A Story of 2 Contrasting Views

The University College Hospital main bowl of wards in the distance

I work as a doctor at the University College Hospital and a medical researcher in the community in Nigeria, and so I do a bit of moving around.

This has enabled me open my eyes more to what surrounds me, including the beauty of the natural world around me.

But then it has also opened my eyes to observe people, behaviours and patterns in how we do things, especially how we live and co-exist with one another.

There is this view that has always caught my attention from the vantage view point of a location in the University College Hospital Ibadan.

The Array of the Hilly region of Yemetu/Oke Are, located somewhere in the busy centre of Ibadan can be viewed from this vantage point, with the houses built along this hilly setup.

This hilly region also happens to be the most elevated plain in Ibadan. It houses the Bower's Tower, the highest point in all of Ibadan.

Bower's Tower in the distance

There is nothing really interesting about the views right?

Well, that's where observing closely comes in. This view extends all the way across to another view where a place called Bere is located... and for those who know this place. It's one of the "homes of brown roofs" in Ibadan. The brown roofs are as a result of rust from wear over so many years. They have quickly become a signature for Ibadan. Ibadan is actually called 'The Home of Brown Roofs'.

Even though Yemetu/Oke Are is not directly connected by road with Bere, the sharp contrast in the view from where I stood was very obvious.

The contrasting views in the distance... brown roofs on the left, modern house on the right

The standards of living in these 2 different locations are quite far apart, yet they seem close in the distance.
Bere generally has a low standard of living compared to some parts of Yemetu.

It simply showed how different worlds can seemingly be so close to each other yet be so far.

The brown roof landscape

The affluent regions of Yemetu

Perhaps there's something about life we can all learn from that.

We live altogether in a world with shadows of differences between and among people seemingly living together but so far apart and hardly connected.

I hope there are lessons we can learn from that.

Thank you for reading!

Camera	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4
Lenses	Lumix 14-42mm lens, Lumix 35-100mm, ND filters 4 and 8
Editing	Lightroom for Mobile

All pictures taken by me.

_{Follow me on IG/Tiktok for more:
@draysax_shotit}