Gardening Methods

RE: THAT BBC DOCUMENTARY ON LAGOS

Severally lots of writers have published articles on “That BBC Documentary on Lagos”, good write-ups I must say but reading through I begin to wonder if these author actually watched the three(3) part documentary as produced by Will Anderson and titled “Welcome to Lagos”. I think people who have an issue with the series need to pay closer attention to the first few sentences of the commentator which gives an indication of its goal. The goal of the series is to portray life in a megacity, not to showcase the posh parts of Lagos or the infrastructural provisions but to show where more than half of the large population of Lagos live.

The documentary is a story of poor and neglected Nigerians who have chosen hardwork and innovation over other ill-advised means. This should be an opportunity for Nigerians to reach out and work towards addressing some of the problems these men and women face, their efforts should be celebrated and I applaud the BBC for amplifying the voices of those who’ll never be able to afford to pay to feature on any  TV platforms .

I am not saying BBC should not represent the whole population but the fact is that the people who live in the nice parts of Lagos and Nigeria are in the minority. Why do we care if the rich areas are portrayed ?  Is it to put on a facade and show outsiders that we are at par with the western world? Or are we living in a bubble and do not realize that some of us only have it lucky? Lets stop deceiving ourselves, those of us who can afford to go to The Palms, Silver bird, live in Lekki and live wonderful lives are only a small sample of the whole population.  This documentary depicts Africa’s major problem: The uneven economic development in major cities.

Now lets take a good look at this documentary in contention. From the opening lines of the documentary, the reporter states ‘Despite its reputation for corruption and poverty, Lagos is not all like that you know”.  The story unfolds in parts starting from the City’s main dumpsite Olusosun which actually is a social rubbish dump. Whilst the western world are still agonizing on how to deal with the waste they produce daily, these guys called scavengers are getting on with recycling as they sell anything and everything that can be used for re-processing. Hence in this dump-site, 3,000 tons of rubbish are being filtered by hand everyday giving employment to thousands of youths. Where we see filth and rubbish, they see a source of livelihood.

As chaotic and un-organized, rough or lawless as this dumpsite might come across as , it is a well organized place where good money can be earned, with their own democratically elected chairman who maintains law and order. These are people who pride them selves on the honesty of earning a living and have decided to better their lives through sheer determination and honesty. These are indeed people to be admired.

The story moves on to Makoko, a slum built on water with over a hundred thousand people living in houses built on stilts. These are people who are already adapting to the realities of modern city life, the extreme urban  in much more successful ways than the so called developed world. The series then berths at  Ebute-metta, West Africa’s largest timber land.

I choose to disagree that this is another avenue for the western media to discredit the country. The series narrate the lives of the poor in Nigeria, the poor we refuse to see whilst whisking through town in wound-up tinted Rolls-Royce. It goes to show how smart they are, how resourceful they can be as nothing, absolutely nothing is wasted. They are a set of determined people who make money from unlikely places. They have all found ingenious ways to make money and are pursuing hard at it. Against all odds they have turned Lagos into a city of opportunities full of entrepreneurs; resourceful, energetic and extremely optimistic.

Like what most Nigerians or Lagosians wanted to see, the documentary does not mention the giant strides of our great Governor Babatunde Fashola, an astute administrator, a thoroughbred technocrat, a prudent manager of public funds, an incisive analyst and a compassionate humane officer of the first order, nor does it portray places like Victoria Garden City, beautiful estates or whatever we wish. That is not the focus of the series, our Governor is not Lagos, neither is Victoria Garden City. The real Lagos consists of people struggling day in and day out to make a living, focused and determined, not deterred by their environment or circumstances, not money launderers, robbers in whatever capacities nor those floating the internet looking for income in another persons account. Its very sad that we have missed the boat on this.

Were we choose to see indictment on Nigeria, a subject of scorn and ridicule, I see the respect of Africans , I see a group of people who some may view as third world savages, possessing the type of respect & honor for their fellow man  that builds the type of civility, organized community & good governance that seems to elude “so called” civilized people and super powers in “so called” first world nations.  I see people who are not afraid of hard work to attain their dreams and most of all I see beautiful African faces who always find a reason to smile and to be hopeful even in the worst of conditions & suffering. This is Africa, my Africa, where we can always find a way to make due as we aspire for the best, for even through garbage and dirt creativity and innovation lives.

There is nothing embarrassing to Nigeria on the BBC program. Countries all over the world have their slums. Where the stories depicted in the documentary manufactured or fictionalized events or did they reflect the reality of some lives in Lagos? If the argument is that the documentary did not present a balanced picture of life in Lagos, that would be different but even at that Episode 3 of the series should quell that or maybe we just might have preferred a different title say ‘Welcome to the other side of Lagos’? Ever watched “Booze Britain”? “Brits Banged Up Abroad”? These programs show the totally disgusting antics of some British people who should know better. And these programs are made by British programmers and broadcast on British TV. We really need to wake up, the program is a rude awakening to rulers in Nigeria that those people shown on that program are the forgotten.

Blind speculation has long been identified with laziness in the field of journalism. Hard facts, though more difficult to come by, mark the crowning jewels of every great journalist’s piece. But then we are Nigerians, are we not? And we just love rumors… The true Spirit of Lagos is one of determination, resilience and survival and that is what “Welcome to Lagos” portrays. Episode three (3) which I find more interesting, will be the topic for  another day.

About the Author

I am a Public Relationship Executive, who loves writing on varying topics from communications to relationships.

Flora pro.activ at BBC Gardeners’ World Live