SNAP! | Red Orange Photography

Koko: The man himself.

I remember, even on his last birthday before leaving Dubai, Koko was somewhere in the corner of the room taking more pictures of his guests than he was interacting with them. Yet when he did join in, his sense of humour would keep the party alive. But for the most part, he hid behind the camera, documenting moments with a glint in his eye and mischief in his smile. He says of his first experiences behind a camera, “I decided to start taking my passion more seriously because I realised that once I held a camera in my hand, I felt invincible. I decided that I needed a camera of my own and dedicated my pocket money over the next four months to it”.

Dubai Marina.

Branding: the Red Orange Photography logo.

For all my teasing I never felt comfortable referring to him as an ‘amateur’ photographer. His passion for the arts developed from a young age as he followed in the steps of his mother, an arts and crafts teacher. Although he was aware that his strength did not lie in drawing, his love for the arts stayed with him even when technology became his new found passion: “it was expected that I would follow in my mum's footsteps but that all changed the day I first saw a computer”. He wanted something that bridged both his passions together. Thankfully he found just what he was looking for: “with the advancement of technology and the introduction of the digital age [of photography] my midpoint had been found; arts through the digital camera. That’s how Red Orange Photography was born, an idea with no name, business place or equipment. Red Orange Photography is driven by two major forces: the love for art and the creation of that art via a digital means”.

The diverse brand covers weddings and events.

Red Orange Photography is actually a subcategory of Red Orange Media, the parent company. However, Koko officially began his journey with Red Orange Photography just over a year ago. Eventually “Red Orange Media will diversify into other fields including corporate branding, identity creation, IT solutions and graphics designs”. Regardless of his passion and talent, he recognised that the standards of his work in the early stages did not match that of his peers. “I decided to get formal training from one of the best photographers in Nigeria, Mr. Shola Animashaun”. He explained that his mentor has been one of the most inspiring and life changing people he has had the pleasure of working with in relation to Red Orange Photography. After improving his skills, he was able to make his dream a reality. His researched showed that he would find a niche in the Nigerian market where he has established his brand: “Red Orange Photography majors in wedding, event and documentary photography and from our market survey we discovered that the area (State/City) we intended to set up had little or none of this style of photography, so this was perfect for us”.

Culture: Red Orange Photography is based in Uyo, a popular cultural hub in Nigeria.

Koko cannot underestimate the impact of social media on Red Orange Photography’s rapid growth. He understands the role that social media has played in raising awareness and providing information about the brand. “We have made clients from different parts of the country and world. Through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, our clients and prospective clients can view our creations from anywhere in the world and contact us accordingly”. This is undoubtedly useful for him as he has every intention of expanding the scope of Red Orange Photography and Red Orange Media beyond Nigeria.

Calabar Jazz Festival 2014: Kunle Ayo & Asa

Koko’s main goals are simple: “to be one of the most recognized photography and media outfit in the world and to take at least one amazing picture in every continent of the world”. And of course to take an official picture of the Queen of England!

To find out more about Koko's journey with Red Orange Photography, follow the brand on

Facebook: www.facebook.com/redorangephotography

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/redorangephotos

Instagram: @redorangephotography

The Foodie | Capitalising on your passion: The Ni Fries Story.

Feranmi Ajetomobi

When I first decided to write about inspirational people around me, one of the first people I was hoping to interview was Feranmi Ajetomobi, young entrepreneur and the brains behind Nigeria’s latest food joint, Ni Fries. Any Nigerian will tell you that food is an integral part of our culture and we fry almost everything that ends up on our plate. Ni Fries’ aim is to rebrand and promote Nigerian fried foods on a global scale. And it all started from a night time stroll with a friend. Four months after discussing the possibility of presenting fried Nigerian delicacies in an attractive manner, the Ni Fries dream became a reality. After putting a lot of thought into the appropriate branding for his start-up he came up with the innovative name which is simply a shortened form of “Nigerian Fries”.

The Ni Fries stand and our young entrepreneur

Although the name and the idea itself might seem simple minded, Feranmi is living the 21st century Nigerian dream. “As an individual I strongly believe culture is the voice of a people and a people without strong cultural foundations and values have no voice. This belief drives me towards developing a Nigerian voice by promoting the Nigerian culture through food. I am taking my culture to the world through food”. Food is a deep-seated part of Nigerian cultures and traditions and learning how to cook or the significance of specific foods or meals to your tribe is still considered a rite of passage by many. 

