THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN NIGERIA

                   

Nigeria, the photographic giant? In addition to its very rich photographic patrimony, Nigeria can be proud of having the best-stocked "photo department" in West Africa: many of the sub-region's shopkeepers and photographers come all the way to Lagos, Ibadan and even the Ibo region's major markets to stock up.

There are two addresses in Lagos: Alaba International Market and Lagos Island. There one finds dozens of shops specializing solely in photographic material, full of cameras, diverse accessories, batteries, films, and video cameras… at unbeatable prices.
Nigeria also exports its know-how: for a long time now, Nigerian migrants have

had a monopoly on certain professions in their host countries (Ghana, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, etc.), including tailoring, hairdressing, mechanics and photography. In Côte d'Ivoire, Nigerian Yoruba - known as "Nago" or "Anago" - are considered the best photographers in the country (which is true of the Ghanaians too). Many Ivoirian studio photographers have inherited their know-how and material from their Nigerian colleagues. This influence can be felt, for example, in the use of black and white painted décors, usually representing urban landscapes (buildings, motorways, airports, etc.), which were very much in vogue in the Sixties and Seventies. Tastes have changed since: people prefer colour, and plain or flowery backdrops… Researcher Tobais Wendl refers to a "Nigerian Connection" which appears to have originated in Sekondi in Ghana (Anthologie de la Photographie africaine, Revue Noire, 2e ed., 1999, p. 146). Another very Nigerian, or rather Yoruba, touch are the portraits reproduced twice on the same print. In any West African studio where a Nigerian photographer officiates (or officiated), you can finds these "double portraits" in the window, a reference to twinning, which is the object of a special cult - the Ibeji - in Yoruba land.

3. And these are but a few examples. The photography profession was far from prestigious in many countries in the early years, but this was not the case in Nigeria. To such an extent that today, countries such as Nigeria and Ghana's preponderant role in the spread of photography in West Africa cannot be ignored. In Bamako, designated the capital of photography for nearly seven years now, I have more than once been told that the Nigerians and Ghanaians, who were seen travelling in villages all across Africa at the time of Independence, their cameras on their backs, invented photography!