Photo book 'Èkó' captures the vibrant energy and street fashion of Lagos

British-Nigerian photographer Ollie Babajide Tikare has released a new photo book titled “Èkó,” offering a visual chronicle of life in Lagos captured between 2023 and 2025.

The collection serves as a documentary of the city’s daily rhythms, featuring a mix of candid street scenes and portraits. The photographs capture fleeting moments ranging from pedestrians navigating crowded markets to street vendors weaving through stalled traffic.

Tikare’s work highlights the unique transportation landscape of Lagos, documenting the ubiquitous “danfo” minibuses and “okada” motorcycle taxis. One image captures a man wading into the water at Tarkwa Bay, while others focus on the bold fashion and hairstyles that define the local culture.

The book also features the city’s vibrant social and music scenes, including shots of musician Femi Kuti performing at the New Afrika Shrine. Other images depict youth culture on local beaches and intimate portraits of residents on the street.

At its core, "Èkó" transcends the traditional boundaries of street photography, functioning instead as a work of visual anthropology that offers an intimate, human-centric analysis of one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities. Rather than leaning into the conventional narratives of systemic poverty or civil unrest frequently favored by Western media, Ollie Tikare’s lens captures a landscape defined by vitality, grassroots creativity, and inherent dignity.

The project frames the urban street as a critical socio-economic infrastructure—a primary space where economic activity, cultural exchange, and individual identity converge through the prisms of fashion and mobility. By documenting Lagos from the perspective of a Nigerian-born artist, the work provides an "insider" narrative that replaces detached observation with profound empathy and localized nuance.

Ultimately, "Èkó" succeeds in repositioning Lagos not merely as a regional financial hub, but as a vibrant cultural capital where improvisation and stylistic expression are essential to daily survival. It serves as a testament to urban resilience, illustrating how a community maintains its social fabric and upward momentum despite the unique structural challenges of a developing megacity.

For many Vietnamese Americans, particularly the younger generation, works like 'Èkó' provide a window into diverse urban cultures across the globe, moving beyond the familiar narratives of Asia, Europe, and North America.