The beguiling beauty of life in Lagos, Nigeria and the ingenuity of the people.
‘The Vendor’ series is about a group of people from different walks of life across the country otherwise comically known as ‘Free Readers Association of Nigeria’. Every day as they commute, they gather in public spaces (vendor stands) across cities, most of which are found at major bus stops, points of intersections and divergence. They bend to peruse and freely discourse the headlines and other news in order to keep up with daily happenings from the local and national scenes, as well as topical cultural and social phenomena, and all other matters of public interests which enables them gain a better understanding of the society and the world in which they live.

The series is also an insight into another noticeable trend of ‘accidental audience’ gathering which occurs whenever there is a public incident. The ephemerality of this pop-up cultural phenomenon is common within the context of African public space engagement. The crave for information caused by a tensed polity and cynicism draws people, in unscripted performances, to these spaces of social, cultural and political re-engagement.

Due to the declining economic situation in the country, the unemployed who are hampered by their inability to purchase newspapers every day pay N50 (30 cents) to read them in an effort to source for published job vacancies. These public spaces help to bring information closer to the people, therefore, making them become important incubators of information/knowledge that helps to nurture the cultural, economic, social and political developments that challenge the way we think and live.