The arts and crafts section of the Oba Elegushi International Market [The Lekki Arts and Craft Market — LACM]

The arts and crafts section of the Oba Elegushi International Market, which has now earned itself the informal name “Lekki Arts and Crafts Market”, is a local market in Lagos, where you can get lots of African arts and crafts products.

As the name implies,

The market is located at the popular Oba Elegushi International Market, and the following are some items you’ll generally find there —

1. African vintage material,
2. Afrocentric souvenir,
3. Ankara textile,
4. Antique,
5. Artwork,
6. Bangle,
7. Bead,
8. Bedsheet,
9. Bracelet,
10. Bronze work,
11. Canons,
12. Coral,
13. Gem,
14. Gemstone,
15. Leather bag,
16. Locally-made bag,
17. Metalwork,
18. Necklace,
19. Nigerian art,
20. Painting,
21. Pearl,
22. Precious stone,
23. Ready-made local fabric,
24. Sculpture,
25. Wood carving,
26. Wood furnishing, and
27. Wooden sculpture.

So if you’re a great fan of African arts and crafts products, even if you have no intention of buying anything, you should consider visiting this market.

However,

Before visiting the market, there are some things I feel you should know, and below they are.

Things to know

1. The traders tend to overprice products

One of the things you should know before setting out on your visit to Lekki Arts and Crafts Market is that, the traders at this market tend to overprice their products.

Foreigners visiting Lagos are well-know to visit the market, so unless you put on your “Lagos boy” or “Lagos girl” hat, they’ll treat you like you have a lot of dollars to lavish.

For instance,

If you don’t play smart with them, an item that ordinarily costs N300 may be tagged N1,800 or even something higher.

2. The road leading to the market is bad

Another thing to know is that, the road leading to the market is in a very bad condition.

It even gets worse during the raining season.

So if you’ll like to visit the market, not only should you consider going on a day when it doesn’t rain, you should also consider going with an SUV, if you have one.

3. The market is well-organized

The moment you realized that the arts and crafts section of the Oba Elegushi International Market is a local market, you may have already assumed it to be a typical cluttered market [the kind we often see in Lagos], but this can’t be further from the truth.

Lekki Arts and Crafts Market is rather a well-organized one.

In fact,

I’ve come across many people who couldn’t help but mention how impressed they are to see a local market that organized.

4. Be prepared for the sun

Between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm, when it isn’t cloudy, the sunray shinning over LACM can be very harsh.

So when coming to the market, consider gearing up for this — come with a face cap or hat, a sunglass, and if you’re the kind who puts on sunscreen, do so.

You should also consider getting some sachets or bottles of water, as you’ll certainly get dehydrated.

5. The traders are friendly

While the traders at Lekki Arts and Crafts Market can be naughty, by overpricing their products, they are actually very friendly people.

They are ready to smile, play, and interact with you like they value doing business with you.

So if you’re the kind who has already had enough of rude traders in Lagos, you shouldn’t bother about that, as you’re very unlikely to have such an experience at LACM.

6. The market is neat

Having been to a lot of local markets in Nigeria at large, if you ask me to name some characteristics of a local Nigerian market, one of the things I’ll mention is “dirtiness”.

And you can’t really blame me because this is a common characteristic among all the local markets I’ve seen.

But when it comes to the LACM, “dirty” is not a word you can really use for it.

I’m not comparing the neatness to that of a hospital floor, but I’m sure that you’ll be impressed.

Closing

The market being talked about in this content is often referred to as “Lekki Arts and Crafts Market” online, but the official name is “The arts and crafts section of the Oba Elegushi International Market”.

So if you’re trying to describe the place to a bike man or an Uber driver, the name “The arts and crafts section of the Oba Elegushi International Market” is what you should use, since that’s what most locals know the name to be.