Oba Ovonramwen

Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi was the last independent ruler of the Benin Kingdom, reigning from 1888 until the British invasion in 1897.

Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, also known as "Overami", was born around 1857 as the son of Oba Adolo, a prominent ruler of the Benin Kingdom in present-day Edo State, Nigeria. He grew up in the royal palace, where he was trained in governance, cultural customs, spiritual duties, and the expectations of kingship, preparing him to lead both politically and spiritually. At his coronation in 1888, he took the name Ovọnramwẹn Nọgbaisi, meaning "The Rising Sun which spreads over all".

Many west African ports had grown up around settlements originally established as slave markets. In the later 1800s, the British worked to replace the transatlantic slave trade with what became known as the ‘legitimate trade’ in palm oil. The mechanisation of the textile industry in Manchester and the spread of railways increased demand for palm oil as a lubricant and it was also used in soap.

The Oba of Benin controlled his country's main export of palm oil. In 1893, the British Niger Coast Protectorate was formed, intent on gaining the monopoly of this trade. However, in 1896 the Oba closed all markets to outside trade. The acting British consul-general, Lieutenant James Robert Phillips, decided to deal with the problem. In January 1897, he marched into Benin city with an apparently unarmed group of men.

Despite repeated requests for them to retreat, the British party continued, resulting in military action from the Oba in which all but two of the party were killed. In response, the British organised a punitive raid on the city, sending in 1,500 troops. Several hundred sculptural bronzes, known collectively as the Benin bronzes, were taken as reparation for the killing of Phillips and his men. Many of these are now in private collections and museums around the world. Benin City was captured in February 1897, and Ovonramwen eventually surrendered in August of that year.

Oba Ovonramwen was exiled to Calabar by the British where he lived until his death in January 1914.

 

This photograph of him with armed guards was said to have been taken on a yacht on his way into his exile at Calabar. The photograph once belonged to Tom Singleton Gardner, an agent for the British trading company, The Africa Association Ltd, who lived in New Calabar, southern Nigeria, from around 1890 to 1917. Tom Singleton Gardner died in 1917 from tuberculosis. We know little about what sort of man he was or about his time in west Africa; his diaries are lost. However, photographs such as this, which now belong to his family, provide us with a glimpse of what life was like in west Africa at this time. Although it is possible that Gardner himself took some of these photographs, most are attributed to the black African photographer JA Green, whose studio was in Bonny.

This information was provided by curators from The Whitworth Art Gallery.

Other African monarchs who were exiled by the British:
King Nana Prempeh I (Ashanti Kingdom, Ghana): The British arrested the Asantehene in 1896 and sent him to the Seychelles.
King Cetshwayo (Zulu Kingdom, South Africa): He led the Zulu nation during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. After his defeat and capture, the British sent him into exile.

In 1898, Kabaka Mwanga II of the Kingdom of Buganda (Buganda Kingdom, Uganda), joined forces with Omukama Kabalega, the ruler of Bunyoro (Bunyoro Kingdom, Uganda), who had already been waging a fierce, long-running war against British imperial expansion. The two monarchs led fierce, armed military resistance against British imperial expansion and the imposition of colonial rule over their kingdoms. British forces, aided by local collaborators, captured both kings on April 9, 1899. Fearing ongoing military loyalties and planned rescue operations by forces like Bunyoro's Abarusuura, the British decided to exile the two Kings to a far away land, the Seychelles. Mwanga died in the Seychelles in 1903, while Kabalega died 23 years later while returning to his kingdom after his release.

King Jaja of Opobo (Opobo Kingdom, Nigeria): He was exiled to the West Indies in 1887 after being tricked and arrested by British Consul Harry Johnston on a warship. Jaja died on the way home to Opobo after being granted permission to return and was buried initially on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

British colonial authorities routinely used exile, banishment, and forced displacement as strategic political weapons to suppress resistance and neutralise anti-colonial leadership. By exiling key nationalist figures, monarchs, and religious leaders, the British aimed to leave resistance movements leaderless and disoriented. British administrators masked the violence of forced banishment behind administrative terms like "deportation", "relocation", or "administrative detention". New laws and emergency ordinances were regularly drafted ad-hoc to provide a veneer of legality to what was fundamentally a tool of coercive political control.

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Afrofuturism, Africa at the forefront of avant garde design

Burkino-Faso-born architect, Diébédo Francis Kéré, became the first African to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize, which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. His highly esteemed work, including permanent and temporary structures, have been erected in his country of birth, but also across Africa, Europe and the United States.

