I just watched Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown episode in Lagos, Nigeria as I sipped homemade Hot Chocolate on this cold December night.
Lagos. This is where I will be one year from now. I am not passing up on this opportunity to visit West Africa. I have accepted that invitation.
As I got a glimpse of the strata of this society, I thought about Mtrill Teria, Ayo Dot, and other friends from Lagos. I contemplated where they fit into this vibrant fast moving culture.
I am no expert, but this episode was a pretty good picture of the way technology and innovation is transforming a nation. It really echoed the life in Nigeria I see unfold each day on Mtrill’s page.
I often get down on our dependence on technology and what we lose living our natural lives through the filtered screens of our phones. But it was good to see that power plugging into the nearly unparalleled hustle and bustle of daily life in this 20 million soul city, in a way that gives future generations a real opportunity to tap into economic revolutions everywhere.
What would 100,000 hot shot young women writing code from the office and home do for that economy? It could happen in 5 years.
I would love to see Nigeria known for that. Education is good for business. A better educated society can identify the smoke and mirrors of corruption much faster and more democratically than one that wastes the potential of its greatest minds.
It’s about opportunity.
The fact is Nigeria is an English speaking country with a self starting attitude and high entrepreneurial IQ. With some investment they could rival India and China as a powerhouse to partner with. Nigeria is the gateway to what might be the greatest continent in terms of natural resources. Had mankind not grown the *Sahara desert, that wouldn’t be a debate.
Imagine the wealth trapped under that sandbox.
And unlike India and China they have so much oil it could make a tough Texas oilman faint like Scarlet O’Hara.
…but the music. The music kicks ass.
Fela Kuti, and his sons Femi and Seun of course…all day. Seattle producer Mrs Mell Dettmer was Femi’s sound engineer in the 1990s and is practically family. Talk to her about Nigerian music and Malian folklore.
But don’t sleep on the up and coming. Check out these videos by Mtrill in Lagos, and Ayo Dot, a gentleman that also calls Seattle his home.
And please watch this episode and tell a friend. There is a world out there that knows all about us. This is a city that as Americans, we really ought to know.
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many musical ventures and is one of the driving forces behind the Staxx Brothers. He will be partying in Kingston, Jamaica soon.
Mtrill – Aboh:
Ayo Dot & The Uppercuts – Fame
*did man farm the Sahara into desert?
