Scavengers featured in "Welcome to Lagos"
BBC’s “WELCOME TO LAGOS” – “A Hypocritical Perception of Nigeria or did it defy your expectations?”
I remember I posted a review of it a couple of weeks ago, if I can remember (time flies indeed) and to be honest, my very first reaction was “here we go again”, and that was before I read Will Anderson of BBC’s TV Blog’s review (posted here). Then, I simmered and did not know what to make of this documentary.
I made a mental note to watch it, but then I forgot. Not until Bert Owete kindly left a comment, requesting for my views. Thanks for that subtle reminder Bert.
Unfortunately, I am unable to watch a repeat of last night’s BBC “Welcome to Lagos” on BBC’s iPlayer. What a surprise heh? After all, it doesn’t matter that someone like me had paid TV License for almost 2 decades. I no longer reside in UK, and it doesn’t matter if Nigerians all over the world can’t watch to make an informed opinion.
BBC's iPlayer not available to foreigners outside UK
So, Bert and readers out there, I just have to depend on your objective and unemotional views, you know as I like to report it
Therefore, my question to you is this;
The programme “Welcome to Lagos”, how welcoming was it really to you? Was it hypocritical, as someone posted a comment on BBC TV blog site? Or did it defy your expectations as insinuated by Will Anderson in his review of the programme on the same web site?
Beach House in Lagos
More interesting, did it have an ulterior sinister motive, as we have always come to suspect?
Or, as Munira Adama, in her “out of the box” perception article in Sahara Reporters spewed it as “A manifestation of Unity”, was it really a candid opinion on how unity we are or can be?
Guys, before I hand over to you, below are opinions of 3 people that saw the programme. Do you agree with them?
Pride of home, floating in Makoko
At 11:41pm on 15 Apr 2010, FAB wrote:
HYPOCRITICAL PERCEPTION OF NIGERIA
‘Arise o’ compatriote’- a sentence in the Nigerian national anthem with a very strong connotation: UNITY. So much has been written on this giant of Africa; mostly negative and who are we to blame but ourselves- Nigerians because of our failure to stand up for this great nation and take back what rightfully belongs to us- PRIDE. Nigeria has its pitfalls and rightfully speaking; which nation doesnt? Corruption and redtapes; robbery; poverty; diseases; lack of basic amenities and social infrastructures amongst other downsides but that hasnt stopped us from forging ahead. Life is a learning curve on its own and whilst we are still identifying and adopting different alternatives to dealing with these issues; I would suggest the ‘literate’ countries and stakeholders alike with tried and tested solutions to come to our rescue. Poverty may be biting deep in the economy but obviously not every member; and I am not refering to the greedy politicians but rather the hard working members of the society. A saying goes that ‘more money more problem’ and perhaps so because we have once been voted as the happiest country in the world and this occured in the same trying period the country is presently in. Our government has been failing us since far back I was able to understand their essence and is evident in the lack of basic amenities and infrastructures but some noticable improvements by some leaders I have chosen not to name in their respective states could one day lead to a developed Nigeria if continued. Note that some international companies which operate in Nigeria would not do so if the conditions for operation is not condusive enough. More so, might I add that these companies share their secret of operation in a country which has been castigated as being corrupt. What have they done to overcome these issues if they claim they haven’t adopted these practices. In a similar line of thought, the issue of internet frauds has been traced back to Nigeria and may contradict the happy fact but whilst there obviously would exist ‘innocent’ victims of fraud but how innocent can you be to fall for such atrocious claim of being given a lost but found heritage that can only be released having provided personal information and paid a certain amount to have it transferred. Shouldn’t the person who contacted you have this information already for them to have contacted you in the first place? On a lighter note I wish to ask these questions- are you aware of our beautiful culture and heritage like the Oyo Festival; Ojude Oba done in Ijebuland; our food and language; lifestyle amongst others in the same vein and interest as you do know our downsides? As there are two sides to a coin; your judgement should