Mr Kéré, 61, was elated to receive what is considered architecture's most renowned award, telling the BBC he was "very happy, very proud. It was a huge surprise."

Diébédo Francis Kéré is a respected authority in the field of architecture. He worked as a lecturer at his alma mater Technical University of Berlin, teaching how to design buildings ecological and socially adequate to their environment. In the summer of 2012 Kéré lectured at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and in autumn 2012 he was a visiting professor at Harvard. In February 2013 he began teaching at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio. In 2017 Kéré took over the newly created professorship for Architectural design and Participation at the Technical University of Munich. He was a visiting professor at the Yale School of Architecture. In 2021 Kéré took a position as guest professor at the Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany.

He is the Principal & Founder of Kéré Architecture, leading this internationally renowned, Berlin-based architectural firm which he founded in 2005. The studio specialises in socially-engaged, climate-responsive, and sustainable design across multiple continents. 

He is a Professor of Architectural Design and Participation at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), where he he holds a permanent professorship and has been teaching and leading research into participatory building methods. 

Kèré is also the President & Founder of the Kéré Foundation. He directs this non-profit organisation (originally Schulbausteine für Gando) dedicated to implementing sustainable public infrastructure, healthcare, and educational facilities in marginalised communities, specifically in his home country of Burkina Faso. 

He is the Director of the Tenkodogo Training Centre where he oversees an expanded architectural training and research hub in Burkina Faso, focusing on teaching global craftspeople and architects how to build energy-efficient structures using local, vernacular materials.

He is one of National Geographic's 2026 Changemakers. 

Some of his active projects include:

•The Benin National Assembly building (under construction).

•The Las Vegas Museum of Art in downtown Las Vegas (designed in collaboration with SOM).

•The Ineza Clinic in rural Burundi.

•The newly completed Goethe-Institut in Dakar, Senegal.

The story of West African architecture is being rewritten on the global stage, and for a fellow West African, there is no greater beacon of this transformation than Diébédo Francis Kéré. His rise to the pinnacle of global architecture is more than a personal triumph; it is a profound cultural validation. His work serves as a masterclass in how to honour our roots while shaping the future. For an aspiring creative from the same soil, Kéré is not just an inspiration—he is a blueprint for how we can redefine our continent's identity through design. Seeing his work teaches me that our heritage is not a limitation; it is our greatest asset. 

Kéré’s philosophy redefines the very purpose of an architect from an isolated artist to a community collaborator. In many West African cultures, community and collectivism—the spirit of Ubuntu or Kapital—define daily life. Kéré seamlessly weaves this cultural fabric into his building process. He does not just deliver a blueprint; he invites the community to gather, learn, and build together. By training local men and women in advanced brickmaking and construction techniques, he ensures that the process of creation leaves the community richer in skill and pride. This teaches us that architecture is not merely about erecting beautiful objects; it is about creating spatial dignity and fostering social equity.

Diébédo Francis Kéré inspires me because he represents a bridge between what was, what is, and what can be. He has shown me that as West Africans, we have a duty to create spaces that breathe with our climate, speak our cultural languages, and respect our economic realities. He has paved the way, proving that our stories, our materials, and our communal values are worthy of world-class celebration.

NIGERIA: The Giant and Heartbeat of a Continent | 1 Hour Full Documentary

 By Africa Revealed 

Cotonou

I watched the dust of Cotonou settle onto my shoes, realising how strange it felt to be an outsider in a place that looked exactly like home. As an African travelling across my own continent, crossing a border doesn't mean entering a new world; it means entering a mirror that has been slightly tilted. Back in Lagos, the cacophony is loud, the soundscape is always of busy traffic, loud car horns, and raised voices, but here, there is hardly a noise, with the Atlantic humidity wrapping around you like a heavy, familiar cloth, as if you are constantly in the pleasant Lagos city district of Victoria Island wherever in Cotonou you are.

Walking through the Dantokpa Market I didn't feel the sharp detachment of a foreign tourist. Instead, I felt a quiet frustration—the sensation of recognising everything and recognising nothing at all, all at once. The rhythm of the women bargaining, the vocals of the Beninese local music spilling from speakers were familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time; the aroma of roasting plantains was entirely intimate, but I could not speak the local Fon and Egun languages, or French, fluently enough to blend in.