Bread, Bean Cakes and Prawn Sauce. A Speciality

But being a young entrepreneur doesn’t come without its challenges: “the hardest part I would say is learning to lead older workers especially in a Nigerian system”. Because respecting your elders is also one of the cornerstones of Nigerian society, employing and regulating older workers as a young adult whilst maintaining your respectfulness can be a tricky route to navigate. However 20 year old Feranmi handles the dilemma with finesse, “at first it was difficult, but with patience and gentility combined with firmness it started getting easier”‎. Being aware of how his maturity has aided him in his new found occupation as a businessman, I couldn’t resist asking him for some advice for myself and other budding entrepreneurs out there. He replied with a quote from American business strategist, Daniel Burrus “Look at what the best of the best are doing…and then go beyond them. Think bigger. Don’t compete. Create. Innovate”. He explains why these words are so influential for him by saying “although there is nothing new under the sun there is always a different to do the same way. BE CREATIVELY DIFFERENT”.  

So what do we have to look forward to from Ni Fries and our young entrepreneur? Well for his business Feranmi hopes to expand in terms of products, services and outlets. As mentioned previously the aim is to get Nigerian fried meals to global tongues, so his expansion goals include growing into a foreign country in the near future. Presently Ni Fries’ focus is to build a delivery system for their current base, Lagos State, Nigeria. Personally Feranmi has a great interest in societal development as is clear through his choice of entrepreneurship. “My book of plans has a Street Business School as the next agenda. The aims would be to build up individuals from young ages in their areas of interest and encourage the growth of a profit generation that is able to benefit from works based on their areas of interest while they earn their education”. It seems this young man has his plate full.

Guilty Pleasure: Sample of Fries with Turkey and a Corned Beef Sauce.

Africa Is Not The Naughty Step

I don't know when it happened. I'm not sure what brought it on either. But there was a point in my life in England when going back to Nigeria was a source of great anxiety. It's a curious little thing really. I wasn't born in England and although I spent a significant portion of my life so far there I was, fundamentally speaking, brought up in Nigeria.

What I noticed fairly quickly was that this anxiety wasn't relegated to me or Nigeria. My friends from other African countries seemed to have the same problem. And you might be wondering where it came from. From our families! Parents, guardians, siblings, church folk all threatened us with the dreaded Africa. If you misbehave you're going back to Africa. You get bad grades we're shipping you off. Trying to act like these white kids? Back to the jungle you go!

There is something profoundly wrong with the idea that your home is a last resort or punishment for your children. You cannot instill that mind set into them from birth and then question why they refuse to return home when they come of age. Perhaps their threats were innocent. I can't say that I know for sure one way or the other. But as a race, black people are generally quite quick to point out when someone belittles them even we are just as good at degrading ourselves as anyone else.

My back-to-Nigeria anxieties didn't ease up until I moved to Dubai and visited home from here. Even though it was a fairly quiet affair, I was profoundly aware of a reawakening of senses. It actually felt good to be home! Surprisingly good. Yes NEPA still surprises you mid way through a meal by cutting the power. Yes the roads are still bad and the drivers are worse. Yes mosquitoes are still disfiguring my skin. Yes the politics, policies, work ethics and everything in between are questionable at best. But, somehow, it is still home isn't it? The food is still great, the people are still a crazy kind of joyful and there is no rain like the rain in the motherland. The fruit is fresh and the air is different and even when you're bored beyond recompense you find happiness and peace.

Perhaps I'm being a bit too unrealistic with my descriptions. My point is for all the criticism we Africans make against our home could we please take a minute to respect her struggle and uplift her? I don't think it's too much to ask. 

Montage...Reminders of an African Childhood

This is the final piece I wrote for the magazine project. It is basically a short culture piece. A few of us did one. It focuses on an aspect of a culture the writer knows a bit about and you provide some interesting information about said culture to the readers. I really liked this one because I got a bit nostalgic writing it. Oh it also comes with an image because it would make absolutely no sense to most people otherwise. This one was a bit light hearted so enjoy.

Reminders of an African Childhood

My guess is the name varies across all the many tribes in Nigeria but the Yoruba people call it ayo. It’s a game most people learnt to play with their fathers or grandfathers. Me? I learnt by watching other people, siblings, uncles and even my mother. It’s fairly easy to pick up if you watch a couple of rounds. The one we had while I was growing up was larger and it was set on the back of a rather ugly looking eagle carved out of wood. The statue which I now remember as being quite grotesque was actually what attracted me to the game to start with! I spent so much time tracing all the kinks and crevices of the carving with my finger and I remember being quite taken with the beak. This one is relatively smaller and simpler and belongs to my sister. I had all but forgotten about it till I found this at her house over Christmas.