^^ Well that is another issue. Leave government officials aside for now the question is what are YOU doing to help the poor?

it worth protsesting againt do these people ever try 2 paint de good image of niga.dey no get plenty ghetto

'The best revenge is success'
Are there no such places(as portrayed by the BBC documentary) in our country? I think we should begin to tidy our closets and improve the means of livelihood for average Nigerian citizens. Maybe we should start with making democracy truly the government of the people by the people for the people. We are meant to be sober&reflective and make up our minds to be proactive not reactive after watching such documentary. Why should there be such social inequality and injustice in the first place?  

No doubt, Lagos had experienced a massive improvement in few years of Fashola's government. Why don't we sponsor programs to portray such development on international media.Let us brace up to the challenge and watch if the same BBC that revealed our slum wouldn't propagate our success,

Nigeria, Good people; Great nation!

Meldrick:

Of course Fashola is just too busy for self praises. The time he will waste in doing that , he invests in making Lagos the place to be.

And even the common man in Lagos understands the form journalism has taken. Even the common man understands all attempt made by the international media, government of foreign nations like Britain and (internal collaborators like urself) in playing down countries like Nigeria using all propagandist means just to stay afloat in international scene.
But if indeed they had a clear intention, they should have met the chief executive of the state and had a fair comparison on the development and transformation taken place in Lagos with previous years.

You see the problem with people like you is that you sit over there casting aspersions, worshipping the Britons and ready to recieve anything from them just to appear on TV and play down your country. Then with people like you, there is a conclusion - (public opinin)

Meldrick you don't speak for the common man on the street.

Here is what one wrote on the BBC Blog.

187. At 00:35am on 27 Apr 2010, oudeaf wrote:
Largely through good fortune, I have escaped from the slums and I say to you Nigerians who believe that the lives of slum dwellers portrays your Nigeria negatively, HOW DARE YOU? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? You think the pathetic parody of Western culture that you live out is a more positive image than mine? You think you impress your British landlords with your affected accent and "Britishness"? Is that why you tell your British colleagues that you're a prince? I can't believe this degree of delusional egotism. So we from the slums embarrass you? I don't begrudge you that emotion, but that you're brazen enough to declare in public that my life is a negative reflection on you? HOW DARE YOU?!

When my kids are old enough to understand, they'll watch these documentaries not to see how far I've come or how hard life can be, but to see the human values that I want them to imbibe. Determination. Resourcefulness. Humility. Personal responsibility. Rejection of self pity. Appreciation for life. Introspection. Love. All in the face of extreme adversity. The irony is that if you moved to the UK from Nigeria as an adult, it is likely that these same qualities that you've tragically failed to see in the documentary are what got you there.

Say whatever you want about the BBC, racists, colonialism, etc but saying that the honest struggles of a man is a negative portrayal of you or your country is a despicable ,  and if that struggling man is/was me, what I think of you is unprintable here

And your response is?

Again this documentary was not supposed to be a political showcase for Nigeria. If Nigeria want that then they are more than capable of doing so themselves without the help of the BBC. Case in point the BBC decided to make a documentary which showcased the hard working resourceful men and women of Nigeria and in particular Lagos. These people gracefully allowed us into their lives and livelihoods and for that I am grateful. As the Financial Times said, these people are Nigeria's greatest assets and I hope people like you and the Nigerian government realise that soon.
Had such a program been shot anywhere else like in Britain for instance these people would have become instance celebrities by now but of course as it is the majority of Nigerians are ashamed. Ironically these are the same Nigerians who will praise crooks like Ibori who bleed their society dry.

Tensor, since when has it become anything but philanthropy to "help the poor"? And how, brother, can we equate this with providing social services? I say let the government do their jobs and stop all this alibaba stuffs going on with aplom in the land. Afterall the people of the BBC did a whole lot in the 18th and 19th century to eradicate the all those cesspits that were once notorioulsy responsible for all the contagious diseases all around the areas bothering the thames! I still maintain that the title was very apt!