My friend and I went to the city’s port. There were newly imported used cars from Europe for sale, and my friend was interested in replacing his car. The ambience was relaxed, nothing like the hurried helter-skelter of Lagos where everyone seems to be dashing around at a frenzied pace. It was in Cotonou that I heard Zouk music for the first time, this French Caribbean music genre pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. In Cotonou, in the Republic of Benin, the word "chill" took on a new meaning for me.

Stranded between the comfort of shared identity and the isolation of being a stranger, I found a strange kind of peace. I didn't need to explain myself here. The land understood my bones, even if the city didn't know my name.

On the Mangroves of the Niger Delta

Key Facts About the Niger Delta Mangroves

It covers roughly 6,000 to 7,000 square kilometers (around 60% of Nigeria's total mangrove areas). It is the single largest mangrove ecosystem on the African continent. It is heavily impacted by decades of industrial logging, invasive species, and extensive oil and gas spills.

The flora of the Niger Delta is dominated by red, white, and black mangrove trees, alongside the invasive Nypa palm, while its wildlife includes specialised species such as mudskippers, West African manatees, Sclater's guenons, and fiddler crabs.

There are many environmental threats to the mangrove forests in the Niger Delta.

Oil extraction is the largest threat to Nigeria's mangrove forests. The oil-rich Niger Delta produces up to two million barrels of crude oil a day, which has placed Nigeria as the 9th oil producing country in the world. Such extensive oil extraction has come at great environmental and social cost. Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Environment has estimated that since 1958, 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled during extraction processes. 

Activities such as oil drilling, spillage, dredging of canals, and the construction of housing for oil workers pose substantial threats to the survival and effective functioning of the mangrove ecosystem. Oil spills and leakages have inflicted significant damage on Nigeria's mangrove areas, affecting not only the mangroves themselves but also the fishing economy and overall water quality.

Another threat to the mangroves is infrastructure development. This stands as a primary factor driving mangrove deforestation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In recent times, particularly with the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) after extensive years of advocating against the marginalisation of this region (where Nigeria's primary crude oil reserves are located), endeavours to enhance infrastructure have been initiated. However, these initiatives occasionally lead to mangrove destruction. Land reclamation for residential and public infrastructure construction represents a significant danger to the mangrove ecosystem. 

Massive fish farming operations constitute a different significant factor contributing to the deforestation and degradation of mangroves in the region. An illustrative instance is evident in Buguma, Rivers State, where ONIDA, an Israeli company, engages in extensive fish farming. The establishment of this fish farm, boasting over forty ponds, resulted in the devastation and filling of a substantial area of the mangrove forest, crucial for the livelihoods of the local population. The primary motivation for situating the farm near the mangrove is to ensure a consistent supply of brackish (salty) water necessary for cultivating the targeted fish species, particularly the Barramundi, which is cultivated and imported from Australia. However, the overall contributions of such endeavours to the rural economy, considering the importation of nearly all farm necessities, including fish feed from Israel or Australia, raise significant questions.  

Nypa fruticans (Nipa palm) – an invasive alien species, is another major threat to the mangrove ecosystem in the Niger Delta. The species, which was introduced in Nigeria for the control of riverbank erosion has become a big menace to the mangrove ecosystem. The deforestation and degradation of the mangroves for firewood gathering, the construction of navigational canals, villages, and the activities of oil companies, encourage their replacement by this fast colonizer (Nypa fruticans) which does not provide the enormous ecological services provided by mangroves.

Also, improper waste disposal is an additional contributor to mangrove degradation in the Niger Delta. Instances of constructing public toilets that discharge waste directly into the mangroves and disposing of waste in their vicinity have become prevalent in the area.

As with most problems Nigeria currently faces, inadequate foresight planning and the country's large and ever increasing population rank as major contributing factors. 

The Niger Delta region is my ancestral homeland.

 

Nypa fruticans, commonly known as the nipa palm

The species is native to the Andaman Islands, Australia (Northern Territory and Queensland), Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Indonesia, Cambodia, Caroline Islands, China (Hainan), India, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaysia, Moluccas, Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, New Guinea, Nicobar Islands, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Thailand and Vietnam where it lives, sinking its roots in the mud, in mainly brackish waters along the coasts, lagoons and estuaries, flooded by sea water only for a short time, not surviving if permanently submerged. By the beginning of the 20th century, it has been introduced in Nigeria where it has rapidly diffused up to Cameroon becoming an invasive species and in some cases a pest.

The Bantu Migration

The Bantu Migration from their origins in southern West Africa saw a gradual population movement sweep through the central, eastern, and southern parts of the continent starting in the mid-2nd millennium BCE and finally ending before 1500 CE. With them, the Bantu brought new technologies and skills such as cultivating high-yield crops and iron-working which produced more efficient tools and weapons.

