When we think of migration, the image that usually springs to mind is a one-way journey, from Africa to Europe, from a difficult situation with no opportunities towards a future that at least offers greater possibilities. Yet in the shadows, far from the journeys of hope and the dramatic images we see on the news, many young people come and go, studying at European universities before returning home, determined to exploit their knowledge in places where they know they can make a difference. This is the case of one of the emerging names of African design, the Nigerian Nifemi Marcus-Bello, founder of the firm Nmbello in Lagos.
The son of an architect who studied at the Polytechnic in Milan, he began to investigate how things occur in the streets of the Nigerian capital, where objects and materials are constantly manipulated and adapted according to need. Later, he moved to Leeds, where he graduated and attended a master’s course in Product Design. “I loved living there, and I still feel I am an honorary ‘Northerner’,” he told humus. “During that period, I gained solid foundations and in-depth knowledge of design, engineering and marketing dynamics. Without that experience I don’t think I would have become the designer I am today. But at one point, I realised that the context in which we work is also important. So that’s why I came back to Lagos. Here, I had to learn some new things, and unlearn others.”
One of the initiatives he worked on following his return is Africa – A Designer’s Utopia, a research project based on the mapping of objects created from the bottom up, in the local communities, seeking to solve contingent problems with the few means available. The meruwa, for example, a trolley for carrying water tanks that you will see everywhere in the working-class neighbourhoods in Lagos, is made by assembling scrap wood and used bicycle wheels. The photographic archive put together by Nifemi Marcus-Bello is an ode to ambient intelligence, and at the same time an invitation to not forget that design is everywhere, even where the word “design” is not mentioned and perhaps is not even known. “Africa has always been a forerunner of creativity, which is clear if we think how it has influenced so many European artists, from Modigliani to Picasso, and designers from all over the world,” the designer explains. “The main reason why I wanted to conduct this research is precisely to help my fellow citizens to become aware of the developments in local design and the wealth of material culture we have here, on the Continent. We must be aware of the fact that we don’t need to look too far to find inspiration, because we have everything we need at home.”
Marcus-Bello’s commitment to enhancing all things local is not limited to theory. The meruwa, for example, was the starting point for developing an itinerant hand washing station (For the Community by the Community – Handwashing Station, 2020) which at the moment is on show at the MoMA in New York, as part of the exhibition Pirouette: Turning Points in Design devoted to objects that have in some way been drivers of social change (until 15 November 2025). In its absolute, radical simplicity, this curious object on wheels, designed during the Covid-19 pandemic, aims to solve one of the age-old problems faced by medical staff in and around Lagos: having clean water available in any ward or area of the hospital they are in. Its components are cheap and easily available locally, and can easily be replaced when they break.
The use of “zero mileage” materials and low-tech technologies, or in any case those available locally, is a constant feature of the designer’s work. His most famous project, the LM Stool, designed in 2018, already part of the collections in several international museums, came about specifically to respond to a widespread prejudice according to which the Nigerian manufacturing sector is unsuited to producing ‘modern’ designer objects that are functional and attractive. Rather than finding someone to make the product he had in mind, Nifemi Marcus-Bello started out in an existing factory producing current generators, and designed the stool according to the machinery available on site and the industrial processes already in place. The TM Bench with Bowl (2025), a bench that is also a water trough for animals, which recently earned a special mention at the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, is made in aluminium recycled from old cars, smelted and cast in moulds made in ply-board or created by adapting pieces of furniture or containers found in his studio.
