Olawale Adekola
A dim documentary photograph from West Africa at dusk: a community of stilt houses on still water, smoke rising from cooking fires.

Olawale Adekola

Documentary Filmmaker · Photojournalist · Fixer — Lagos, Nigeria

Telling underreported West African stories with honesty — and helping international outlets do the same, on the ground.

Scroll

01 — Index

Selected Work

A waterfront settlement of wooden stilt houses at dusk, smoke rising from cooking fires.

Displacement and the human cost of demolition in the Makoko waterfront community.

Aftermath in Makoko

Lagos, Nigeria·2024·Documentary

A man sits alone on a low wall at the edge of a quiet street at first light.

One man's journey through addiction and recovery, told without sensationalism.

Road to Redemption

Lagos, Nigeria·2023·Documentary Film

An electric powerboat throws spray across calm harbour water at speed.

Covering the first all-electric powerboat World Championship hosted in Africa.

E1 Lagos

Lagos, Nigeria·2024·Photojournalism

A teenager holds a camera to their eye, framing a shot across a busy street market.

Teenagers in an underserved community learning to frame their own world through a camera.

The Young Storytellers of Makoko

Lagos, Nigeria·2023·Mentorship · Photo Series

02 — Moving image

Films

A still from a documentary film: a quiet interior lit by a single window.

Film coming soon

Film One — title to be supplied

Film One — title to be supplied

A still from a documentary film: figures walking along a road at dusk.

Film coming soon

Film Two — title to be supplied

Film Two — title to be supplied

03 — Profile

About Olawale

Portrait of Olawale Adekola, looking towards camera in soft natural light.

Olawale Adekola is an international journalist, documentary filmmaker and visual storyteller based in Lagos, Nigeria. His work focuses on the stories that rarely make the headlines — displacement, recovery, resilience, and the everyday lives behind the news. He believes a story can be told with honesty and restraint: without drama, without exaggeration, just truth.

Alongside his own films and photo-essays, Olawale works as a fixer and field producer for international outlets, mentors young storytellers in underserved communities, and is committed to building local capacity for visual journalism across West Africa.

  • Trained with CNN Academy
  • Field work with international press
  • Educated at University College of Social Sciences, Częstochowa, Poland

04 — Commissions

Work With Me

Commissioning a story in Nigeria or West Africa? I work with editors, producers and organisations on the ground.

01

Fixing & Field Production

Local knowledge, access, logistics, translation and on-the-ground coordination for visiting crews and journalists.

02

Photojournalism & Assignments

Editorial and documentary photography for news outlets, NGOs and publications.

03

Documentary Production

Directing and producing short-form documentary and visual stories from concept to delivery.

Discuss a commission

Recognition & coverage

  • CNN Academy
  • USAGM
  • US Press Association
  • E1 Series coverage

05 — Contact

Get in touch

Available for assignments, fixing work, and documentary commissions — in Nigeria and internationally.

Instagram
@waleadekola_
Based in
Lagos, Nigeria · Available to travel.