Hello Everyone. I hope you are all having a wonderful day? I have just had a very busy day but thank God I survived and it is Friday!!!! Yea bring on the weekend!!!! Did any of you watch "Welcome to Lagos" in BBC? I just love the programme. In the beginning, I was a bit sceptical on what the programme's intentions were but after watching it all, I just had to clap for all the participants that took part in the programme. I had to go to the BBC site just to have a look at what people are saying about the programme. Wow!!!! There were some angry Nigerians not happy about BBC showing the slums of Lagos. I get the point some people make when they state that Western television never shows any positive side of Africa. But, may I say that this programme brought out all that is great and positive about Nigerians. If you look past the poverty, the lives of these individuals told a story of courage, hope, and survival in the face of hopelessness. I say this because I was touched by the lives of the people that took part in the programme.
So by some Nigerians saying that BBC should not have covered the slums of Lagos is just outrageous. I think it is an insult to those brave men and women who live everyday in the slums and I feel such denial is denying these great people a chance for the world to see such courageous spirit. I was so proud of their hard work, their determination not to be beaten by life, a government that simply did not care if they lived or died. I hope the government officials watched this programme and if they did, they should hang their heads in shame. How can you live when your own brother is living such a deplorable life? Only in Africa will you see a government official unashamedly exhibiting ill gotten wealth.
Back to the point that I was making. Why are some people not happy that such courageous people were used for this programme? Are we denying that these places do not exist in Nigeria? I believe that Will Anderson did a fantastic job in showing what resilient and hardworking people Nigerians are irrespective of the fact that majority of the population live in abject poverty. In the face of abject poverty, the people still love life, live life to the fullest and are still very happy people. It shows that we are built of tougher stuff and not all succumbing to life of crime and hoplessness. l believe the programme brought out more positivity in our character than if it focused on the wealthy side of Lagos and showed us as people of no character.
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