Di Nigerian artists wey dey save di environment and also create wealth wit plastic, fabric and slippers waste

Wit sharp eye for transforming discarded plastic, fabrics, and slippers into beautiful pieces of art, three Nigerian artist works dey serve as proof to both ingenuity and environmental consciousness.

Wetin dey come to di mind of Gbenga Adeku wen im see discarded plastic wey dey litter di environment na wia di waste go eventually end up. Dis abandoned waste dey end up for ocean wia e dey poses big threat to marine life. Instead of allowing dis plastic waste to destroy marine life, Gbenga dey use am create beautiful art in di form of aquatic and oda animals.

"Some of my friends bin tink say I be joke becos I go always go restaurants to pick plastic waste. But ova time, na dem dey send me plastic waste becos dem realise say I dey use am for good cause," Gbenga tell BBC News Pidgin.

According to one 2021 report by di United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Nigeria dey generate estimated 32 million tonnes of solid waste yearly, one of di highest for Africa, from dat figure, plastic constitute 2.5 million tonnes.

Gbenga tok say im venture into environmental art afta im learn say e dey take hundreds of years bifor plastic decompose. However, even as plastic dey break down, e dey break into smaller pieces instead of to fully decompose.

"I want evri one wey see my work to learn di positive tins plastic bottles fit do. Make dem stop to dey discard am so e no go harm us at di end of di day," im add.

Marcellina Akpojotor dey use fabric waste to create art, turning wetin odas see as useless into masterpieces wey dey tell family and societal stories.

Her studio na colourful array of textiles, each piece dey carefully dey selected and repurposed to breathe new life into forgotten materials.

"I dey go to my community to meet tailors to pick di pieces dem no dey use again. And you know di tailors shops na spaces wia di whole community visit to sew clothes. I feel say dis pieces get stories becos dem come from different places.

"So dose pieces gp mix togeda inside my bag and I go take dem to di studio to start anoda conversation," Marcellina tell BBC News Pidgin.

According to Marcellina, her work don contribute to di way pipo dey handle fabric waste.

"If my mum dey come visit me, she go visit her tailors to pick fabric waste, and dem dey always happy to give her, den she go bring am along. E dey make me happy say she dey support wetin I dey do.

"Even my friends and colleagues dey sometimes bring fabric waste for me. E dey make me happy. E mean say dem no dey see am as waste again but as wetin dey valuable to me," she add.

Konboye Eugene on di oda hand dey turn slippers to artwork. Dis discarded pieces of footwear dey often end up polluting drainages and di ocean. But for Eugene hands, dem dey become colourful pieces of art.

"Wetin dey drive my passion for wetin I dey do na environmental consciousness. I wan create beta and safer environment. My own way of giving back to di environment na to take away dose tins wey pipo don use and trowey, and make dem into beautiful art wey pipo fit put for dia houses," Eugene tok.

According to Eugene, e don dey able to take a lot of slippers out of drainages for recycling.

"Through my art, I don also dey able to provide opportunities for oda pipo, becos my work get different layers.

"E get part wia we gatz go out and get di footwears, e get part wia we clean, e get part wia we work and stitch, all dis tins no be somtin wey I fit do on my own, so I don dey able to create opportunities for different families through my art, and I also create safer and cleaner environment," Eugene tell BBC News Pidgin.

Eugene tok say pipo dey often get curious wen dem see am dey pick discarded slippers. E say dem dey question am and e get one day wey dem almost beat am sake of say dem bin tink say im wan use di slippers for ritual purposes, but dem leave am as im show dem for im phone wetin e dey use di slippers do.

However, dis encounter and oda challenges neva discourage am from saving di environment.

Video by Olawale Adekola