Welcome To Lagos - Scribd

Re: Welcome to Lagos (Nigeria The country
where talents rise from dumps)

By Obinna C.D. Anejionu
Figure1: Olusosun refuse dumpsite
The flurry of criticism and attack that has trailed the recent BBC
documentary about Lagos titled Welcome to Lagos has raised a whole lot
of dust, culminating in the petitioning of the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) by the Federal Government of Nigeria through its High
Commissioner in the United Kingdom, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida (Punch
Newspaper, 22/04/10).
The documentary, which mainly showed vivid images and footages of

young Nigerians eking out a living from Olusosun, a refuse dumpsite in a
suburb of Lagos, the commercial centre of the country, was highly
publicised through the different BBC TV stations in the UK prior to the
airing. The hype that attended the documentary drew the attention of not
only Nigerians but people from other parts of the world. By the end of the
first episode, the little cloak of dignity that many Nigerians especially
those in Diaspora had on was brusquely taken off their shoulders. Their
grief being that such highlights further misrepresent the average Nigerian
to the world that has been made to believe that nothing good comes from
Nigeria. Although the documentary went a long way in thrashing the pride
of Nigerians, it is actually a sad reflection of what the oil-rich nation has
been turned into, by her reckless rulers. A country where the government
has so far failed to deliver even basic amenities to majority of the
citizenry, thereby consigning them to such conditions, as in Olusosun
could as well go for a slum. Not too long ago, the entire world was treated
to the melodrama at Aso Rock the seat of power, when the country was
moving like a ship without rudder, exposing the near-comatose state the
country was in!
That the documentary was not balanced is not questionable, and that
leaves no one in doubt of the motive behind the documentary by BBC. But
what do you expect when a country leaves its fate at the mercy of foreign
media? What stopped the Federal Government from building NTA and
Radio Nigeria to BBC/CNN standard since their inceptions? Is it because
we do not have the talents or there is a dearth of resources? Your guess is
as good as mine, as we all know where the problem lies. Albeit,
rebranding ought to have started from there.
Naturally, every patriotic Nigerian should be concerned and squirm in

embarrassment when his/her country is being portrayed in bad light. But
searching deep in our hearts, one would ask: Do such sites shown in the
documentary exist in Nigeria or were they stage-managed? If the answer
is yes, why then is our political class shouting wolf? Are they denying the
fact that the successive governments have not inundated the nation with
poverty to the level that some of her citizens scrounge for a living in
slums? Are they unaware of the effects of the greed, ineptitude, and bad
governance by successive governments on the citizenry? Are they
therefore surprised at the level of poverty in Nigeria? Most homes in
Nigeria could as well go for a slum without the basic amenities. It is
worthy of note that the Federal Government by her statement through the
High Commissioner The Nigeria High Commission has watched with
dismay and disappointment, the first of the three-part series of your
sinister documentary on Lagos which featured on April 15. The
commission would therefore like to register its strong rejection of this
documentary as a deliberate distortion of life in Lagos, and totally
unwarranted is finding it difficult to deny the existence of such sites in
the Nigerian landscape.
Figure 2: Makoko
This despicable state of affairs will be more evident to a first time visitor
to the country, or even Nigerians returning to the country from a long trip
outside the country; which is why I am usually baffled that our political
class, who have found a viable hobby in frequent overseas trips do come
back to see the common masses wallowing in such horrid conditions and
still remain adamant in providing the necessary amenities and succour.
One would have expected them to replicate in their localities what they
see overseas during their numerous trips.
There is no doubt that the horrendous images shown in the first two
episodes of the three part documentary have pricked the conscience of
the political class in the country, but whether or not it would bring a
positive change remained to be seen. Whereas there has been mixed
reactions trailing the documentary, as many Nigerians have continued to
express outrage, while others felt it serves the nations corrupt leaders
right, the Federal Government had taken the stance to totally condemn
the documentary. However, one would expect the FG to slam a libel suit
on the BBC for importing such sites from neighbouring Benin Republic, in
order to undermine the Several-Points Agenda of the government aimed
at alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians. Alas! They dare not do such!!
What the world saw was true reflection of what exist in many parts of the
country. The slum was just the tip of the iceberg of what the reckless and
inhumane actions of the successive governments have done to the
citizens of the nation. Most Nigerians live in abject squalor: no shelter, no
food, no water, no electricity, and no job!
Nigeria had been turned into a nation where the citizens are made to fend
for themselves in every aspect of their lives. They provide shelter for
themselves; provide power, water, food, good roads etc. In a country
where civil servants beg to be paid, and pensioners leap for joy when they
get their gratuities five years after being retired, one can only wonder
what the fate of the unemployed would be. Had the government provided
for the unemployed, those youths seen in the controversial documentary,
would not have found solace in such despicable conditions as in the
Olusosun rubbish dump.
Of course nothing else is expected in a country, where the successive