NVQ2:

It is a well known fact that foreingn media has done nothing but to project the negativities of African nation and underminning their achievements.The documentary presented facts but it is not balanced as there is also the positive side of Lagos and the characters dont represent what Lagos is.
I believe it behove us Nigerians albeit Africans as well to always let us know what goes on in those Western worlds as well.All I keep reading is there are slums in New york,there are slums in London or elsewhere but we have international journalists and satellite TVs run by Nigerians and we never see them making documentaries about these ghettos and slums,these killings and lack of securities going on there,do we! all ewe see and hear is about the good life.Dont blame a broadcaster who reported according to his own pespectives .we too can be setting the record straight by making and documenting that no country is different,there is always both sides everywhere.

Advice: Change your primary news source then.

redsun:

The greatest problem of most nigerian inhabitants is that they don't know what their problems are,they got so use to filth,lack,squalor and moral decadence to the point that it becomes normal to them,even the government thinks they are best in the world

They should hide their faces in shame and rethink their human status,even rabbits and moles in their subterranean world are more cleaner,systematic and organized.

SPOT ON. We are getting so used to our filth and squalor its tragic.

Self denial is a peculiar trait in Nigerians. BBC does documentaries for all countries and they report both good and bad. Months ago i watched a clip where they showed job seekers begging to be employed for a wage of less than $2 per day in China. Did the chinese govt fuss about it? NO! Instead they focused on improving the lives of their people. Here in nigeria, we fuss,rant, throw ourselves down on the ground and spread our legs wide like mad women. Instead of tackling the issue, we resort to sentiments. Was the report real or fake? Can anyone here say its false news? Make una dey decieve una selves. Isnt it shameful that outsiders smelt the sh.it in our toilet and were forced to tell us to flush? The thinking pattern of most nigerians gives me the shivers. And the wonder why the country remains backward!

Princek12:

I do not have any problem with the documentary, for I believe that it benefits the country when the plight of the impoverished in Lagos or in Nigeria are shown to the world.  What I have a problem with, however, is the title of the documentary--Welcome to Lagos--for it is very misleading. An unfamiliar person may conclude that it represents the entire Lagos. Since BBC titled the documentary "Welcome to Lagos," BBC should have produced a documentary that represents the entire inhabitants and houses in Lagos, both of which will be a fair and accurate representation of the impoverished side as well as the hustle and  the wealthy side, all in the interest of fairness and accuracy.

Moreso, if BBC wanted to focus their documentary on the slums and on the plight of the impoverished in Lagos, they should have titled their documentary 'Welcome to the slums or scavengers of Lagos."  The title of the documentary is not fairly traceable to its contents and is, therefore, entirely misleading. It could also be viewed as a willful attempt by BBC to denigrate the image of Lagos.

Overall, the title of the documentary is entirely misleading, especially to persons unfamiliar with Lagos. BBC should be ashamed of itself for such misrepresentation. If BBC wanted to show the scavengers and slums of Lagos, then the appropriate title should not have been "Welcome to Lagos," for Lagos has several other inhabitants, many of whom are neither scavengers nor reside in slums.

Insightful post. There is actually nothing wrong with the BBC or any other ubiquitous overweening Western media organisation showcasing the lives of the downtrodden, but they should not use misleading headlines.
Of course a lot of bitter disgruntled elements here, perhaps with a political axe to grind with the powers that be, would see it differently.

The title of the documentary is misleading.
Welcome to Lagos shoulda shown everything about Lagos - not only the slum areas.

good morning nigeria, you've finally woken up from your slumber.  keep the protest up, and you will achieve something in due time. silly bbc, they should first remove the logs in their own eyes before they see clearly to remove the wood in another's

for some of you who thinks the title is appropriate and it is good to show Lagos as only a conglomerate of SLUMS read bellow

i was once asked by an ADULT Briton this question

DO NIGERIA HAVE ROADS, IS THERE STREET LIGHTS IN NIGERIA, DO YOU HAVE CARS THAT RUN ON ROADS, ARE THE HOUSE FAR FROM ONE ANOTHER IN A FOREST,

i almost answered that we live on trees, and all the appliances been sent to Nigeria are used on trees, such a dumb question from a married adult, but it is not his fault he is ignorant because all the information fed him by his country is that nigeria is a jungle