be based on a thorough analysis of who Nigerians are and what makes us US. Whilst some individuals; organisations and countries at large have taken it upon themselves to ‘help welcome you to Nigeria’; might I add that they assist in ‘welcoming us’ to their own world with the same level of brutal honesty. There is a native saying that ‘a fi n ran Olorun leti’ (only reminding God Almighty of our plight) and whilst we have silently listened and not question such gruesome but somewhat honest negative brutality of this country; I hope your able to do the same about your own world. Reminds me of the story of the prostitute that Jesus Christ asked to be stoned if any one was clean and no one could stone her. Perhaps, a further look by these stakeholders who have taken it upon themselves to discuss Nigeria into their own environment would help reveal the hypocricy of the world. Beauty they say is in the eyes of the beholder; I believe WE (Nigerians) are not in a better but in a BEST position to welcome you into OUR world. I am not denying our corrupt practices and apportioning blame, I am only suggesting we all think twice before acting and always provide a balanced viewpoint. We may be taking baby steps at the moment but we shall one day take the long stride of an adult and this only justifies the beautiful work of Ayi Kwei Armah by saying the ‘beautyful ones are not yet born’. (as posted on BBC TV Blog)
Rubbish idea . . . Eric, a musician, hopes to fund an album through what he finds in the dump. Photograph: BBC/Keo Films/Keo Films
As posted on BBC's TV Blog website
Manifestation of Unity in Nigeria
Eric Obuh: He’s not a politician, an engineer, a doctor, nothing of such import.
He is a Nigerian. A scavenger. Olasosun dump site. Welcome to Lagos.
I just finished watching the BBC2 production titled ‘Welcome to Lagos’ which I will say was a rude shock, putting it mildly.
I never knew we had places like that, the extent of my knowledge on poverty in Lagos was Ajegunle, Isale Eko, Makoko. Olasosun?? Never heard of it, well until now. There are a lot of lessons to be taken away from this 1 hr reality jolt.
Was it just me, or did anyone else notice their level of spoken English? Wow! Needless to say, we aren’t doing badly as a nation.These are people many of us like to look upon as miscreants, the dregs of the society, the ne’er do wells etc. But, with this portrayal of them, they have single handedly put paid to such notions.
Their organisation is another thing that had me. They had a well organised system of governance where the chairman was someone everyone could relate to, he wasn’t a dictator, nor was he any form of ‘omnipotent’. Maybe our leaders can come to Olasosun for a crash course in governance.
Joseph, another patron of Olasosun, is introduced. He is a married man, with a family to cater for, and his love for his wife and children shines through his every word, his actions.What drives him? His love for his family. It makes him go out there and strive to earn a living so he can provide for them. He seemingly is content with his lot in life. Can he serve as role model for some of the men of our class? What drives them? The lust to have more money. The greed to be the richest man they know. The love for all things luxurious. It might provide for their family at the end of the day, but it doesn’t come attached with love and feeling. Yet again, the people of Olasosun triumph.
The cow market.
Interactions between people from all over Nigeria, I had to stop watching for a minute, and clarify that this was actually Nigeria. Is this the same Nigeria where Fulani and Birom can’t live in Jos together? Same Nigeria where people agitate for a division every day? How come this Fulani man is arm in arm with this Yoruba man? How come there is so much unity in this market? Or are these people mutants of the true Nigerian man? Or maybe these are the real Nigerians while those who do the agitation have lost touch with reality.
This is our reality; this is what the situation truly is. As much as it pains me to say, many of us, in fact all those who are going to read this note, share my same myopic view of our nation. We are filled with the politics we fail to see the human angle.
These are the masses. I dare to say that the people featured in this programme are even better informed than I am. Yes. They are on the street, they know what they want, what is lacking, while I sit in the luxury of my generator powered home, behind the screen of my Toshiba laptop and spew words about injustices and corruption. Maybe if I took a day out of my life and lived the life of a scavenger, I would sing a different tune.
