Vehicle Decorations: 1961 Photograph from the Harrison Forman Collection

I know, I know, I have once again neglected the blog. What can I say? Well, I can apologise: So, yes, I am sorry. – I have stumbled across a few interesting things in the meantime but I haven't get got around to writing about them. Here, is a first attempt to do just that, sharing a photograph with you that I found thanks to the industrious Kehinde Thompson at the Nigeria Nostalgia Project (Facebook, TumblR, Twitter) - which is a really great group to follow if you're interested in anything regarding Nigerian history!

The photograph is part of at the University of Wisconsin's Digital Photo Archive, in particular the Harrison Forman Collection. There's a number of beautiful and interesting photographs in the collection that are accessible from the comfort of your local library or home office. - Including this wonderful photograph, depicting a bright blue mammy wagon with an inscription in white on its left side, 'Asaba Do Exelsior.' The photograph was taken in 1961, documenting early developments of vehicle decoration.

(Nigeria, Street Scene in Igbo Village, 1961, AGSL Digital Photo Archive - Africa, acc. 18/12/2017)

The photograph – and, in fact, others in this particular collection – has been subject to heated debate among members of the Facebook group (see here for the original photograph and here for a second photograph taken at the same location) . It's titled 'Nigeria, Street Scene in Igbo Village' but many commentators seem rather convinced – on the basis of the fashion of passers-by that the scene was actually recorded in southwestern Nigeria, prompting a debate. Suggestions included Benin and Ilorin in the Southwest but also Asaba, Onitsha and Sapele in the Southeast. I wouldn't want to weigh into this debate – I do not know these regions well nor the fashions of the time and places suggested. But, do note that the vehicle's inscription refers to Asaba, a south-eastern town in today's Delta State.

I am, anyway, much more interested in some of the recollections of life and transport at the time that the photograph prompted. Here's a particularly beautiful comment by Olabunmu Sadiq:

'This looks like the southwest version called "boolekaja" translated "come down and fight". The conductors were always rude and riotous and would always crave for a fight, inviting any stubborn passenger to come down and fight.

The seats were made of long benches, double sitter in the middle where passengers back each other, while single seaters were directly behind the driver, and the other behind the front passenger seat.

The conductor or drive wold most often want to park the passengers like sardines which the passengers most often want[ed] to resist. The driver would should "e sun" meaning "compact yourself" and at the second prompting without compliance, the driver would step sharply on the break and the momentum would shift the passengers forward involuntarily.

Very interesting era in our transportation history.'

(17/12/2017, Re: 'Street Scene in Igbo Village 1961, Harrison Forman Collection, American Geographical Society Library © UWM Libraries' [Facebook Comment]. Retrieved: Nigerian Nostalgia Project, acc. 18/12/2017).