ON CNN Every nation try to showcase its beautifull side but why will the international media always show Our bad Side

The documentary by the BBC is a brilliant even though they should mind their own business because not all lagosians live in the heaps of refuse and places like makoko

Well, thats the truth about the matter, let the bbc even show more, let them come to ghetto's like Ikotun, aj city, ayobo and what are few, after all they are our colonial masters, let them show the world how corruption has really affected developmental projects in our country, probably with that our leaders will learn, tanx bbc. good work.

EloSela:

Meldrick you don't speak for the common man on the street.

Here is what one wrote on the BBC Blog.

And your response is?

My response is that BBC will do anything to get what they want. They will go as far as paying unpatriotic Nigerians to denounce their country. You fail to realize Nigeria is a third world nation and don't expect miracles so soon. The challenges we face in our nation are peculiar with third world countries and gradually we will triump but the truth is we have slupms in UK but BBC will promote the good job done by it's government and do everything to pull down developing nations. This is the trick of Globalisation.

harakiri:

Self denial is a peculiar trait in Nigerians. BBC does documentaries for all countries and they report both good and bad. Months ago i watched a clip where they showed job seekers begging to be employed for a wage of less than $2 per day in China. Did the chinese govt fuss about it? NO!

They didn't fuss about it but does that mean it is right or the best approach? The Chinese did not fuss about it doesn't mean it is the best approach to issues of sort. We must reject it outrightly.

tinventor:

for some of you who thinks the title is appropriate and it is good to show Lagos as only a conglomerate of SLUMS read bellow

i was once asked by an ADULT Briton this question

DO NIGERIA HAVE ROADS, IS THERE STREET LIGHTS IN NIGERIA, DO YOU HAVE CARS THAT RUN ON ROADS, ARE THE HOUSE FAR FROM ONE ANOTHER IN A FOREST,

i almost answered that we live on trees, and all the appliances been sent to Nigeria are used on trees, such a dumb question from a married adult, but it is not his fault he is ignorant because all the information fed him by his country is that nigeria is a jungle

ON CNN Every nation try to showcase its beautifull side but why will the international media always show Our bad Side

Please. Only an Idiot would take the words of a fellow Idiot as indicative of the perspective of millions of people worldwide who watched the program
Do you think all the Non Nigerians were not aware that it was other well off Nigerians providing rubbish to the dump in Ojota?
Do you think all the non-Nigerians who watched the program thought that it was foreigners driving in cars on the 'magnificent' third mainland bridge?
Do you think all the non-Nigerians who watched the program thought that third mainland bridge and the Lagos skyline they showed was part of another city?
Do you think all the non-Nigerians who watched the program misunderstood when the narrator clearly said at the start of the program "This is not certainly the best part of Lagos" .  .  .  .?

Meldrick:

My response is that BBC will do anything to get what they want. They will go as far as paying unpatriotic Nigerians to denounce their country. You fail to realize Nigeria is a third world nation and don't expect miracles so soon. The challenges we face in our nation are peculiar with third world countries and gradually we will triump but the truth is we have slupms in UK but BBC will promote the good job done by it's government and do everything to pull down developing nations. This is the trick of Globalisation.

They didn't fuss about it but does that mean it is right or the best approach? The Chinese did not fuss about it doesn't mean it is the best approach to issues of sort. We must reject it outrightly.

So you are saying that the BBC paid that individual to write that response?

Honestly speaking though I think you should speak for yourself. You are of course entitled to your opinion about this been nothing but a ploy by the BBC to bring down Nigeria. I on the other hand found the program uplifting and insightful. For once Nigeria was portrayed as a country full of resourceful, hardworking, optimistic and ambitious people instead of fraudsters, scammers and crooked politicians.

