Nigeria Planet Shopping

Export of Antiquities:

Reacting to the disappearance of several important Nigerian art pieces in the early 1960s and their subsequent reappearance in foreign lands, the Nigerian Federal Government, in 1963, passed a law controlling the export of antiquities. The law bans export of all forms of antiquities, including all ritual art objects, except with the express permission of the Department of Antiquities or the Curator, National Museum, Jos, Plateau state.

Where To Shop, What To Buy:

Many visitors usually want to pick souvenirs of Nigerian art and craft, such as carvings on wood and calabash, tex- tiles (batiks), raffia and cane works, and pottery. These are on sale at different crafts and arts cen- tres. Particularly interesting is the experience of seeing the wood carvers, cane chairmakers and batik dyers at work at these centres . Notable places where one can shop for African prints, jewelries, pottery and other works of art and craft are the front shops of major hotels and international airports.

In Lagos, important shopping centres include Ikoyi Hotel, Eko Le Meridian, Falomo Shopping Complex, the National Museum's Craft Centre, National

Theatre Shopping Mall and Tafawa Balewa Shopping Complex. For textiles, there are the Jankara market, Tie and Dye (Adire) Centre in Akerele Street, Surulere and Aswan! Market, Isolo, Lagos.

Elsewhere in the country, the tourist will find a variety of popular African textiles- Aso Oke in lseyin (Oyo State), Sanyan in Ogbomosho (Oyo State), Akwete cloth (Imo State) and Fulani traditional wears in Kano and other parts of the North. There are many popular fashion houses in Lagos located mostly on Alien Avenue and Opebi Road, both in Ikeja, on Adeniran Ogunsanya Street in Surulere, and in several shops in Central Lagos. There are leather works in Jos (Plateau), pottery in Bida (Niger State) and Umuahia (Abia State) and raffia products in Akwa lbom and Cross River States).

Areas of Art and Craft Work

1. Wood and Cane works - (cane chairs, table flower vase, and masks, Lagos

2. Wood carvings and raffia works - bags, sandals, folders, wallets, tapestery etc - Ikot Ekpene.

3. Calabash carving/decorations- Oyo and Kano.

4. Leatherworks - bags, wallets, folders, sandals puffs and other sovemirs. - Oyo, Kano, Sokoto, Jos and other parts of the North.

5. Brass works, bangles, wristlets, necklace, rings etc - Bida and Minna.

6. Bronze carving, casting - lgun Street, Benin City

7. Pottery - Jugs, pots, bowls - Bida, llorin, Abuja, Oke-Eri (Ogun), Umuahia.

For the visitor who is interested in other goods, the general markets which are found in every city offer a wide range of chioces. Generally, in rural and urban markets, prices are not fixed and the ability to haggle for selling/buying price is often helpful. The merchant shrewd in the art of salemanship usually wins the battle, though most often the prices are reduced and the customer goes away feeling that he has won. The idea is that neither the buyer nor the seller loses face.

Some ot the most notable markets around the country are:

Alaba Market, Lagos. Tejuosho Market, Lagos Aswani Market, Lagos. Onitsha Main Market, Onitsha Ariaria Market, Aba Kasuwa Kurmi Market, Kano Wuse Market, Abuja Watt Market, Calabar Gwagwalada Market, Gwagwalada, P.C.T. Jos Main market, Jos.