Eventually, the Bantu dominated, with the exception of South Africa and the Namibian desert, all of the African continent south of a line crossing from southern Nigeria to Kenya. In all, some 500 languages spoken today in that vast area are derived from the Proto-Bantu language. Although most historians would agree on the general occurrence of the Bantu migrations across Africa, the precise timings, motivations, routes, and consequences are all still being debated.

The Bantu

The Bantu were agriculturalists who spoke various dialects of the Bantu language. Their heartland was the savannah and rain forest regions around the Niger River of southern West Africa (modern Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon). Using both stone and iron tools, they successfully grew crops such as millet, sorghum, dry rice, beans, oil palms, and melons, although they did so at a subsistence level, that is they grew only sufficient crops to meet their own needs. They had the technology to create iron from iron ore, but where this came from is not known except that the three most likely possibles are: the knowledge was introduced by the Phoenicians in the north, the Egyptians or Kushites in the east, or it was acquired locally and independently.

Migration East & South

During the 2nd millennium BCE, small population groups of Bantu began to migrate into Central Africa and then across to the Great Lakes region of East Africa. This movement can be traced by the study of linguistics - a technique known as lexicostatistics - and observation of the relative closeness of local languages to each other and the language originally spoken by the Bantu people of the Niger River delta: Proto-Bantu. At the same time, one should be cautious with such studies as the passage of a language may not necessarily reflect the migration of its speakers. The same might be said of cultural practices and technologies.

It was the Bantu people who founded the coastal settlements of East Africa, what would become, with the addition of Muslim traders from Arabia and Persia from the 7th century CE, the Swahili Coast. From southern West Africa (the West Bantu) and the Great Rift Valley of East Africa (the East Bantu) two streams of Bantu peoples then moved further south in a second wave of migration which occurred during the 1st millennium BCE. A third wave of migration, in the first half of the 1st millennium CE, then took place as the East Bantu peoples moved even further south into what is today Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, and eastern South Africa.

The process of the Bantu migration has traditionally been seen by scholars as a gradual one of filtering down from village to village (and sometimes back again) through a rather sparsely populated Africa. However, the UNESCO General History of Africa puts a rather different slant on the process, at least in regards to the first wave: 

"The main expansion of the Bantu was vast and fast, not a series of gradual stages as some have argued. But it was a matter neither of purposeless nomadic wandering, nor of organized military conquest. It was a remarkable process of colonization - in the true sense of the word - the opening up of essentially empty lands." (Mokhtar, 320)

The Bantu shared their knowledge of iron-smelting, pottery-making, and their farming skills with indigenous forager and nomadic tribes they met, many of whom eventually then settled into stable village communities. Bantu dialects and aspects of Bantu culture were adopted, although the migrants, it is important to note, also learnt from the indigenous peoples, especially in areas like the cultivation of some grain crops or fishing techniques which had been perfected over centuries to get the best from the specific local environmental conditions. In addition, many cultural practices - the use of stone and obsidian tools, to give but one example - often continued to be used in parallel with the Bantu people's superior technologies.

More here:

https://www.worldhistory.org/Bantu_Migration/

Note: The word "Bantu", although sometimes used as a perjorative, or as derogatory term by racists, is in fact a native African term, a compound word, 'Ba-ntu', which is plural for 'person'. So it literally means 'persons' or 'people'. The singular varies. It could be 'Mu' or 'Mo', ie., mo-ntu, or mu-ntu, literally meaning a person, (Muganda-singular/Baganda-plural, Motswana-singular/Batswana-plural). Bantus also use prefixes like 'Wa' or 'Ki' (WaHutu, KiKongo).

Meeting new people

Having been travelling around the African continent for the best part of twenty years, I want to take stock and reflect on the lasting impressions those experiences have had on me. I believe I can safely claim to be in a position where I am able to fairly and objectively compare the impressions I've had, one against the other, city by city, country by country, or even region by region. What I shall be comparing is how easy it has been, or not, to talk to people and form new friendships. 

Starting with the good, East Africa as a whole, for me, proved to be the most liveable region, and I have visited all five regions—North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, and East Africa. Both Kenya and Uganda have left positive impressions on my mind. I did not stay long enough in Rwanda to form a substantive impression, but there is nothing negative to be said from that short stay. I have found that in all of my travels on the continent, Kenyans, in particular, are the easiest to talk to and to get along with. I always look forward to having a conversation with a Kenyan because you're almost guaranteed that they would be open and forthright, and be without restraint, even if they're not telling you the truth, which is rare. Ugandans too are easy to talk to, but to a somewhat lesser degree because they tend to be more formal and restrained.

