Mr. Danfo and art of road signalization

August 3, 2025 by Edozie Udeze

He has assumed the name Mr. Danfo. He loves the colour yellow, the traditional colour of Lagos public transportation. His works on road safety, on road signs and signalization, all bear the colours of yellow. He has been to different parts of the world for the purpose of sensitizing on the ingredients of road signs. Recently he exhibited with LASTMA on their 25th anniversary. He exhibited at Angels and Muse, Lagos, tagged gods of safety. He shares his encounters here with EDOZIE UDEZE.

Seidougha Linus Eyimiegha popularly known as Mr. Danfo is always an interesting artist. He has chosen to tow a different path as a visual artist. His primary concern is to continuously design and make popular highway codes, road signs, traffic signals and designs just to help the public understand, appreciate and apply these designs to discourage road accidents and mishaps. He has been to Geneva and other important cities of the world for this crusade. Recently he was at the popular Angels and Muse gallery, Lagos, for a solo exhibition with updated versions of the signals where dignitaries and stakeholders from different parts joined him to ensure that his voice and works sounded louder than ever, spreading the necessary message.

Mr. Danfo is ever eager to pursue his goal. He has other art designs in the offing and he is also willing to do more in collaboration with both the Road Safety and LASTMA in Lagos State.

“Yes, I exhibited gods of safety at Angels and Muse recently. The gods of safety was one of the works I started developing in Geneva, Switzerland last year. I was in Geneva for a programme and there the idea came. So it was like an expansion of the same concept that took me to Geneva. It was like a follow up on that project which I started. So it is an updated version, which I really stretched further to produce gods of safety. They are all on road signs for pedestrians and motorists.

The whole thing started from one single document which was Vienna 1968 convention. It is on road safety and signalization and I took my time to study it all. It is on UN road safety and signalization convention 1968. There was Article 8 of the convention which states that signatory countries should localize the idea of the essential elements of these road signs. And that they should ensure that these signs are not tampered with. So that is evident in Geneva where they have clearly marked the yellow road safety signs and so on. Also the green man signs and the pedestrian signs are also found all over there. There are also some for senior citizens and elderly persons.

They are all in vogue over there and totally in view and people are meant to obey, comply and apply the signs for the safety of all road users. Even pregnant women, senior citizens with walking sticks all have their freedom as road users in that document. I think Zurich is also trying to do lesbian couple kind of signs as well. This is to equally incorporate in them and make the signs stick

But here we also agreed to apply signalization and then how do we apply them to suit our local needs? These have to do with our local needs and application. How do we do that? That also is part of my concerns, part of what I have set out to do as an artist and illustrator. That is why I started using traditional figures and applying the signs in them. It is easier therefore for our people to identify with these appliances and it is equally useful in order to make the message clearer for all concerned.

In that sense we have to see signalization from multiple dimensions. Then the signs are clear from the traditional figurines, the sculptures, the carving on woods, crafts and so on. Even depictions are localized as well. Some are like advice, some like warnings. And at other times, they are like adverts or caution. Some are like the reflections of some of the places I have been to in the process of this sort of art and awareness. We can say even in Lome, because I was there as well, these signs apply. Like I would have said stop your gragra and you see 419 avenue. Some people have complied. In other to teach Nigerians these signs we have to put them on the road. Because the way we live here, we need to be on the road to know these things. Here in Nigeria these signs are not taught in schools or even included in curriculum where we can begin on time to be aware of them and what they set out to achieve.

Read Also: 3.553 million voters for August 16 legislative bye elections

We learn signs by seeing them in the environment. It seems that it is only those who drive that are exposed to such signs but this is not sound enough. I have read the Nigerian road code. Yes but the Nigerian general public, how many people know or are even aware of those signs?. Often people just drive unaware of some of these signs. And these pose danger to the people, to pedestrians and even to other road users. We have to be aware and that is why this localization of the signalization has become necessary and timely. The drivers behavior plays a huge role about how people react. This is how zebra or pedestrian crossing signs are not even respected. Some people do not even know what they mean or that they even exist.

What I do therefore is like a crusade through the art. My art makes the signs clearer and better understood, thereby creating consciousness in the minds of people. The first thing therefore is that the signs have to be on the roads, properly placed and sufficient enough to help road users navigate well. Now my concern is not whether people obey them or not. Let us just have them first, strategically placed where they ought to be. It is then that we can begin to talk about obedience, compliance and so on. If we have all these with us with time we begin to get used to them. See how little children learn about phones and other gadgets. It is because they are available and no one teaches them and yet they get to understand them with time. Same can apply to these road signs when made available in our environment.

In a long space of time the signs will become part of us. We know LASTMA and Road Safety are doing some kind of education. Yet it is not enough. We have to step up the campaign and enlightenment. We are also doing some campaign with the younger ones. And with my works out there, properly marked to spell out these signs I feel we are on the right track. At Angels and Muse, what I did was like the prototypes, with some 80 pieces of them. The works are iconic, well spelt out to define road signs via traditional figures. They were made to apply in larger scales if they are meant to be on the roads. But they are exhibition pieces are just small symbols. In any case, Angels and Muse is a non governmental centre. It supports projects meant to assist artists for the good of all. In fact they assist the creatives and generally encourage the art. They were the major sponsors of the show. However I invested my money in creating the works. It took me a  long time. It sapped me too. But in the end the works came out beautifully well. I had already put in some money in the process of the exhibition.

Generally I will give Angels and Muse the credit for sponsoring it because offering their space was a huge source of encouragement and succor to the whole show. They took care of all publicity. They took care of all members of the team that took part in the exhibition. They equally made sure that logistics were sound and good” he said, beaming with satisfaction.

Mr. Danfo, so-called because his works often wear the traditional and symbolic yellow colour of Lagos transportation. He loves adorning his art works with yellow colour as a major background. For this therefore he is safely tagged Mr. Danfo. For a long time the name has come to stick like a stigma and he loves it. His art is otherwise known as art of yellow colours. Most of his road traffic signs wear toga of yellow.

Since this year, he has done two successful solo art exhibitions. And then you begin to wonder how he does it in addition to his other busy schedules. Now located in Surulere, Lagos, his studio is a beehive of activities where traffic signs come and anchor. From time to time he create ideas that continually enhance the face of traffic signs in Nigeria. This has made him a darling of Road Safety and other traffic agencies of Government in and around Lagos. Give it to him he is restless and in tune with the latest traffic rules and signs as they emerge from the United Nations or from Geneva in Switzerland. This is a mantle he has chosen to shoulder for the sake of humanity.

“Yes I do not work on single piece. I work on projects. It is like series. Each work I do I do not like them broken apart. And I like them shown together in a single public exhibition. That is where the total beauty lies. On the 25th anniversary of LASTMA, I also exhibited with them. It was so good, so encouraging, it shows how the institutions managing traffic have come to recognize the work I pam doing. And we need to work together from time to time”