‘This is where you see the unity of Nigeria in manifestation’ says Eric Obuh. No truer words have ever been spoken.I see a number of my country men have taken to bashing BBC for showing us what is in our backyard. I would rather thank BBC for opening my eyes up to seeing the truth about my country. That we have ghettos doesn’t take away from our dignity, instead, we should look to see what can be salvaged from these ghettos. This is a sore we have to clean up not cover it up with bandage and let it fester.
This documentary shows beyond the pictures. Beyond the spoken. It shows us the future of our country, not the poverty but the unity, the organisation, the camaraderie, the resourcefulness, the optimism, the vigour for life, the justice that can prevail, the honesty, the good People, the great Nation. (as posted on Sahara Reporters)
Comments posted on Sahara Reporters
Jide Salu's comments left on Sahara Reporters
AN UPDATE:
A MIGHTY thank you goes to “FLO” who left a link on where to watch the documentary online.
Just click here and kindly share your comments.
God Bless.
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Welcome to Lagos: What BBC Did Not See
LONDON, UK: NIGERIAN POLITICIAN ABDUCTED.
EMS GLOBAL NETWORK, LIVE NEWS FEED, 14 JAN, 17.54
LONDON, UK: NIGERIAN POLITICIAN ABDUCTED. A former State Governor from Nigeria has been abducted and is being held at a secret location in London. A group calling itself the African Liberation Movement (ALM) is claiming responsibility.
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Even if the pictures are real. We can solve our problems. Why should they always want to play God and make a fool out of blacks
Posting such pics is not to effect changes am sure, it is just to make some stupid idiots who wants to keep his/her job get get something to write
these guys the so called whites are the real barbarians. Every country has gotten its slum so why post just a minute part of Lagos and make it seem that is Lagos in its entirety. Its so so sad. The writer of the article should take a trip to Nigeria and have a change in orientation. Bloody scums.
Let me just add my two pence or should that be two kobo to the comments. I was born and raised in London and moved to Lagos in 2006, its 2010 and I’ve moved back to London. That’s the short version. Despite my access to the ‘creme de la creme’ of Nigerian society, I have to agree that I was shocked at the insensitivity, apathy, greed, selfishness, competition and manipulation I encountered while living in Nigeria. There are so many arrogant and ignorant wealthy individuals that have been educated abroad, there are many individuals who have travelled abroad and there are many individuals in power all part of the mix that control and ruin that country on a minute by minute basis. For every bad experience and bad person I met while living there, I also met some amazingly resilient, beautiful human beings. Unfortunately, none of the good people are in power. There may be 100,000 individuals living the high life in Lagos and Abuja but the remaining 140million live barely above the poverty line. “Welcome to Lagos” is a tongue in cheek title for the documentary, but it is as accurate as the hell that is Lagos and no one should be fooled by the people fussing about the depiction of slums that are real, that they drive past on a daily basis.
I saw this program this past weekend with a friend visiting from Chicago after he was informed of the program by a friend of his based in London.
The initial response from him was negative and with a strong defense of Lagos and a strong condemnation of the report. I however saw the report in a different light. Let’s all take a pause and see the positive aspect of the report. I will highlight my points as follows:
Firstly, no one will deny the existence of Makoko and the deplorable conditions that the people live in. I schooled at “the University of Lagos” and I am aware of the slum that we have around that great school. We all can shout and condemn the reporting, the truth is that it is an accurate depiction of what some people are facing in Lagos.
Secondly, even though I will love to see a more positive images coming out of Lagos, but when negative images are shown, it exposes the ills of the society and in particular the lack of morals of our so called-leaders. They all traveled abroad and have houses and mansions all over the world and see how a normal society is run, but their greed, lack of human pity makes them look the other way. Why should we all cry foul play against the report without first crucifying our leaders?
Thirdly, the positive light depicted by the report is the resilience on Nigerians to survive despite all odds. It showed the commitment and the resilience of the human spirit despite all shortcomings. Can you imagine the gentleman that created a fish pond, or how they reclaim part of the lagoon, or the conversion of cow blood to fertilizer? We need to applaud the ingenuity of these great Nigerians. Their actions may not have global impact, but it sure show that the commitment to survive without resulting to illegal means.