government functionaries have squandered common resources: looted
the treasury, stashed stolen public funds in foreign banks, bought billions
of dollar worth of properties in choice areas of the world, and built
industries outside the shores of the country (lacking in industries). The
imbalance caused by these have led to the present situation where
majority of Nigerians flounder in abject poverty, while the privileged few
swim in wealth and hold the entire nation to ransom.
Maybe the Federal Government would have preferred the BBC to focus
their searchlights on the lavish lifestyles of our politicians and leaders,
who have perfected their skills in the raping of the country at the expense
of the poor masses that pay with their blood and souls. I do fervently
hope that our so-called leaders will learn from the international
embarrassment this documentary has caused the country. A leader is
ultimately judged not by personal acquisition but by what he is able to do
for his people and country (the wellbeing of the people under his care).
It would have made more sense and beneficial to the country, if the anger
of Nigerians regarding the documentary were directed towards the
Federal Government that has mid-wifed the existence of such awful places
and conditions of life in the country, instead of the BBC, whose only crime
was showing how things are in some parts of Nigeria in situ. I had
expected that the outrage of my countrymen would have been focused on
our so-called leaders past and present who have collectively brought
the country to its knees. My major grouse with the documentary is the
caption Welcome to Lagos which more or less implies that the
documentary portrayed every aspect of Lagos. But had they chosen the
title Welcome to another side of Lagos I am certain that most of my
countrymen would have little complaint about the negative portrayal and
BBCs bias. Lagos being a prominent city in Nigeria has places for the
superrich, the middleclass, and the abject poor the subject of the BBC
documentary. It is however unfortunate that Lagos State was chosen for
this documentary at this time when the present government of the state
is making efforts to reverse past neglect. I would have preferred other
states, where there is little or no presence of governance.
Come to think of it, has it occurred to the Federal Government that if

every sector of the economy had been working accordingly, there would
have been nothing to worry about negative portrayal from BBC and
whosever, as there would be nothing negative to portray? If our dear NTA
was like BBC, the country would have been capable of showcasing her
better sides to the world. But its even hard to find Nigerians who still
rely on this communication outfit to get the basic news about the country,
as it has lost its credibility you can verify this directly from Mr. President.
The FG has only succeeded in transforming it into the mouthpiece and
propaganda organ of the different regimes that have continued to
emasculate the poor masses.
My candid advice to the FG is for it to do all it can to eradicate such

embarrassing spots from the country, instead of chasing the shadow as
they are currently doing with the petition against BBC. The documentary
should serve as a wake-up call to the present government of Nigeria to
take urgent steps towards ameliorating the harsh economic conditions in
the country. We have the resources to turn things around if the
government so desires. The three-tiers of government should pay
attention to infrastructural development, job creation and security.
However, despite the wide condemnation the documentary has so far

received, the documentary ironically highlighted the basic fabrics of an
average Nigerian. It portrayed the hardworking, innovative, energetic,
determined, focused, and self sustaining streak that have kept most
Nigerians alive and going, amidst the harsh economic conditions they
have been subjected to. The happiness exuding from the inhabitants of
the dump, the brotherliness, and resilience among the people as depicted
in the documentary, out-towers those found among their contemporaries
in most parts of the world, who literally have it all. One would find it
difficult not to compare such happiness and self-content from the
youngsters in the dumpsites to their counterparts in the developed
nations, who only find such happiness under the influence of drugs and
alcohol.
The exhilaration, creativity, and determination of Vocal Slander (one of

youngsters at the dumpsite) to succeed and develop his musical talent as
shown in the documentary, epitomises the determination and resilience
that back-bones the life of an average Nigerian youth, who despite all
odds, still struggle to position himself among his contemporaries in the
world. So many talents have risen from the Nigerian slum to become stars
in various spheres of life. This aspect of the documentary should at least
help Nigerians to once again pick up a bigger cloak of pride and dignity.
Obinna Anejionu is the author of the new blockbuster Last Oda

An expos of the dangerous activities of fraternities in Nigerian
Universities.
http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/LastOda.html
http://www.lastoda.blogspot.com

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Re: Welcome to Lagos (Nigeria The country

where talents rise from dumps)

Figure1: Olusosun refuse dumpsite

The documentary, which mainly showed vivid images and footages of

Naturally, every patriotic Nigerian should be concerned and squirm in

Of course nothing else is expected in a country, where the successive

Come to think of it, has it occurred to the Federal Government that if

My candid advice to the FG is for it to do all it can to eradicate such

However, despite the wide condemnation the documentary has so far

The exhilaration, creativity, and determination of Vocal Slander (one of

Obinna Anejionu is the author of the new blockbuster Last Oda

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