Its ok. All this comments haven't changed d slum, or  the damning documentary or the corrupt politicians,instead of arguing over this, let's b more practical and do our best for this country. CHEERS

Veru very entertaining and educative as well, we all watched Oil and Blood if you haven't try as much as possible well this is Lagos tho. The BBC presentation to me(personally) wouldn't really appreciate it but it still speaks volume of the rot that is been perpetrated in Nigeria, the Nation has more than enough to go round but some SILLY FAT HAG of RAGS are sitting on it and Siphoning into their own person purse. the case of 2.3 Trillion Naira Nigerians money stolen by OBJ is something, evidence enough that corruption really run in the country.

America has SLUMS too so BBC HISS they can Kiss my @ss all i care, and why is Nigeria on their Outlook
BBc can go and F**ck themselve .
BU** Poo



1 Luv my 9ja ppl.

Normally I always site the BBc''s imperialist news format but in this instance, This documentary was excellent and and eye opener even for the average Nigerian who lives in Sokoto state as to the harsh realities of the city of Lagos.

In regards people who are complaining that the BBC's portrayal is negative and creates stereotypes. I say to the people who will percieve lagos and Nigeria as a whole based on this documentary should be labeled S.T.U.P.I.D, why because in this day and age with information streaming out in every direction via youtube and the internet it is easy for one to surf  and acquire substantial knowledge about a country as a whole.

If someone chooses in this day and age to ask you a question like is the whole of lagos like that? or do they have Street lights in Nigeria? You should either ignore that indivdual as somewhat of a DAFT or SLAP THEM RIGHT ACROSS THE FACE FOR BEIND SO S.T.U.P.I.D

phoenixsta:

America has SLUMS too so BBC HISS they can Kiss my @ss all i care, and why is Nigeria on their Outlook
BBc can go and F**ck themselve .
BU** Poo

1 Luv my 9ja ppl.

Ok . . . . WHat slums in America or in Britain compare to what you see in Lagos. Please, make sure to come back with some sensible response or even an image and not more silly yap.


I already said it in my very first response. ONLY IDIOTS will assume, after seeing this very documentary that ALL of Lagos looks like Makoko or Joseph's abode. The Narrator made it clear that it is not the case. Even the video shows the Highrise buildings before zooming in to the slum not far from it all.

lets open our eyes well.

Did bbc show ghana, joburg or dakar? No it was lagos. The ducumentary praised the fighting spirit of the average nigerian and complimented our resourcefulness. After watching episode one. I felt proud.

If FG is not happy, they should develop every where and make sure such places do not exist, so there will be nowhere to film such.

I am even planning my own docu which i'll send to a foriegn media to air.

I agree, the title is a bit misleading. It should be welcome to lagos slums, so pple will know there are decent places in the city.

Fashola is doing great in my opinion. This rubs off badly on him, but hey, lagos still has lots of slums.

Kobojunkie:

Ok . . . . WHat slums in America or in Britain compare to what you see in Lagos. Please, make sure to come back with some sensible response or even an image and not more silly yap.


I already said it in my very first response. ONLY IDIOTS will assume, after seeing this very documentary that ALL of Lagos looks like Makoko or Joseph's abode. The Narrator made it clear that it is not the case. Even the video shows the Highrise buildings before zooming in to the slum not far from it all.

Are you still replying these people?They will deny the truth to the bitter end.BBC reports both good and bad.If there is good in Nigeria, they will show it.If there is bad, they will report it.Look at how they are ranting and ranting as if they pictures and videos were photo shopped.Are they not REAL? Self denial is a mind crippling disease indeed. This should be a good motive to improve the settings of the country but even the citizens would rather deny the truth.And we wonder why the govt doesn't care about the masses.How can they care when even the citizens that should be agitating for change only do so behind close doors.Do you know how many political office holders browse through this forum? It's from idiotic postings like these self denying boomboclats that makes them feel that Nigerians are doing alright.

