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PUBLIC buildings with carved doors and Christian Churches with painted panels are not hard to come by in Nigeria today. The "holy eagle", (the reading stand otherwise known as the 'LECTERN' in church) was introduced in Nigeria in the late 20's.
The long existence of the carved eagle has gradually overwhelmed the old idea of iconolatry formerly held by church-goers. The "holy eagle" has come to be regarded as that one image necessary to make a church building complete and perhaps without which the belief of the congregation is not fully manifested.
Chief Oshun Shobayo, 67, from Abeokuta, discovered the craft as a carpenter under the Lagos P.W.D. (1914-1916). He resigned and, decided to earn his living by the new trade. Before long the chief was attending to clients beyond the borders of Nigeria. Commissions poured in from as far away as Sierra Leone and Liberia. He also has to meet demands from Lagos churches and from the regions. He earns up to £140 for each 'holy' eagle.

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Peacefully the 'holy eagle' bears the Holy Bible in a Lagos church.

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SPEAR extra
CARVER OF HOLY EAGLE
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Chief Oshun Shobayo, 67 at work