When most people hear “Oshodi,” they think of bustling markets, crowded bus parks, and endless movement. But beneath the surface in Ikorodu, lies a vibrant and evolving art community, a gallery with rich cultural offerings, modern infrastructure, and a pulse that reflects the spirit of Lagos itself. Writes Ireho Aito

You don’t find Kingsley Braimoh. He finds you eventually. And when he does, it’s never in the way you expected. My quest to interview the elusive sculptor wasn’t just a scheduling challenge, it was an urban adventure that led me into the heart of Ikorodu, where I stumbled upon something far bigger than a single artist’s story.

An encounter with Kingsley Braimoh is not your average interview, it is a journey. A journey marked by patience, persistence, and a little bit of luck. On a quiet evening, after weeks of failed attempts and misaligned schedules, I finally received a call from Kingsley. We agreed to meet in the ever-vibrant town of Ikorodu, Lagos, a fitting place for a man whose art – life mirrors the cultural pulse of his environment.

Ikorodu, with its rich folklore and growing infrastructure, is a paradox. On the surface, it may appear slow-paced, but once immersed, one realizes it thrives with a life of its own. Markets burst with activity, “keke” tricycles weave through corners like veins pumping vitality, and small-scale enterprises dot the landscape like scattered seeds of innovation. Real estate is booming here too, but are people really buying? That’s a question for another day. What’s clear is that Ikorodu is very much alive.

Forget everything you think you know about Oshodi. No, not that Oshodi of choking traffic and bus conductors yelling destinations at full volume. Tucked away in the equally humming but more layered Ikorodu, there is another kind of Oshodi, a man, a dream, and a gallery that breathes Lagos’ artistic heartbeat.

Kingsley Braimoh and I had arranged to meet at NASFAT bus stop. Kingsley had warned earlier that his phone might not be reachable, here we go again with our search for one another and that I should look out for Oshodi Art Gallery, just opposite the stop. When I got there, I was struck not just by the chaos of early morning Lagos, but by the quiet majesty of sculptures stretching from one gatepost to another. It wasn’t just a gallery, it was an arthouse!

Even at that time, elusive Kingsley was at it again. I refused to sigh but remained patient. Kingsley was nowhere in sight. A helpful staff member, very courteous, pointed a direction across the road, where I found him already sweating out on a work. The maverick sculptor was buzzing with energy despite the hour.

He apologised for the delay, and together we shared a quick gulp. (Don’t ask what we drank. Just know it was the kind of thing that makes conversations flow.) We returned to the gallery, and that’s when I met the man behind the masterpiece building, exceptionally gifted Dr. Seyi Paul Oshodi.

“I saw you this morning when you walked in,” Seyi said quietly. I blinked. I hadn’t noticed anyone. “That’s how you know you are in a space created by artists,” he added. “We see what others don’t.” That moment captured the essence of Oshodi Art Gallery; perceptive, intentional, quietly powerful.

That’s how you know you are in a space created by artists,

Seyi Paul Oshodi grew up in Okitipupa, Ondo State, he is a native of Ikale, where his father wove the iconic Yoruba traditional fabric, Aso Oke for years. From those rich textile roots, Seyi pursued a degree in Fine and Applied Arts from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. But he took a detour, practising for 17 years in advertising, mastering graphics and animation, and quietly saving towards a passion project that would become this very gallery.

And what a gallery it is. With over 25,000 pieces in its collection, starting from ceramics to photography, textile, sculpture, and mixed media, every specialisation is well invested on. Oshodi Art Gallery doesn’t just display art, rather, it incubates it. Almost 90% of the works were commissioned or created within the gallery’s walls. Here, artists don’t just exhibit, they evolve.

Seyi confessed he doesn’t believe in wealth for wealth’s sake. “Being rich is about discipline,” he told me. It’s that philosophy that built this sanctuary. Over the past four to five years, Dr. Seyi Paul Oshodi, has fully committed to running the gallery, transforming it from a dream nurtured over 26 years into a cultural force in Lagos. He maintains, “we are even located at the extreme part of Ikorodu but we have been visible due to our philosophy, he boldly explains.

