Pale Reflections and Fables of Life: George Osodi's "Real People" of the Niger Delta

Documentary photography, in a very fundamental sense, locates the self and the other in determinate historical relationships. In these relationships documentary photographs usually capture what organized establishments like governments would rather have ignored. Documentary photography is George Osodi's strong suit. His images of the not so pleasant and the contestatory in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and the apparent ease with which he confronts the documentary photography genre are the topics of this essay. His photographs embody narratives of diverse contexts that inflect the identity and history of the Nigerian nation in general. In addition, the photographs hint at years of neglect to which the Niger Delta region has been subjected even as it continues to fund government and governance in Nigeria.