I’ve watched the series. What really is wrong with it? Nigerians don’t like to tell themselves the truth. This is a most honest and beautiful documentary and is actually an excellent educational material for Nigerians themselves – if they can really want to learn about themselves and their present circumstances rather than burying their heads in the sand. Of what benefit would it have been if the best places in Abuja are shown whereas there are countless better places all around the world, even in far less privileged African countries.
Nigeria is a beautiful place to leave
Loved it, cannot understand what the fuss is about- I’m not sure most of the people complaining have watched it
I think the cause of offense is not so much the content of the production, but the titling. Here are some titles that would have been more suitable: ‘Poverty and Resilience in Ebute Meta, Lagos’ ‘Hard to Come Up in Ebute Meta, Lagos’ ‘Hard Knock Life in Ebute Meta, Lagos’
My point is that if the title is ‘Welcome to Lagos’, you’ll have to give a representation of lower, middle, and upper income Lagos, not just the lower income folks with limited education and opportunities trying to survive. In other words, the series is far from complete and should be retitled.
On a positive note, it shows how resilient Nigerians are, in spite of the odds they face at that level of the socio-economic system.
I see positives and negatives in the said documentary.
Not sure why a lot of people think the docu was bad for Nigeria’s image. Well, that’s what’s going on in Nigeria. Of course we want more focus on the good things, the ‘snail’ pace progress we seem to be making, the architecture, the rich culture and heritage of the diverse peoples of Nigeria – yes. But then again, the good folks in the documentary are there for real and their day-today living, was captured first hand.
For the British viewing audience, good telly – matter-of-factly, great telly; another chance for some ignoramus to see a Nigerian /Lagosian as a slum dweller. Thanks BBC *sigh*.
For the Nigerian; especially those in diaspora – bad telly! The docu has shown ‘us’ up, it hasn’t done much to complement our swagger in our place of work or study, it may have dented our narcissistic nature, may have thrown a spanner in the works per our brags, might have been a tad uncomfortable to watch.
To the folks ranting and raving about it: did they ever know the locations existed? (i.e. the dumps etc). Why not commission your own documentary if you’re so up in arms about the ‘nature’ of the documentary.
Similar programmes have been made about the ‘sprawling’ and ever growing slums of Mumbai (India) , Lima (Peru) and more recently, a TV programme on Channel4 (UK) called Living (below) on the Breadline, How the Other Half Live, ‘Britains Worst’ series on Sky Channels (here you get a chance to see the so-called developed world underbelly), etc.
Truth is, the good folks in the documentary exist and that is how they live. The BBC has achieved what they’d hoped to achieve: provoke a reaction (which is why we’re all writing and talking about it), boost their viewer /audience ratings, get Nigerians thinking. Ah! The joys of reality TV (hint of sarcasm).
On the other hand however, the title of the documentary may not have been exactly apt. Perhaps a tag or title along the lines of ‘Surviving in Lagos’ Slums’ or even ‘Welcome to Lagos’ Slums’ ; might have been more appropriate rather than paint the entire state and City of Lagos as one gargantuan labyrinth of slums!
Note to self:
As recently as the 1930’s Britain had immense Slum living conditions. ‘Many large cities throughout the UK had expanded rapidly during the ‘industrial revolution’ and the Victorian era in particular. However, the Victorian housing stock was often in very poor repair, had inadequate sanitation and homes were often over-crowded. These ‘slums’ became the breeding ground for disease, crime and poverty’.
