Culture

Minister urges Lagos to showcase Epe fishing potential

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2024

The Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, has urged the Lagos State Government to maximise the tourism potential of Epe town, known for fishing.

The minister called on the state government to establish a proper fish market capable of attracting tourists to the area, while also urging the residents to keep the town clean.

Ade-John made the call during her visit to various tourist sites in Epe town, including the Oju Alaro Shrine, the Marina Waterfront, Palace of Oloja of Epe, and some iconic colonial buildings, Ade-John emphasised the need for the involvement of locals in maintaining these attraction sites.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that while expressing her enthusiasm for the considerable tourism potential in the town, Ade-John vowed to assist in attracting more tourists to the area.

“We are going to help you advertise what you have so that people can visit Epe more than ever before, but the sites must be kept neat,” she stated.

Highlighting the importance of local government initiatives in ensuring cleanliness at these sites, she emphasised, “The local government must work on sensitising the locals to always ensure these sites are neat and tidy. It won’t attract tourists if they are left like this.”

Observing the abundance of colonial buildings in Epe compared to Lagos township, Ade-John urged the community to preserve and cherish these historical landmarks.

“Epe is a beautiful place to be, with beautiful beaches, mangroves, seafood, and all; these are what the backpackers want to see,” she remarked.

Echoing similar sentiments, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu recently underscored the tourism potential of the Badagry area of Lagos during an inspection tour.

Last week, the governor visited several tourist centres in Badagry, including the Slave Museum International, Vlekete, Badagry Heritage Museum, the First Storey Building, Point of No Return, and Mobee Royal Family Museum.

“For us, it is to complete the ongoing projects that we have seen, and we saw some of the heritage sites, not to deface it but to restore them, to generally just preserve what we have for the tourism potential of Badagry,” Sanwo-Olu said.

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Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

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Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”