes”; people liking something just because the cool kids said it was cool.

Over time, I have come to appreciate his work and see the beauty in the madness of his art. The more I look at his work now, the more I like them. Mona Lisa, Riding with Death, Head of a Madman, Fallen Angel are just a few of my favourite Basquiats. Basquiat’s use of colour, shapes and lines give birth to a distinct style that makes a Basquiat easily identifiable.

All the pictures in the gallery are screenshots from Jean Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, a documentary about his life.  Watch it here

One of his earlier works

It is works like this that made me think Basquiat was overrated. This is not art, more like scribbles made in a boring class.

“Mona lisa”

“Head of a madman” is supposedly a recreation of Van Gogh’s self portrait.

“Riding with death”. This is one of my favourites.

“Defacement: The death of Michael Stewart”. In 1983, 25 year old graffiti artist Michael Stewart was allegedly seen drawing on a subway and was subsequently beaten by eleven New York policemen. He went into a coma and later died of a cardiac arrest 13 days later. Basquiat was greatly shaken by this, especially as he also had been a graffiti artist. This piece was inspired by the events.

Fallen Angel.

Jean Michel Basquiat

On the cover of the New York Times

He developed a close friendship with legendary Andy Warhol. Warhol was his friend and mentor, and Basquiat was a friend and muse to Warhol.

Warhol and Basquiat collaborated on a series of paintings. Warhol was influenced by Basquiat and that can be seen in his later works.

Warhol’s death in February 1987 affected Basquiat deeply.

One of the pieces at his last show.

He battled with a heroin addiction and eventually died of an overdose in August 1988. Rest in Peace

Feminazi

Recently, an opportunity opened up for certain people to throw about one of their favourite words: “Feminazi”.

Charlotte Proudman, a barrister, shared a picture of a comment she received on LinkedIn from an older male lawyer. Charlotte is 27, the man is 57.

This led to a debate on social media. Some people think her outrage was appropriate, some people think she overreacted, most people think she is just another man hating angry feminazi who cannot take a compliment and oh my God what is wrong with the world when a man cannot give a woman a compliment she is not even that pretty FEMINISM HAS RUINED THE WORLD rah rah rahhhhhh.

What do I think?

Is it because I am Black?

Sometime ago, I watched I AM ALI, a documentary about the life of legendary boxer Muhammed “The Greatest” Ali. It is impossible to thoroughly examine Ali’s life without taking a look at the race relations that existed in America back then, particularly the Civil Rights Movement. Ali himself was very outspoken about the discrimination against Blacks. It was not surprising that part of the documentary was an emotional throwback to the years of segregation.

All pictures here are snapshots from the documentary. The soundtrack to this gallery is Syl Johnson’s Is it because I’m Black? 

I don’t know when or where this picture was taken, but it is a great photo. It is as iconic as the photo of Gloria Richardson pushing away a policeman’s rifle.

Black people protesting against the segregation of schools in America.

White people protesting the integration of schools in America

Some people really did not want their communities to be open to Black people.

Man in what I guess is a recently desegregated neighbourhood, holding a threatening note from the Klan. I assume that is supposed to be “blood” on the stairs

Innocent child being indoctrinated into hate.

Coloured people’s entrance

One of many Sit-ins held to protest racial segregation in America. The protesters, mostly Black, would sit down at Whites only establishments (e.g diners, drugstores) and demand to be served. The protesters were either ignored, arrested or assaulted by the White customers, like in the picture above.

The Greensboro Sit-in. In 1960, four African American students were refused service at the lunch counter of a Woolworth department store. The men refused to leave and stayed till the store closed. This was not the first Sit In, but it was very important because of the attention it drew. Within a week, more people had joined the Sit In in Greensboro and other cities had staged their own Sit Ins. This led to the desegregation of the Woolworth store.

In Alabama, a desegregated bus carrying Black and White passengers was attacked by an angry mob of White people in 1961. The attackers threw rocks and firebombs at the Greyhound bus, and reportedly yelled “Fry those goddam niggers” and “Burn them alive”. The passengers were the Freedom Riders; people who had volunteered to test a recent ruling by the supreme court which declared segregation illegal.

I don’t know the story behind this picture, but I like it a lot. The man appears White to me, but I could be wrong. It is nice to see a tender moment in the midst of strife.

It is common knowledge that Blacks still suffer ill treatment in America, but things are relatively better and that may make some people forget how hard African Americans had to fight to get the “equality” they have now. The struggle. The marches. The protests. The Sit Ins. The brutality endured. I am filled with pride at the actions of these brave people, risking everything because “enough was enough!” I doubt I would ever have been brave enough to do the same. We have to fight for the things we want. We cannot simply fold our arms and wish for things to be better. We need to go out and make them better.

1960 may seem like a long time ago, but in the grand scheme of things, it is yesterday. The hostility towards Black Americans does not surprise me, because just recently they were not even considered worthy enough to sit with Whites. Up until the 60s, Blacks were still being lynched. Attitudes like that cannot disappear overnight. Racist mindsets will not be erased simply because the law changed. Acting upon one’s racist mindset is illegal (which is progress from 50 years ago), but having racist thoughts cannot be censored. What happens is that these racist thoughts, now forced to be hidden, will bubble up and spill out. A lot of people pretend to be without prejudice, maybe they even believe it. Then something happens and their true feelings are unveiled. Although it would be nice to have everyone free of prejudice, that is unrealistic. It is more important to have laws preventing people from acting on their prejudice. Hate a group of people all you want, but the most you should be able to do is stew in your hate, not hurt this group because you hate them.

There are a ton of pictures and videos on the internet, chronicling the struggle of Black Americans. Check them out, read the stories behind them, and learn about the black struggle. Be inspired.

A time comes when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.

Feel free to leave comments if you have more information or corrections about the photos.

Read more about the freedom riders here

Read more about the Greensboro Sit-In Here