Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Motherlan'
LIVE MUSIC
(Opebi Rd, Ikeja; cover charge N1000; Thu-Sun)
Owned by renowned musician Lagbaja, this is a
big outdoor venue with lots of live music and a robust local following.
Likwid Lounge
BAR
OFFLINE MAP
(Samuel Manuwa St, Victoria Island)
Starts late, gets good even later. Nigeria's elites, socialites and
pop stars come here for the post-party partying. If you get the munchies, head across the
street, outside the gate of 1004 Housing Estates, to Chopbox ; it's always open.
Sip Lounge
BAR
OFFLINE MAP
(Akin Adesola St, Victoria Island)
Another swank late-night drinking hole for the fancy-inclined.
Elegushi Beach
BAR
Dancing bumper-to-bumper, bottles of the hard stuff, lots of ladies - the party does not get
better than Elegushi Beach on a Sunday night. Go with a local; there have been robberies.
Not for the faint of heart. During the day, pay a fee (N1000) to enjoy the semi-private
beach.
Orientation
For the traveller, there are three main areas dividing Lagos: the mainland, a massive area
of upper, middle, and working-class neighbourhoods along with innumerable business
centres and some universities; Lagos Island, the heart of the city, including Ikoyi, an elite
suburb, some embassies and top-end hotels; and Victoria Island (VI), an even smarter sub-
urb facing the Atlantic Ocean with the bulk of the embassies and a number of top-end ho-
tels. Beyond VI is the Lekki Penninsula. The islands are connected by elevated express-
ways and bridges constantly clogged with traffic.
FELA KUTI: MUSIC IS THE WEAPON
The impact of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's music in Nigeria, and worldwide, cannot be overstated. Fela Kuti (1938-97)
is Africa's musical genius, the creator of Afrobeat - a genre combining traditional African highlife, jazz, James
Brown funk grooves and Latin rhythms into a unique mix that is wholly his own - and a revolutionary. Fela's
politically inflammatory songs laid bare the corruption, violence and greed of the ruling regimes in his country
and beyond. He was arrested over a hundred times by the Nigerian government, and ultimately 1000 soldiers in-
vaded and destroyed the Kalakuta Republic - Fela's living and performing compound that he shared with his 27
