NIGERIA THE LAGOS SHUFFLE ©Sergio Ramazzotti Lagos, Nigeria. In the Kokobaba market area, hundreds of timber traders gather with their floating merchandise, often towed along the river from the south-western regions to the city. A city of 18 million, Africa’s first and one of the largest on the planet. No longer Nigeria’s capital since 1991, when Federal ministries were relocated in Abuja, yet the country’s real financial core. A cancer of concrete and steel where hopes and dreams and fortunes are made and shattered every day. Where a man gives away 100 million USD of his private fortune to fuel entrepreneurship all over the continent. Where corruption is rampant, and more evident than in the rest of the country. Where the third movie industry in the world has its roots, and churns out tens of thousands of movies every year, and yet there are only two movie theaters in the whole city. Where all the tech startups are, yet the power grid is nonexistent – despite Nigeria being the world’s seventh oil producer – and most businesses and private houses are forced to run on diesel generators. Where the international Internet-scam business has been invented, and is still thriving. The city whose slogan, which can be read on the plate of any car, is: Centre of Excellence. Lagos, Nigeria. A birthday party at the Elumelu foundation building. Lagos, Nigeria. The Ebutte Meta market specializes in small- to medium-size generators, both for retail or, like this shop, for maintenance. The country’s power grid is almost nonexistent, and an estimated 90 percent of businesses and private houses are forced to run on generators. Lagos, Nigeria. Film crew members on the set of “Husband of Lagos”, a TV serial directed by Kabat Esosa Egbon, which is being shot inside a small luxury hotel. Lagos, Nigeria. The entrance of the Tafawa Balewa Square stadium, a monumental complex built in the 1950s as a parade ground to celebrate colonial independence. These days the building is neglected and rarely used. Lagos, Nigeria. The office space of Iroko TV, a company whose core business is a Netflix-like web entertainment program based on locally produced movies and TV serials. Lagos, Nigeria. A view of the Balogu market, one of the city’s largest, a few blocks from the central business district of Ina Marina road. Lagos, Nigeria. An oil rig moored at the port seen through a taxi windshield. Oil is one of the major exports of the country, which is among the world’s ten largest producers, although the benefits are hard to see even in the Nigeria’s largest city. Lagos, Nigeria. The workshop of Servipower, one of the major distributors of large-size generators in the country. The Nigerian power grid is almost nonexistent, and an estimated 90 percent of businesses and private houses are forced to run on generators. Lagos, Nigeria. The waterfront near the Ikoyi neighborhood at dusk. The building with the wire dome in the center is a yacht club. Lagos, Nigeria. A street in the Balogu market, one of the city’s largest, a few blocks from the central business district of Ina Marina road. Lagos, Nigeria. Billionaire Tony O. Elumelu (center, with red tie), one of the wealthiest businessmen in Nigeria, presides a meeting of the foundation that bears his name. In 2015, the foundation launched a 100-mln USD program to finance a thousand African startups a year for the next ten years. Lagos, Nigeria. A kid crosses over an open-air sewage in the Ebutte Meta area. Lagos, Nigeria. The office space of Iroko TV, a company whose core business is a Netflix-like web entertainment program based on locally produced movies and TV serials. Lagos, Nigeria. Billionaire Tony O. Elumelu, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Nigeria, in his private office at the foundation that bears his name. In 2015, the foundation launched a 100-mln USD program to finance a thousand African startups a year for the next ten years. Lagos, Nigeria. Movie posters in a downtown street. The Nigerian movie industry is the world’s third largest, with tens of thousands of movies released every year. PARALLELOZERO, VIA DONATELLO 19/A MILAN - [email protected] - WWW.PARALLELOZERO.COM - +39 02 89281630