About

Lost Nigeria is a set of photo essays showing life in Nigeria and California in the 1960s and 1970s.

My mother moved to Nigeria in 1961, just after Nigeria gained independence from Britian. It was a heady time. Freedom movements were happening all over Africa, civil rights leaders were making a concerted push for equality in America. Amidst all this, Christian churches in the US and South America sent more and more missionaries to Nigeria, to convert the masses. She was one of those who went.

She immediately began working at Benue Leprosy Settlement, a place for lepers to be treated and then reintegrated into social life. She married my father there, and for the next few decades, our family has moved, fitfully, between Nigeria and the US. These are her pictures, her memories, her family, and my homage to her.

Where possible, I have attempted to provide captions, but in some cases that is impossible. These pictures were converted from film slides by a dear family friend, but much of the context has been lost to history. These pictures are a vital personal history, and I hope you enjoy looking at them.

Contact

For questions or comments, contact me at senongo at senongo dot net, or on twitter @senongo