The following are comments from a review of the first episode; you just might find them interesting:
Posted by CrabNebula: (I’m presuming this person is a Brit):
“sounds like birkenhead more like – there was a doc in the early 80s about Birkenhead’s dump scavangers as if this was some indictment of ‘Facher’s Britain’ when infact loads of people went ‘rummaging’ on council skip sites and dumps (myself included). The difference between our scavving and that of the dump dwellers of Mumbai or Lagos is the scale of desperation. This kind of poverty voyeurism seems to fulfill some kind of media luvvy desire to exploit the subject matter whilst pretending to highlight inequality. ‘Something must be done-ism’ for our times whilst ignoring the structural economic imperalism that condemns millions to lives of squalor in the first place. Poor people eh? They’re sooooo happy! Maybe it’s US who’ve got it wrong!”.
Another comment by lols10:
“the highlight of the show for me was the sheer happiness and togetherness of these people, they all pulled together to prevent Eric from going to prison. For most of them , thats the only family they have. Being someone originally from lagos i never knew things like these existed. i knew it was bad, but not that bad Isaac was a happy man with his wife and children, he was content. i hope ppl will learn from this, and able bodied ppl will stop depending on hand outs from the government.
Nigeria however needs a change, the ppl in government(most people) are greedy, selfish, and think only about lining their pockets … corrupt fools!
They are forcing their own ppl to live in abject poverty!
on the bright side though, Eric’s music is on sale on itunes hopefully that will open doors for him”.
And lastly, a more recent comment from a Nigerian (from another article lengthy post but here’s the last paragraph) :
Posted by Bitey
“I refuse to have my intellect ridiculed and made a mockery of. In what city or country in the world has change manifested itself through the resilience of men and women in rubbish dumps? The vast majority of Nigerians are not in this category and it is their productivity and political reform that will uplift this sleeping giant named Nigeria. The change occurring in China, the change that occurred in Brazil or Chile is most certainly not due to resilient men in rubbish dumps and unless governments like that of Fashola continue to press for infrastructural change, men like Slender will forever wallow in poverty regardless of their diligence. Welcome to a past rubbish dump in Lagos”.
Full commentary here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/apr/30/greatest-cities-of-world-review?showallcomments=true#CommentKey:7f1fbe9f-5e89-4811-934e-c02d8ab0582f
I’m off to sing the National Anthem of Nigeria to my daughter. :)
People have to see this documentary before making any comments. I find that it is only the Nigerians amongst those i talked to about this that seem to think it was ‘rubbish’ ‘a conspiracy by the British’ More outsiders saw the value, saw the positive, saw the good out of this documentary. This, from the music that opened it, to the end, its one i can watch over and over (already watched them 5times), i laughed, i cried, i learned. Kudos to them! It is on youtube now, if you have no access to the BBC iPlayer.
@Ray – This documentary does not show a “bad” side of Nigeria – it shows how the majority of people have to work hard in terrible conditions to survive. That is a reality and just because we see how massed of people live does not make it bad. On the contrary this should a “good” aspect of Nigeria – people organising and working together in solidarity. What Nigeria do you wish to see – corrupt politicians and business people living in mansions built from exploiting people? Nigeria is not the only country where people have to live in this way so why the shame and defensiveness? As for the first comment about film makers only spending a few weeks and not “getting to know” the country. That is ridiculous. People talk as if Nigeria is so special and different to other countries. How else can you make a documentary? I felt it was balanced and I loved the characters in the film which did nothing other than present an objective view giving the people the voice to tell their stories. Nigerians should stop being so defensive and paranoid.
Couldn’t have put it better myself!
Ohh that is pretty sweeet. Thanks for sharing. Nice to see a cool site again in this industry.
–BurnList–
Why will these people, I mean this BBC not show the good parts of Nigeria? They are trying to give the world a wrong view of Nigeria, I am sure most Nigerians did not grow up in the slum. Grow Up BBC, you have done this for too long. I have lived in the UK for over 10 years and the horrors that happen here are never shown to the world. Many people get killed everyday, etc. BBC, grow up and stop painting Nigerians in a bad light. You have done enough of this over decades.
I also found it very interesting and really good when compared to the many other so-called documentaries about nigeria.
