A tour with The youngest Nigerian photographer

To Lagos, the capital city of Nigeria, the largest and most crowded city in West Africa, which, perhaps, was so before the spread of the COVID-19 and the announcement of the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari that the fight against the virus is “a matter of life or death”.

The disease has restricted the movement of around 8 million people living in the city, including Ariyike Oluwaseun who is dubbed by the Nigerian people as “the youngest photographer in the country”.

Ariyike, who speaks English very fluently, took us into a tour over the internet into her charming world documented by photos, because she believes that Photography helps people to see the beauty of the world and realize how beautiful life is with all its different moments and occasions.

The toy camera

The story has begun when she was three years old

To join us you won’t have to leave your room. We have brought you all the streets of Lagos city and even the studio in which Ariyike works with her parents who, too, work in photography.

It was quiet everywhere; no cars or motorbikes were moving around.

The only sound you could hear was the shutter sound of the black camera Ariyike would use to take photos or her typing on the keyboard as she flipped through the photos on the computer.

She had a huge archive of the photos she has taken over six years while she is still under nine. “My love for this machine started when I was three years old for a toy camera gift I was given,” Ariyike told Tiny Hand.

She started the journey of professional photography when she was five years old.

What is enjoyable when you talk with Ariyike is that you quickly forget you are speaking with a small girl. She has a rich vocabulary, especially when she describes her relationship with photography. She noted, “When I take photos, I feel I have a strong inner power. I feel I want to take more photos to be published everywhere and bee seen by everyone.”

She believes that “a good photo is the one that communicates truth, touches the heart, and turns its beholder into a different person who can realizes it. In a word, a good photo is an effective one.”

You don’t just take a photo but you create it!

You don’t just take a photo but you create it!, Perhaps this sentence above said by one of the leading photographers in the world, the American photographer Ansel Adams, cuts a long story short about the tremendous effort exerted by Ariyike during the photo-taking process.

She is fully aware that this process is not a mere press on the camera button as some would think.

Here we asked Ariyike, “Are you a hard-working student?” She answered, “I have to be dutiful to my father who allows me to practice photography. I study well and that what I am doing; I work hard on my lessons.”

She is like thousands of other children in Lagos. She cannot wait to see the home-quarantine is over so she can get back to school and resume her study as well as her work in outdoor photography,

especially that “photography makes her feel comfort, happiness, and greatness,” said Ariyike.

one of the best DJs in Nigeria during his school tour in 2018

the Governor and First Lady

the first drum and instrumental program she was invited to as the official photographer

What is very noticeable about the images this Nigerian girl has shared with us is the great variation of the personalities and occasions they feature.

They include photos of some VIPs such as the governor of the state in which she lives and his wife, the head of a leading bank, and many prominent and famous art figures.

Ariyike receives payments for covering these occasions. She adds, “Such payments help me develop my photography toolkits and buy new equipment.” Perhaps one day she will have her own studio as she dreams to have “the biggest studio for photography in the world where she can train children in photography and give them cameras for free.”

Here, we show you a number of the most important photos Ariyike took with her camera:

**the first lady of Ekiti State**

**the first lady of Ekiti State**

**I have always love police in their uniform and meeting and taking shots of one of the best and most amazing police officers in Nigeria is a great achievement for me**

**I have always love police in their uniform and meeting and taking shots of one of the best and most amazing police officers in Nigeria is a great achievement for me**

**She is one of the best actors in Nigeria. Shot was taken at one of the most celebrated award gathering in Africa AMVCA 2018**

**She is one of the best actors in Nigeria. Shot was taken at one of the most celebrated award gathering in Africa AMVCA 2018**

**A picture of the governor of Ekiti State taken at the Ekiti State Festival for Art and Culture 2019.**

**A picture of the governor of Ekiti State taken at the Ekiti State Festival for Art and Culture 2019.**

One day, we shall meet on the top!

For all the refugee camps’ children:

If you haven’t made a list of the things you’re going to do after the home-quarantine is over, Ariyike has already made it, starting with the countries she dreams to visit and taking amazing photos of.

She says, “I like to go to Dubai and Canada to take some photos there. Dubai has wonderful settings that help one take beautiful photos while Canada is full of wonderful sites

On the other hand, Ariyike wishes to visit the refugee camps to meet with the kids living there and encourage them no to give up on their dreams. She is quite sure that “one day, they will reach their dreams and meet each other on the top”.

The girl has prepared a short message to every refugee child:

“I want you to remain strong and believe that you have a wonderful future awaiting you. Seek your dreams and you will realize you can hold the whole world in your hands. Keep going and never stop. Defy exhaustion when you feel it and follow on your path until you reach the top. Only there we shall all meet together.”