Vintage Vehicles Bring Lagos Motoring Memories Back to Life at Anniversary Show

Vintage cars from different eras gathered at Lagos Polo Club in Ikoyi on Thursday as the Classic Car Club of Nigeria celebrated the tenth anniversary of its annual showcase with a programme built around automobiles, culture and memories of an earlier Lagos.

The Independence Day event, titled the "Nostalgic Lagos Classic Car Show," was organised with Lagos Polo Club and had the endorsement of the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Visitors encountered vehicles ranging from Volkswagen Beetles and Mercedes-Benz models to the Morris Minor and other cars once associated with prestige on Nigerian roads.

The exhibition also reached beyond privately owned cars. A vintage Bole Kaja mammy wagon supplied by tourism partner Loving Lagos represented the form of public transport used around Lagos during the 1950s and 1960s. Fashion and lifestyle displays were incorporated into the programme to connect the vehicles with the social periods in which they were originally used.

Dapo Otunla, chairman and co-founder of the Classic Car Club of Nigeria, said preserving old vehicles is also a way of preserving personal and social memories. He explained that such displays can help younger people understand how previous generations travelled and experienced the city before contemporary automotive technology became commonplace.

Otunla illustrated that connection by recalling an elderly visitor at an earlier edition who arrived in a Peugeot 404 with his family. The car reminded the man, who was in his 80s, of the vehicle he had driven while courting his wife. His son and grandson were also present, allowing one preserved automobile to become part of a family conversation spanning several generations.

For club member Ayo Shoyinka, the attraction of classic motoring is also personal. Shoyinka owns two Volkswagen Beetles and said he uses a modern vehicle during the working week but chooses the older cars for weekend outings and family activities.

Filmmaker and actor Kunle Afolayan also attended with one of his vintage vehicles. He described the experience of driving an older automobile as distinctive, adding another perspective from collectors who continue to keep such vehicles in use rather than treating them solely as static exhibits.

By combining preserved cars with stories, clothing, lifestyle displays and historical public transport, the anniversary programme presented automotive heritage as part of Lagos social history. The club's decade-long milestone highlighted not only the machinery itself but also the memories of families, journeys and changing city life connected with the vehicles.