For those who are saying show the beautiful parts I say to you, it is the beautiful parts that leads to stories about the indignities of drugs and 419. as we know more nigerians leave like slender than do the abuja or lagos elite. I really like the fact that they stress on the humanity of nigerians as hardworking and positive people as opposed to the daily nigeria letter and govermnement corruption. By the way only a fool will see this documentary and think that is how the whole of nigeria looks and I wonder is that the people you want to be making documentaries for ?
How can you say do not copy when you lifted most of the content from the web?
….and ?
your point is …..?
What a distraction.
BBC, it seems, protects it’s intellectual property and catalogue of programmes so as to generate revenue from licensing fees paid for showing them elsewhere. That’s another lesson we can learn from not being able to view this much talked about documentary about Lagos in Lagos itself! I hope His Excellency’s Ministry of Information got paid for allowing filming at locations under his jurisdiction.
119. At 1:28pm on 18 Apr 2010, you wrote:
A five minute contextual overview would have been appropriate to locate the dump in the context of a city of 13 million . apart from that the documentary was fine . I think that nigerias living in the UK who are upset about the documentry should commision their own documentary that shows lagos in context Its not that hard or expensive and they can post on you tube or sell to the numerous documentary channels . I personally know Nigerian filmmakers who can do this if a fund is set up or a Nigerian documentary company formed I will contribute. There are many stories worth telling about nigeria both good and bad. The documentary did have a few flaws in the context of a developing country (eg india). Lagos is not three quaters slum but it lacks basic infrastucture (which is currently being addressed by the current Governor with a lot of opposition). The other two parts of the documentary may just address this , the marginalised people in lagos do need a voice and it was good to show this secondly Ajegunle is not the center of the music industry, I have friends who run studios and recording companies comparable to the UK and are not located in Ajegunle. On the other hand on getting to work the next day (i live and work in the UK) I had to answer questions about how I escaped the slum based on the message some of my coworkers have taken from the documentary ( its quite tiring reducating these people ). Considering my immediate family ( my siblings ) : Doctor, lawyer, Business graduate live in Lagos and are not corrupt but making a honest living .There a two extremes protrayed in the media: Corrupt politicians and 419 scammers and the marginalised slum dwellers . We as nigerians should be able articulate our message without the anger expresed in this blog, we have allowed this misconception without rejecting the pervasive faults in our country such as corruption and apathy. Dont blame the BBC most media will gravitate toward bad news this is done on a daily basis as it sells .But the vibracy and the entreprenurial spirit on display in the documetary is wholesome and to be admired it was unscripted ( obviously heavily edited or skewed in a particular direction)and had a depth which I liked. I was aware of the the dump as I spoke to the some garbage men on a visit to Lagos but who tells the legitimate stories of these people I hope this can lead to something good.
Notes: The title might have been a bit misleading, BBC could have done some graphics on its website to give perspective/ context (see google maps of lagos).
Interesting Steve. Any ideas on how to institute the fund?
Stop and see this documentary if you can. The guys who put this film together do this type of film ordinarily. We can try faulting them for that but doing so directs our (Nigerian) energies from seeing the creative business opportunities they have highlighted some of which can be improved upon. What would His Excellency give to a recycling project that provides paid work, sanitizes the city and generates revenue for the state from this megacity? There’s plenty opportunity there. That’s one side to see. I wait to see episode 2. Could the govt in Lagos also get hold of this material from the BBC?
FLO,
A HUGE thank you for blessing us with a link to the program. I have watched it and this program is absolutely splendid so far. I hope you can also upload the remaining parts 2 and 3.
I would like to complete the whole series before I make a final verdict.
These are people who have been neglected and condemned to gruesome poverty by the failure of the nigerian government.On the bright side and despite the abject hardship,they found a common voice as a common people; unified in the undying optimism that the future holds better.
I was particularly amazed by the level of organisation and good spirit with which they carry out their daily routine despite being filmed ( meaning these are civilised people who clung to their civil instincts in the most uncivil situation).I strongly hope the documentary was done in good faith as a credit to the unity, braveness,civility and enterpreneurship of these hardworking Nigerians and also hope the audience don’t just digest the ‘negatives’ of a typical day in the Naija slum.