Being rich is about discipline

Community is central to Oshodi’s mission. The gallery is not a sterile hall for elite collectors. It hosts children’s carnivals, tackling pressing societal issues like child labour and drug abuse and other topical issues and bothered on National Questions that need to be addressed. Government agencies like NAFDAC and the Fire Service, LASTMA, LAWMA and many more are often invited to speak and engage with participating schools. Art here is activism, Oshodi reveals.

The influx of young creative inside the building drives one’s curiousity the reason they flood the center. For young and emerging artists, Oshodi Art Gallery is a Launchpad. Seyi commissions fresh talent, curates their growth, and gives them visibility. Through training programs and empowerment sessions, the gallery is shaping not just artists, but leaders of Nigeria’s creative future.

Kingsley Braimoh is one of the gallery’s brightest consultants. Born in Uromi, Edo State in 1973 while his father, a military officer was posted to Sokoto, Kingsley was brought to Lagos at age two. He grew up in Ashanti Barracks, Apapa, and despite being immersed in Lagos life, never picked up Yoruba language. “I just didn’t,” he laughed. Dark tanned Kingsley and Oshodi have been in business alliance for twenty years and it has very fruitful, also eventful.

Kingsley Braimoh’s path to art was very straight despite being a brilliant student right from his elementary school, that art talent kept resonating in his veins right from childhood. Kingsley actually got hooked on it.

He got carried away in his educational ambition while filling his University application forms. That mistake, a spelling oversight, had him applied to Benue State University instead of Bendel State University to study Fine Art, only to discover the latter didn’t offer it when he visited Ekpoma for admission. Kingsley has always been a Lagos boy and beyond travelling to his hometown, Igueben or Benin City, he had never navigated middle – belt states.
Luckily, he had also applied to Federal Polytechnic Auchi, where fate led him to the School of Art and Industrial Design. He graduated in 1999 with his head high up in admiration.

Kingsley went on to earn another Fine Art degree from the University of Lagos. He is proudly a member of the revered Auchi Klass of ’99, the same group behind the celebrated ‘Constellation’ exhibition at Iwalewa Gallery, Lekki. His myriad of commissioned works feature prominently at Oshodi Art Gallery.

Metal relief is Kingsley’s forte which Oshodi also affirmed. His sculptures are bold, emotional, and technically masterful. They don’t just sit in a room, they speak. He works with the intensity of a furnace, constantly ideating, always producing. “Kingsley looks fragile at times,” Seyi once said, “but he is built of steel, mind and both hands are magical.”

“Kingsley looks fragile at times,” Seyi once said, “but he is built of steel, mind and both hands are magical”

Despite his acclaim, Kingsley is grounded. His attention to detail and commitment to craft have earned him numerous commissions, but he remains hungry and restless. While in that space with him, Kingsley was everywhere. He was always engaging here and there, somehow a live – wire!
“He doesn’t work on Sundays,” one gallery staff whispered, as though it was the only rule holding his energy in check.

Our conversation drifted between stories of childhood, school days, the accidental brilliance of his career path, and the power of having a space like Oshodi Art Gallery to call home while consulting. “This place,” Kingsley said, “is more than walls and sculptures. It’s where ideas are allowed to become real,” he says with that convincing smile.

. “This place,” Kingsley said, “is more than walls and sculptures. It’s where ideas are allowed to become real,” he says

What a journey it was to historical town like Ikorodu. Going around places is far more enriching and educating.
In a city that rarely pauses, tucked inside a town often overlooked, a sculptor and a collector have built a haven. One with iron bones, clay breath, and a soul carved in bronze. Oshodi Art Gallery is not just a place, it is a vision. And Kingsley Braimoh? He is a living and breathing sculpture.

Words/Ireho Aito/Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger!/Photographs/iBAND Magazine