Nigeria - West Africa - page 701

Nigerien Embassy OFFLINE MAP Abuja ( 01 413 6206; Pope John Paul II St; 9am-3pm Mon-Fri)

; Kano (

9am-3pm Mon-Fri) ; Lagos OFFLINE MAP ( 0806 548 1152; Airport Roundabout;

9am-2.30pm Mon-Fri) .

01 261 2300; 15 Adeola Odeku St, VI;

Spanish Embassy ( 01 261 5215; 21c Kofo Abayomi St, VI, Lagos)

Togolese Embassy OFFLINE MAP ( 01 261 7449; Plot 976, Oju Olobun Cl, VI, Lagos)

UK Embassy Abuja ( 09 413 4559; www.ukinnigeria.fco.gov.uk ; Aguyi Ironsi St, Dangote House, Maitama) ;

Lagos (

01 261 9531; 11 Walter Carrington Cres, VI) .

US Embassy OFFLINE MAP Abuja ( 09 461 4000; http://nigeria.usembassy.gov ; Plot 1075, Diplomat-

ic Dr, Central Business District) ; Lagos OFFLINE MAP (

01 261 0150; 2 Walter Carrington Cres, VI)

.

FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Thousands descend on Oshogbo in late August for the Osun Festival held in honour of the
river goddess. Music, dancing and sacrifices form one of the centrepieces of the Yoruba
cultural and spiritual year.
Calabar hosts a festival throughout December with concerts from national and interna-
tional stars scheduled closer to Christmas. The highlight of the festival is the cultural mas-
querade carnival, when tens of thousand of costumed revellers descend on the city.
The Eyo Festival in Lagos is a large Yoruba masquerade organised to commemorate the
life of a recently passed spiritual leader.
Around mid-February, the spectacular three-day Argungu Fishing and Cultural Festival
in Argungu is held. Possibly the most interesting in the country, the festival has sadly been
cancelled for the past few years due to politics.
Some of the most elaborate festivals are the celebrations in northern Nigeria (particu-
larly in Kano, Zaria and Katsina) for two important Islamic holidays: the end of Ramadan,
and Tabaski, 69 days later, which feature colourful processions of cavalry. Ramadan can
be a tiring time to travel in the north - head for the Sabon Gari (foreigners' quarter) in
each town, where food is served throughout the day.
The Igue (Ewere) Festival, held in Benin City, usually in the first half of December, has
traditional dances, a mock battle and a procession to the palace to reaffirm loyalty to the
oba . It marks the harvest of the first new yams of the season.