In Southern Africa the conviviality I saw—and I saw a lot of it—was not extended to me to the extent that I might have wished. This caused me to be constantly reminded of my status as an outsider. It was the same both in South Africa and Botswana, save for one exception, Mandla, the Zulu gentleman in Johannesburg with whom I engaged in lengthy conversations that I secretly wished would go on forever for being so delightful. Most other times the language spoken around me was not English, so I found myself almost always on the outside and not able to engage and participate, and for this reason was unable to make new friends. Nevertheless, my Motswana friend whom I had gone to visit in Botswana was outstanding. He saw to it that I did not have a single lonely moment.

Central Africa is represented here by the Republic of Congo, or Congo Brazzaville. It was here that the disadvantage of not being proficient in the main language(s) came into full effect. The predominant languages here are French, Lingala and Kikongo, and as an English speaker one might as well be invisible. I did try to assert myself though, by demonstrating my limited French language skills, but to no avail. I guess It was fortunate that my friend was keen to practice and improve on his English, so he took me under his wing, acting as a shield against the barrage of incomprehension that I had to confront. No, it was not easy meeting new people and making new friends here, but mainly because of the language barrier. In attitude, the people were just as convivial as any others, and had my French been that little bit more practiced, I might have fared better. 

North Africa presented itself to me not as warm and friendly. Instead, the feeling was one that was cold, almost as if any friendliness from my direction was unneeded. I came away feeling that I would not be keen to return, and in fact, that I would avoid this part of the continent.  

West Africa has more variation in character than can be described in a single paragraph. There is little similarity in establishing social contacts between, for example, in Togo, and The Gambia. Etiquette and temperament are different. So is language. Some societies are more tolerant and liberal; some are overtly religious and downright conservative. It is not an easy landscape to navigate, a lesson I learned the hard way having arrived in The Gambia with expectations that later proved to be misplaced. 

In my experience though, it is West Africa that offers the warmest friendliest people, in Nigeria especially, but also in places like Benin and Liberia. The warm boisterous nature of the ordinary Nigerian makes him or her an easy friend to make. I could say the same for the Beninese, and the Liberians, except for them not being quite as direct and assertive as the average Nigerian, who normally is a pleasure to be around. Ivorians might possibly fall into this category as well,  but those not mentioned specifically here are those whom I have found to be somewhat complicated. In saying all this, I speak for myself alone, and am informed solely by own personal observations. Peace. 

Bògòlanfini

Bògòlanfini or bogolan (Bambara for "mud cloth") is a handmade Malian cotton fabric traditionally dyed with fermented mud. It has an important place in traditional Malian culture and has, more recently, become a symbol of Malian cultural identity. The cloth is exported worldwide for use in fashion, fine art and decoration.

In traditional bògòlanfini production, men weave the cloth and women dye it. The dyeing begins with a step invisible in the finished product: the cloth is soaked in a dye bath made from leaves of the n'gallama (Anogeissus leiocarpa, a tall deciduous tree native to the savannas of tropical Africa) that have been mashed and boiled, or soaked. Now yellow, the cloth is sun-dried and then painted with designs using a piece of metal or wood. The paint, carefully and repeatedly applied to outline the intricate motifs, is a special mud, collected from riverbeds and fermented for up to a year in a clay jar. Because of a chemical reaction between the mud and the dyed cloth, the brown colour remains after the mud is washed off.

In traditional Malian culture, bògòlanfini is worn by hunters and serves as camouflage, ritual protection and a badge of status. Women are wrapped in bògòlanfini after their initiation into adulthood and immediately after childbirth, as the cloth is believed to have the power to absorb the dangerous forces released under such circumstances.

Bògòlanfini patterns are rich in cultural significance, referring to historical events (such as a famous battle between a Malian warrior and the French), crocodiles (significant in Bambara mythology) or other objects, mythological concepts or proverbs. Since about 1980, Bògòlanfini has become a symbol of Malian cultural identity and is being promoted as such by the Malian government. It has become a popular Malian export, notably to the United States. There, it is marketed as "mud cloth", either as a symbol of African American culture or as a generically "ethnic" decorative cloth.

