Seun Kuti in Accra

Son of FELA, Seun Kuti was in Accra last Tuesday as part of a 13-city tour of West Africa with his 14-man Egypt 80 Band. Nice music, as usual, political as ever and it was really nice to meet him in person. Humble dude, he opened his hotel room for me unannounced quite late when I went seeking for an interview.

He is presntly promoting his maiden album Many Things which came out last year. He performed his own songs as well as his father's big hits Army Arrangement, Suffering and Smiling, etc to the delight of the multicultural audience.

I first saw him perform in Lagos in 2005. His act has since matured.

"Afrobeat is not just another genre of music" he told me. "Afrobeat is a movement".

Personally, I think Afrobeat is like listening to Adams Oshiomhole's political speeches during his labour days on a dance floor. It is intense.

Football to die for

Lats Sunday February 8 I was at the Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi in Ghana to watch the biggest football league rivalry in West Africa. It was a match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi's Asante Kotoko. Game ended 2-1 in favour of the visitors Hearts.

But there was much more to it. In 2001, 126 fans lost their lives in a stadium stampede involving both teams. This time around, many fans fainted and it's reported that as many as four fans may have died due to dehydration. I was there with my new Nikon D40 and I took some very painful pictures of fans collapsing under the searing 40 degree heat.

At that moment in time, water became like gold as many were willing to kill for it. Only the strong could survive. Men of the fire services had to be drafted to spray water into the stands when bottled water ran out.

I almost passed out myself while taking shots in the press of bodies.

Change comes to Ghana

After several months of electioneering campaigns, Ghana finally declared presidential election results a couple of hours ago and I was on the streets to see the people jubiliate because the party which promised change to the country has won the polls. Professor John Evans Atta-Mills is the new leader. Here people rejoice at Oxford Street, Osu in the heart of Accra drinking and dancing.

Travelers of the African continent

Last Thursday I finally met in person Chioma Ogwuegbu of www.celebrateafrica.net who alongside her sister Oluchi have been traveling across Africa by road since July. We met up at Accra Mall's Rhapsody's before setting out for Baze Lounge where an underground artists society thrives every Thursday night.

Both ladies have been doing something which many Africans haven't been doing, not because they haven't thought about it but because of a fear of the unknown. They have both traveled across 12 countries in the West Afican region on their first round of a continent-wide tour. They regaled me with a lot of stories about ancient African cities like Timbuktu, Mopti, Ouaga, and Freetown as they experienced it on their journey. They hope that many other young Africans will begin to find time to explore the beauty of the continent.

"Africa's people are its greatest asset" Chioma told me. For Oluchi, the women of Senegal are the most elegant in the world.

Check out their website for some photos and read their blog. They plan to embark on a second leg of their journey next year. This time round will see them going to East and southern Africa.

Do not despise them

It is election season in Ghana where I am at the moment and anything can happen during campaigns. This is just an example.

Our Obama moment

In the office yesterday, we didn't pop champagne, but we had our Obama moment serving some coke round in the library and generally discussing the new world order which America has set in motion. At once, everyone felt like an American, even though most of us had never been inside an American embassy to apply for a visa not to talk of visiting America.

So I suggested to the other guys that we pose for a picture with the day's papers to etch that day in memory and history. It is the result of today's post. Our vintage Obama moment.

The Three Elders of Lagos

In Yoruba, Agba Meta, the Three Elders of Lagos are always on hand to welcome every visitor to Lagos along the Lagos-Benin Expressway. The statues are replicas of the traditional Lagos White Cap chiefs and the stand more than 12 feet high.

According to popular folklore, they each have a different message for everyone coming into the metropolis: O gbodo ridin (thou shalt not be stupid), O gbodo suegbe (thou shalt not be slow), O gbodo ya mugun l'Eko (thou shalt not allow thyself to be taken for a fool) in Lagos.

Lagos is a place for the strong, hence, the poignant words of advice.,

No hangar here!

This seems like installed art but this is exactly how I found this set up opposite my work place. It had been left there by some dump men.

Amusing isn't it? Now who's ready for the flight?

Passengers on Flight MS2/11 from Lagos to Cairo boarding at Gate Five!

Books

One of the more popular books in Lagos these days is Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. I got my hardback a couple of months ago and only feel it necessary to flaunt it here on a book-themed day like this.

Eko Hotel and Suites

I thought about yesterday's post and said why not show an indigenous hotel today? Eko Hotel is a five star set up by the Lagos government in the 1970s. It is located on Victoria Island. It is now in private hands, though.

Interestingly, when I went there last week, one of its more popular guests at that moment was Sean Kingston, the Jamaican-born singer who had come to do a couple of shows in Lagos and Abuja.

Sheraton Hotel

Franchise five star hotel located at Maryland, Ikeja.

Lagos House of Assembly 2

House of Assembly

Welcome to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa Ikeja. Hope you have a nice time around our lawmaking agency.

Teslim Balogun Stadium

Right opposite the National Stadium is the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere. It is one of the venues that will play host to the FIFA U-17 Youth Championships next year, if Nigeria agrees to host after all as the government is claiming that the cost of hosting the tournament is too high.

It is named in honour of Teslim "Thunder" Balogun, a man whose mythical history is larger than life. It was said that he wore a ring on one of the fingers of his left leg and that he once kicked a ball with that leg which resulted in the disemboweling of a goalkeeper. Myth more than fact anyway. Many young Nigerians grew up listening to such stories about him.

Teslim Balogun was the first Nigerian to play in the English league with Peterborough in 1955. The Observer of London describes him as man with a "powerful shot".

National Stadium

The National Stadium in Surulere was the scene of Nigeria's victory in the 1980 African Cup of Nations football championships. In that final match, Nigeria triumphed 3-0 over Algeria. Some of the major actors that day are still very much around. Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu, all greats of Nigerian football.

20 years later in 2000, Nigeria could not repeat the same feat as we lost to Cameroon on the same ground via penalties in the final. It was the third time Cameroon were beating us in the final of the tournament.

Lagos shops

This house on the Lagos Island has been branded by consumer brands. There are many of them like this on the stretch of road leading to CMS. They are usually owned by wholesalers.

Third Mainland Bridge

The Third Mainland Bridge links Mainland Lagos to the Lagos Island. It was recently partly shutdown for about two months to allow for repair works on some creaky joints. It caused a lot of difficulty for commuters who work on opposite sides of the divide as people had to spend hours on end to get to work and return home every day.

It's the longest bridge in Africa, about 11.8km long. It's the longest of the three bridges that connect the Island to the Mainland.

Adebola House

Located on Opebi Road, Ikeja, Adebola House is home to EssAy Photo Studios, one of the best run photography outlets in Lagos.

The Gods Are Not To Blame

Nigeria's independence day was October 1 and the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana hosted Accra to a staging of classic play The Gods are not to blame by Ola Rotimi, an adaptation of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex at the National Theatre.

Meeting Ghana's President

I met Ghana's President John Kufuor last week at the Ghana-Nigeria Business Summit in Accra. I had written a story for my magazine on the challenges of Ghana's new found oil and he made a comment about it when he saw the magazine at our stand at the exhibition.

Nice fellow, him. He'd be leaving office in December as Ghana goes to the polls to elect a new leader after Kufuor's 8 years in office.