In Lagos, we went to Ida Idunganran which is the official house of the Oba, or King of Lagos. We learned that Nigeria has a democratic government but was also once a monarchy. There, we were informed of Nigeria’s history with different kinds of governments and how everything was governed. We then went to Freedom Park of Lagos located in the Lagos Central District. The freedom park was once a prison for Nigerians during the colonial period. We learned that Nigerians were often forced to work hard labor for long periods of time. The conditions and hardships the Nigerians went through during the colonization period were horrible and we can see how important the freedom park is to Nigerians. Lastly, we went to the Yellow Chili restaurant in Lagos. It’s one of the most popular restaurants in Nigeria where you can taste authentic African food. Yellow Chili served food that Africans eat daily such as rice, cassava and yams. Frankly, an average Nigerian would not be able to dine at a restaurant often because they don’t earn that much; only the wealthy can go.
After nine hours of traveling on the bus to Abuja, our first stop was the Nigerian National Mosque. The mosque was a beautifully structured building. The beauty of it can be seen day or night and really attracts tourists. Meanwhile, Muslim prayers are practicing their congregation in there. The mosque also contains an Islamic library and a conference hall. Next, we went to the Abuja Arts and Crafts village. Traditional Nigerian art is truly one-of-a-kind and can be seen all at once in the village. Each different material, or piece of art has a meaning to it, which contains a little Nigerian culture within them. For example, masks are usually painted to symbolize people or animals. The last and final stop for the tour was the Usman Dam, the most beautiful stop on the tour. There, we talked about the geography, climate and location of Nigeria. You can see the shining beautiful water with the hills in the background. It is a great place to sit down, relax and have a little chat while enjoying the view.
We hope that everyone really enjoyed touring Lagos and Abuja with us! We also hope that everyone was able to take in the scenery, enjoy native African food and really indulged in the culture and history of Nigeria.