Bourdain had a brief chat with a colleague and ‘The Lead’ show host, Jake Tapper and had so much to talk about Lagos, the people and Nigeria.
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Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain visited Lagos, Nigeria before he died on Friday, June 8, 2018, at the age of 61.
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Bourdain had a brief chat with a colleague and ‘The Lead’ show host, Jake Tapper and had so much to talk about Lagos, the people and Nigeria.
CNN’s food show host, Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain visited Lagos, Nigeria before he died on Friday, June 8, 2018, at the age of 61.
CNN confirmed the celebrity chef's death saying the cause of death was suicide.
The American celebrity chef, author, and television personality visited some parts of Africa that include Nigeria, Senegal, Congo, Tunisia, and Tanzania for his award-winning cooking show, Parts Unknown.
After his visit to Lagos, Nigeria in 2017, Bourdain had a brief chat with a colleague and ‘The Lead’ show host, Jake Tapper and here are the five things he said about Lagos, the people and the country.
The oil money doesn’t trickle down
The oil money doesn't trickle down, I mean there is a lot of oil money but the people who control that oil money is beyond sharing and it tends to stay within a circle of cronies and not spread around.
Lagosians have wild entrepreneurial skills
I have never been any place where I have seen wild entrepreneurial, positive thinking, a go-go unrestrained capitalism completely out of the purvey control of the government. Everybody in Lagos, 20 million people, these people understand that government isn't going to provide them with anything so they somehow provide themselves with power, water, all basic services and you gotta hustle in Nigeria and they do and their positive attitude is unlike anything I have ever seen anywhere.
Computer Village in Lagos is a $100 million business community
There is an area of Lagos that I believe there is as much as $100 million business going on in that place called computer village. It's a bunch of people selling from phone covers to phone cases, electronic equipment, kids started coming from the provinces without even a high school education, learn from reputation on the streets how to fix phones with their own tools, start their own electronic stores and more legit but the difference between taxpaying legitimate business and street business is completely permeable but this is a huge, huge generator or untapped revenue all self-built.
Bourdain says area boys administer law and order in Lagos
To some extent, law and order is administered largely by people called area boys, who work hand in hand with the police in what kind of look like what the old bosses used to be like in the early days of New York politics, the people who run and administer the street and tax everyone from pedestrians to cab drivers and bus drivers and they are street gangs.
Nigeria’s pepper soup is amazing
The Nigerian pepper soup is amazing. From everything I had was spicy very delicious.
Bourdain’s death
According to CNN, Bourdain was in France working on an upcoming episode of his award-winning CNN series, "Parts Unknown."
Bourdain was found unresponsive in his hotel room by close friend and French chef, Eric Ripert.
In a statement by CNN, Bourdain was described as a lover of great adventure and new friends.
"It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain. His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller.
His talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter and family at this incredibly difficult time," the network said.