 

  

Banjul, Gambia 8

The Cape Point beach resort makes up the north-eastern part of the town of Bakau, in the Kombo St Mary District, in the West Coast Region of The Gambia, and is 12km to the west of Banjul capital. The district is a promontory and its beach area is where the River Gambia and the Atlantic Ocean merge at the estuary. To Cape Point's eastern coastline is a wide seafront of fine, golden sand, while much of its north-western coastline starts at sea level, then, as you head south west it rises up to over 15 metres, and is mostly characterised by laterite cliffs dotted with palms along a narrow strand. Further to its southeast are the brackish mangrove swamps of Cape Creek. 

Cape Point beach and its adjacent area is one of The Gambia's most family-friendly holiday resorts, and here the wide, beautiful strip of sand is lined with mature palm trees, grasses and thatched sunshades. You might also see some basalt boulders strategically placed along part of the shoreline to counteract erosion of the sands.  Although erratic currents make it unsuitable for swimming, it's perfect for sunbathing, volleyball, strolling, picnics, and making sandcastles, and there's a broad choice of restaurants and beach bars close by.

In the country as a whole there are often sightings of roaming livestock, so don't be surprised if you see the odd goat or cow trudging along the sand roaming and looking for anything edible to eat. There are also juice stands near the southern part of the main strand selling various juices such as mango, melon, coconut, baobab, orange and grapefruit.

Sunday is the main day when local Gambians come to the strand to relax with their families or play a bit of football or volleyball.

Not only is the district's shore area a tourist magnet it is also an exclusive residential location which has a large number of people from the diplomatic community, such as Britain's diplomatic residence, 'Admiralty House', well-to-do businessmen, politicians and some well established family compounds. The vast majority of these homes are within the triangle formed by the Kofi Annan Street, the Old Cape Road and Capepoint Road.

A Little History:

The promontory was 'discovered' by Portuguese navigators of this part of West Africa in the 15th century, and they named it 'Cabo de Santa Maria' (Cape of Saint Mary). The name overflowed to the nearby island (Saint Mary's Island) when the British established the capital Bathurst (now Banjul). It was part of 'British Kombo' in the mid 1800s

Source: Access Gambia

Promontory: "a point of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland."

This, for me, was the most desirable part of the city. We approached it via the scenic Old Cape Road and crossed the narrow bridge over Cape Creek, an area covered with pristine mangrove swamps. I immediately made the connection to how similar the swamp looked, and smelt, with the mangrove swamps of the Niger Delta, but the swamps in Gambia are cleaner, and look similar to the way the mangrove swamp in the Niger Delta was many decades ago when I saw those swamps for the first time as a young child, with the added advantage of the swamps in Gambia having suffered no impacts of oil industry activities. 

Land and environmental degradation are a real problem in Nigeria due to the petroleum industry, and population pressure.

Banjul, Gambia 6

Anne-Marie Javouhey, SJC (November 10, 1779 – July 15, 1851) was a French nun who founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. She is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. She is known as the Liberator of the Slaves in the New World.

In September 1823, at the request of the British government, she left for St. Mary's in Gambia, a holding place for about 400 slaves taken from Moorish vessels. (Gambia's capital, Banjul, was then known as St. Mary's. This name was later changed to Bathurst, and, during my lifetime, changed again to Banjul). Here she worked tirelessly to help the victims of an epidemic in the area. The governor then asked her to go to Sierra Leone. Again she focused her efforts on tending to the sick and injured. After three months, there was an outbreak of yellow fever; again Javouhey recovered, but was so very weak that she returned to France.

This building in the photos is the remains of the hospital where she worked when she was at Banjul (St. Mary's). The building stands in a corner within the premises of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital and the largest in the country originally founded by the British colonialists in 1853.

The street that runs alongside this modern hospital is named after this French nun who nursed sick slaves.

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Banjul Central Mosque, Banjul, The Gambia

King Fahad Masjid is the most prominent masjid in Banjul, the capital city of Gambia. The two minarets of the masjid grace the skyline of the city and the architecture of the masjid represents the variation in the Islamic architecture in Banjul.

The modern architecture of the masjid has given the traditional style a new meaning. The entrance is hemmed by an open round arch and the minarets are octagonal. The bright colours of the masjid offer a pleasant feel. The masjid was built in 1988 and replaced the 1930 masjid as the main masjid of the city. It can easily accommodate up to 6,000 worshippers.

Article 7 of the Gambia constitution identifies Sharia as a source of law in matters of personal status and inheritance among members of communities to which it applies.