Can someone please tell Jayz that his New york idea of a hustler is so so wrong.
‘Only if you make it in Lagos can you make it anywhere’
I am with Eric Obuh on this…
I always see the ojota dump from afar but never would have imagined that a community existed in there..
I didn’t see anything negative about the programme. infact it opened my eyes!
Here’s the online video: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4478117/welcome_to_lagos/
Flo, you are a GEM…I will let you know how it goes. THANK YOU.
Hi Flo, just tried the link as suggested, no show from my end? Is that the same for you? Thanks…..ohhhhhhhhhhhh am’ sorry, pictures suddenly appeared on my blank screen…..but damn…it will take till xmas at this rate to watch it. I guess, I will have to find a way to down load. THANKKKKK YOUUUUUU
For now you can download the file directly here: http://www.zshare.net/download/75040914f6f41e0a/
It’s a pretty big file 549mb so if your internet is slow it’ll take a while.
Still trying to figure a way to upload to a site where you can watch online so watch out for another link.
In the words of a friend on face book:”It’s surprisingly upbeat, a study of ingenuity and how people adapt to survive in places they shouldn’t really be able to function in at all. It doesn’t pretend life is brilliant for these people, but nor does it feel sorry for them. It’s more a celebration of their resourcefulness… we all probably need to learn a bit of that.”
So what if they only filmed the slums of lagos…their loss!But it definitely reflected the never say die attitude of a true Nigerian… and that is why we are the happiest people on earth…we smile in the face of adversity and out adaptivity level is way higher than the average human being…I rest my case!
Well I must admit a few weeks back when I saw the trailers on BBC2, I just thought ok but not really excited about watching it…which was a rather strange feeling for me. As anything about Nigeria usually brings me to life..LOL.
So I fell asleep yesterday and only started watching when the man who scavenges and sells copper was burning the rubber to extract the copper.Then I had a full viewing with bbc iplayer which as Jide shows above is only available in th UK. More about him later. Jide I will let you know if my friend has a fix.
I think many Nigerians might not like the fact they are showing a slum area and waste dump as it has become de facto for most western media houses to always show the worst of any African country as opposed to a balanced one. It’s only the first episode so lets wait until the series is over to see if it is balanced or not.
The program pretty much concentrates on the scavengers who make a living in the waste dump near Ajegunle. The place is a 24/7 hive of activity from waste/refuse disposal trucks to night scavengers who prefer to work at night.
There is also the arbatoir and cattle market where cattle from as far as Niger and Senegal came from. One particular Fulani guy had only beeing there for 5 or so years and originally could only speak his native tongue,but now he speaks 5 different languages including English. He sold cattle to casual buyers and to big fast food and restaurant chains like Mr Biggs ..etc
Another fellow who in my opinion was the co-star of the documentary aka “Slender” was just remarkable. Full of confidence and definitely one for the future. His dreams are to be a successful music star and he works as a scavenger to finance his music career. His speciality was rubber. This guy was amazing he spends hours in all weather conditions scavenging and then takes his shower and then gets dressed in his trendy outfits and goes straight to a recording studio and then gets his photo shoot for his album cover. He had been saving for months to finance his dream. Remember the name “Slender” I definitely will be buying his CD. His record was being played on some radio stations. More on him later and a very poignant fact about communities people like him live in, something we all and espercially WESTERN COMMUNITIES CAN LEARN FROM!!!
The guy mentioned earlier who scavenges for copper was the other co-star. He is married to a pretty woman and two lovely young daughters that one could not help but like. He told a story about his tough childhood with no mother and the disadvantages of a polygamous home.. This guy was working extra hard to be able to finance his youngest daughter’s first year birthday party. After working long hours during the day he comes back at night on a friday when most are partying after a long stressful week ( well deserved I say ) to burn the rubber insulation to be able to get the copper. He also goes on to say that many of the better off people throw away things that he can make use of. His one room he rents in Ajegunle with his wife and two kids, he said he furnished almost 100% from the dumps. This guy was very comical but hardworking and he epitomised the Nigerian attitude to having a determined spirit, always having a positive mindset and working on their dreams. He sells his copper to recycling companies.
