There’s no way to fake good swagger. As the saying goes, “if it didn’t dey, then it didn’t dey”. Nigeria has always had it in abundance, and these pictures from the old times prove it:
Itsekiri maidens in Lagos in the 1920s
via Nigerian Nostalgia Project
Lagos babes have been putting us on high tension since wayback.
A Hausa man in 1900
via Nairaland
A dapper Hausa man wielding his sword.
The Queen of Calabar in 1907
via Nairaland
This queen must have pressed a lot of necks.
The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Ladapo Ademola II, attending the coronation of King George VI in May 1937
via Neusroom
That’s a lot of royal drip.
A young man at Christmas time in Ibadan, 1911
via Afrodandy
Look at those shoes!
This man had too much swag to stand straight
via Afrodandy
He knew exactly what he was doing posing like that.
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A king of Old Calabar in the 19th century
via Nigerian Nostalgia Project
A king doing king things.
Nigerian siblings serving looks
via Nigerian Nostalgia Project
Do you see our point? The drip is eternal.
A young Nigerian man in 1950, in what could pass for a presidential election portrait
via Afrodandy
We know a political campaign photo when we see one.
Chief S.O Alonge — full-time glucose guardian and pioneer of Nigerian photography — in 1942
via S.O Alonge
We can only imagine what this man was up to in his time.
These Nigerian women will steal your heart with their wicked looks
via Lithub
Look at those accessories!
This young man had enough swag to make Steve Harvey worried
via Nigerian Nostalgia Project
Steve Harvey is shaking right now.
Obasanjo with Jimmy Carter in the White House, October 1977
via Wikimedia
He definitely made Jimmy Carter look like he was photobombing.
If you enjoyed this article, then you should read this one about vintage Nigerian ads