Noisy, performative and unapologetically non-European: Nigeria welcomes a museum like no other

The striking new John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in the Onikan district of Lagos island, Nigeria. The centre complex, which also houses a swimming pool, is aimed at developing the area as a cultural quarter in the city Photograph: Ademola Olaniran and Jide Atobatele

Opposite the Nigerian National Museum in central Lagos, a swimming pool and a memorial hall once stood as an integral part of the city, a popular congregation point that evoked a sense of pride.

This year, decades after the compound fell into disrepair, a new pool is opening to the public alongside a state-of-the-art museum dedicated to Yoruba culture.