As I stated earlier about the cattle and abatoir areas, there was another young man, an Agriculture graduate/OND holder I think. The arbatoir was amazing you will never think that every single part of a cow is valuable to someone or a business and money is made. The only thing not needed is the hair….but knowing the enterprising spirit of the average Nigerian man and woman that might not be the case in the near future. Anyway back to this young man. He said because of is Agricultural education he noticed a niche area, in that killing of cows and the wastage of the cows blood. His business was to collect the blood, then boil it, then leave it to dry then packed in huge bags and sold as feed for chickens in a poultry…fantastic!!! What was remarkable about this young man was you can see his someone that took the theory he learnt in his Agricultural science course and then turned the practicality into a business idea. For years cows blood after slaughtering was just left to wash away…
The general view was that this was a city within a city where to the naked eye it looks like chaos but nothing could be further from the truth. The guy called “Slender” was out on a night out and got into an argument with a fellow scavenger after he Slender was struck in the head with a bottle the resulting fight which broke out and Slender was not actualy fighting the guy who atacked him, others jumped on the other guy and he ended up losing one of his eyes. Slender was charged to court but the matter was eventually settled out of court. Now the workers at the Dump have their own trade unions and laws. Imagine in a vast area of scavengers each of them can have a stock pile of their trade left in a designated area and “NO ONE WILL STEAL IT”. Also when news broke about Slenders court case he was suspended from coming to the Dump pending the outcome of the case. Before the court case was settled the victims family had demanded a huge amount of money. Now this is what touched my heart. The Scavengers head of their Trade Union decided to have a whip round to help Slender and negotiated with the victim’s family to accept a significantly reduced payment. Slender was allowed back to scavenge and embarked on working hard to pay back the scavengers uinion. That I thought was simply remarkable. In a country where people can be ruthless and wicked that sense of community was a lesson to us all. This was what I meant earlier when I used the word poignant. Profoundly moving!!!!
Apologies if this was very long but balme Jide for forceably telling me to write as much….lol
Keep up the good work Jide. Naija for life!!!!!!!!!!
Believe it or not Gerard, I am still hoping I can watch this documentary past the 5 mins or so cut off mark. Is their a conspiracy somewhere ?
But hey, why do I need to worry? What a summary? I get the gist now. It will interest you to know that I have already written a rejoinder, however, I am in double minds as to when to publish or if I ought to wait till next Thursday when part 2 will be broadcast. We shall see.
Gerard, nice one. Thanks matey. A consensus is developing amongst viewers, but my personal take from the onset is yet to change still.
Jide my opionion will be go with your heart. I would have said wait until the whole series is done and then give your opinion, but you know how youhave spoilt us there will be riots on JideSalu.com blog when you dod not fed us information.
Well done FLO. Apparently my friend had sent the link but you had already go it from FLO.
I watched the program yesterday, it was very touching, i was challenged by the focus, tenacity and down to earth approach of each person focused on in the documentary, they could have embarked on any other “dark endeavor” in life but rather they have been true to themselves and shown a sense of responsibility to the ones around them to create the best world out of what they have, harnessing their resources, in respective of the mistakes and shortcomings of each individual, i give it to this guys, this actually made me value where i am now and where i aspire to be in the future. This made me appreciate the meaning of the popular saying that.. ” Life is a Journey not a short walk, they are on a journey and surely i can see these kind of people succeeding no matter what, or where ever you put them, they have a gut instinct to go for gold even when every where is a whole pile of dirt !
I’ll be posting a link where you can watch the video soon. Great blog by the way.
Flo, that will be great. Much appreciated.
I really want to see this because there is so much hoopla going on about it and I do not live in the u.k…youtube anyone?