Islam entered the country in the fourteenth century AD, because the Arab merchants and Berbers who came from Northwest Africa through the Sahara to market their goods were originally Muslims. They were able to spread the Islamic religion among the indigenous populations.

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The Catholic Cathedral in Banjul

Christianity came to stay in The Gambia with the establishment of a British garrison and settlement in the island of Banjul in 1816. Different church societies were invited to provide the spiritual needs of this growing settlement.

Hagan Street 1900

Anne Marie Javouhey (1779 - 1851), foundress of the sister of St Joseph of Cluny, was the first Catholic Missionary to come in modern time to the Gambia - she came with two sisters with a laywoman in 1821 and worked and lived in the hospital. She however could not stay long in the country. Only the Methodist Church was active in the Gambia during those first years.

It was after the establishment of the church in Senegal that an uninterrupted presence of Catholicism in the Gambia could also be seen. The migration of the people to the settlement since 1816 include Catholics and others open to becoming Catholic. Two Priests took residence in Banjul by 1849 to serve this population and Church began its slow but steady growth. The Banjul mission was under the Apostolic Vicarate of Dakar. It was concentrated in Banjul but around 1876 it began looking beyond to the Kombos and provinces

By 1905, Fr. John Meehan took up his appointment in the Gambia. It was his destiny to maintain and give quiet growth to the church. In 1931, the Holy See declared the Gambia “Sui Juris” and Fr. Meehan as ecclesiastical superior. Under him , the church was to develop towards an independent mission and diocese. In 1951, Fr. Michael Maloney was named Prefect Apostolic and consecrated first Bishop of the diocese of Banjul on 6 May 1958.

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Arch 22 is a commemorative arch on the road into Banjul in the Gambia. It was built in 1996 to mark the military coup d'état of July 22, 1994, through which Yahya Jammeh and his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council overthrew the democratically elected Gambian government of President Dawda Jawara. The arch was designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby, who also designed the Yundum International Airport at Banjul and the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal.

Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Banjul

Banjul, Gambia 4

The River Gambia is not entirely saltwater, but it is a mix of freshwater and saltwater, making it a tidal estuary in its lower reaches and freshwater further upstream. The water is saltwater or brackish in the lower part of the river for about 250 km from the mouth, especially during the dry season, while the upper sections remain freshwater.

Lower River: In the lower, coastal part of the river, saltwater intrudes and can make the water brackish or saline, particularly during the dry season.

Upper River: Further upstream, where the river is no longer influenced by the tides, the water is freshwater. The point where the freshwater begins varies, but it starts around 120 km from the mouth and extends for hundreds of kilometres inland.

That the water is saline up to 250 km from the mouth of the river, which corresponds to the western half of the country, where most of the people live, makes the Gambian population particularly dependent on fresh groundwater, which is found at shallow depth throughout the country.

As an aside, I have been impressed with the ample pipe borne water supply to homes here in the Gambia. People have water meters and pay water bills. One might think this was a rarity if one's experience was limited to the DIY water supply situation in Nigeria, my home country. But this, in fact, is the more common case across the continent.

Swimming

The River Gambia is known to have crocodiles, which are common along the length of the river and in tributaries, and hippos, which reside upriver in the central regions. One should avoid swimming anywhere along the river, as well as various streams as one could encounter some of these animals.

Swimming in freshwater creeks can hold other risks such as contracting various diseases. Tiny flukes released by freshwater snails harbour the disease schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, which can be passed onto one by the parasitic worms, which enter through the skin.

Banjul, Gambia 3

Waking up early in the morning in Banjul is like waking up in Ibadan or Port Harcourt in Nigeria in the 1970s. The bird morning chorus is exactly the same as it used to be in Nigeria. In 2025, in Banjul, you will still likely hear a variety of birds including common species like the pied crow, laughing dove, and red-eyed dove, as well as others such as the common bulbul, African thrush, and the village weaver. You might also hear birds of prey, like the black kite, and other common garden birds depending on your specific location.

Nowadays Nigeria has changed considerably from what it used to be. In urban spaces most trees have been cut down, areas previously reserved for nature have been sand-filled or concreted over and built on. There's hardly any nature left anymore, and the same change is occurring even in non-urban areas, albeit at a less rapid pace.

I enjoy the dawn chorus. It's the highlight of my early morning. Listening to the birds this morning took me straight back to 1970s Nigeria. I realised then that I had not heard this in Nigeria for a long time, this distinctive 'koo koo, kukukuku' of the red-eyed dove in this clip.

