Photographing Missions in Africa: Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria. One of the largest cities in the world.

Moving on from Ghana, I flew to Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria and also the largest in Africa. Nigeria itself, with more than 200 million people, is the most populous country on the continent. At the time I was there the population was 50% Christian and 50% Muslim, however the Muslims have carried on an intensive campaign of persecution so that the population is now divided 60/40 in favor of the Muslims.

I spent some time in Lagos, walking around and making photographs. On one street I saw a large mosque with a number of men sitting outside. As I raised my camera to make a photograph, I saw that I was getting some very unfriendly looks. Discretion being the better part of valor, I decided I didn't really need that photo after all and walked away.

Examining a patient in the Church of God hospital at Abak.

 The next day the National Overseer for the Church of God took me to the church's mission compound in the town of Abak, in Ibom province, where they had a hospital, a worship center, and other facilities.

 

A church service in Nigeria

On Sunday I went to the mission church, where I made this picture. As always, I worked very quietly, so most of the worshipers ignored me -- except for a young boy whose sideways glance lifts the picture out of the ordinary.

 

One afternoon I watched some kids playing soccer on the mission grounds. This boy on the right, with his intense, take-no-prisoners expression reminded me of the great Nigerian basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon, who played for the University of Houston and then for 18 seasons in the NBA.

 

  Sunset beams. After evening Chapel. Church of God hospital, Abak.

 The sun sets quickly in the tropics, and as I approached the hospital chapel, the beams were traveling horizontally across the ground and splashing against the wall of the chapel. I had a 100-300mm Tokina lens on my Olympus OM2n camera. I did not usually shoot in auto-exposure mode, but there was no time to do anything but raise the camera, zoom in, focus, shoot, and pray. I made three exposures at f4, 1/15 second at 300mm on Fujichrome 100D film before the light faded. Two were sharp. This one was the best.

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Text and photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2026.  

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography   film photography    Olympus OM2n cameras    Fujichrome 10D0 film     Nigeria    Africa     Church of God World Missions    Christianity in Nigeria    Muslim persecution    Tokina lenses