Banjul, Gambia 2

In avoiding heavily touristed areas and touristy things, I have often gone out of my way to seek out quiet, less travelled spots in every travel destination I have newly arrived at. The belief is that hanging out with the locals is a good way of getting a more authentic and unvarnished experience of whichever location I'm visiting. This approach has worked out positively, and not only in the experiences which I might not otherwise have had if I was cocooned in some tourist enclave, resort or hotel, or if I moved around the place as part of a tourist excursion group. And this especially in my travels across the African continent where meeting local people, eating local foods, using public transport and so on, and making new friends I have found to be more enriching, and more to my preference.

The Gambia is a major destination for tourism, with tourists mainly from Europe. So beach tourism is a big thing here, as are the organised curated boat trips up and down the Gambia River. There are also river lodges along the river targeting those foreign tourists. And while I understand the economic reasons behind these activities, and have nothing against any of them, for me personally, it has not come naturally to think of myself as a foreign tourist. I have always wanted to experience the places I visit in the same way as the locals would experience it. On this trip I stayed in a Gambian home located in a fairly densely populated residential district of the capital, ate Gambian meals, drank Gambian 'green tea', enjoyed Gambian jokes, and learned a lot about the different Gambian peoples. 

Of course there was the beach too, this is after all a big part of the lifestyle here. I sought out the beaches frequented by the locals, not being keen on the stereotypical tourist beach experience that, in my opinion, is the same, whether in the Bahamas, in Bali Indonesia, or in Mombasa. I wished for something uniquely Gambian.

Brufut Beach

Tanji Beach is an area for the local fisherpeople, traders and merchants of fish and other seafood; suppliers of fishing equipment and fuel for the fishing boats, and so on. It is not a tourist area.

So while everyone else was braving the waves and splashing around in the Atlantic Ocean, there I was resolutely remaining on dry land, utterly convinced that I am not an aquatic creature. This beach, though, is heavenly. If I lived anywhere nearby, I would be here every single day. At Brufut Beach,

Banjul, Gambia

Banjul was founded in 1816, when the British Colonial Office ordered Captain Alexander Grant to establish a military post on the river to suppress the slave trade and to serve as a trade outlet for British merchants ejected from Senegal, which had been restored to France. Grant chose Banjul Island (ceded by the chief of Kombo) as the site, which he renamed St. Mary’s. He named the new settlement for Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, then colonial secretary of Great Britain.

Bathurst became the capital of the Crown Colony and Protectorate of The Gambia in 1889 and was granted city status in 1965 when The Gambia gained independence. The city's colonial grid layout and architecture reflect this period.

In 1973, the city was officially renamed Banjul. The new name is derived from the Mandinka people's word "Banjalu" referring to the fibres they used on the island to make ropes.

After a period of decline in the 1980s, much of the population moved to surrounding areas, forming the Greater Banjul area. Today, it remains the political and economic centre of the country, with infrastructure reflecting both its colonial past and modern development.

Banjul city is an island in the estuary of the Gambia River, and it is the central business district of this capital city most of which is however, located in Kanifing/Serrekunda, on the mainland.

Banjul island has the State House, National Assembly, the Supreme Court, in short, the seat of government. It is also where the Police Headquarters and the Port of Banjul are located, and some government departments, major banks and commercial enterprises, as well as the popular Banjul Market. It's a bustling little island, and like in most places in Africa where people gather in numbers, is lively and full of life.

We visited the ferry terminal from where the ferry from Banjul to Barra on the north bank of the Gambia River carries those whose intent mainly is to travel onwards to the Gambia/Senegal border, and then have a direct run to Dakar, Senegal from the border. We were still undecided whether to use this ferry to cross when we embark on our journey to Dakar, or whether to travel by the longer, 12-hour more scenic land route, which would guarantee that we pass through Senegalese towns like Kaolack, Fatick and Thies. I personally preferred the land route, but it wasn't I alone to make the decision.

Last Sunday we drove again to Banjul island, also sometimes known as St. Mary's Island, This island is the central business district and the seat of government, but only on weekdays. At the weekend the island turns into a quiet, beautiful, quaint little treasure trove of history for enthusiasts like myself. I was so lost in enchantment as we drove through the quiet narrow streets that I even forgot to take photographs, with my mind replaying its imaginations on a loop of what the island might have been like two hundred years ago, and then drawing a connection between that time and what my eyes were seeing. I vaguely remember involuntary gasps of "Oh wow, Oh wow".