End of!

harakiri:

Are you still replying these people?They will deny the truth to the bitter end.BBC reports both good and bad.If there is good in Nigeria, they will show it.If there is bad, they will report it.Look at how they are ranting and ranting as if they pictures and videos were photo shopped.Are they not REAL? Self denial is a mind crippling disease indeed. This should be a good motive to improve the settings of the country but even the citizens would rather deny the truth.And we wonder why the govt doesn't care about the masses.How can they care when even the citizens that should be agitating for change only do so behind close doors.Do you know how many political office holders browse through this forum? It's from idiotic postings like these self denying boomboclats that makes them feel that Nigerians are doing alright.

End of!

I'd like to see some links of the good stuff BBC has reported about Nigeria?

dasa:

lets open our eyes well.

Did bbc show ghana, joburg or dakar? No it was lagos. The ducumentary praised the fighting spirit of the average nigerian and complimented our resourcefulness. After watching episode one. I felt proud.

If FG is not happy, they should develop every where and make sure such places do not exist, so there will be nowhere to film such.

I am even planning my own docu which i'll send to a foriegn media to air.

I agree, the title is a bit misleading. It should be welcome to lagos slums, so pple will know there are decent places in the city.

Fashola is doing great in my opinion. This rubs off badly on him, but hey, lagos still has lots of slums.

A lot of people are with you on this. The documentary was excellent, and showed us lives of true Nigerians.

But unfortunately, there are many people that think the title was appropriate because the BBC people get better brains or are superior to Nigerians.

one has to be honest here,who are those people that mostly live in the post areas of lagos,how many people got the kind of penson tinubu is getting,or how many people own banks.The title is apt,what was protrayed was lagos.Maybe if our leaders didnt steal ,maybe if they focused on Nigeria and the people.Maybe places like ajegunle,makoko,ijora badia,parts of aguds,ijesha and many other terrible places in lagos would not exist.There are too many slums in lagos and lets not deny that.
I know fashola is trying,but concentrating on a few nice areas is not going to solve the problem,the poor need help,our schools need help and our health service needs help.Job creation and electricity seem to have been ignored.
The BBC program was very humbling,but 'THIS IS LAGOS' dont lets deceive ourselves.,even Ross Kemp's short documentary was hard to swallow.that place looks terrible.
Take a look at the nigerian budget,we spend more on the salaries of some lawmakers than we do on health,we spend more on abuja than we do on education.What type of thinking is that.so rather than protest to the BBC we should be protesting to our own government.
where is not affected in lagos,or would we be happy if they showed lagos airport,or lagos airport road.
Development is not just about planting flowers or installing some fake solar powered street lamps.Real development is about long lasting projects that have a lasting impact on the people.Now the government is demolishing the slums of ebute metta.That is our typical answer.where are these people going to live,

@ kobojunkie

in 2002 while trying to attend a nigerian wedding in milwaukee,an accident happened on the freeway that made it totally impassable.i was with my uncle[a doctor] and his kids and the only options were to either go back to his house or pass through the inner city and make it to the wedding.

what i saw ,no documentary could prepare me for it.it was so heart rendering that my little cousins about 12 and 14 then burst into uncontrollable wailing.that wasn't the worst i had seen life,at least i went to boarding school in a federal government college,and we decongested our digestive systems via a pit latrine with flies the size of crickets constantly buzzing,and once nepa struck we were destined to match sh.it

i had lived in london for a bit and i felt brixton,hackney or peckham were the worst u could see in the west,but that day i saw hell in milwaukee.3 years before katrina,it felt like a hurricane had swept through the city and 7 years before the meltdown it felt like half the properties were being foreclosed.the poverty was palpable and i could almost swear i was dreaming,how could this be america?i would never forget how several buildings had planks across empty windows that had no panes,it looked like hitler's army had just plundered the entire town and there were no cornershops,macdonalds or a seven eleven,it was unbelievable especially cos my cousins were born in that city and had lived there all their lives but being kids of an md,they lived on the nice part of town.


to cut the long story,there is a slum in every city.the people that built dubai's amazing skyline live in very well documented slums.the london underground smells awful on fridays and so does the one in paris.i got into a lift in walthamstow once and the guy that left before i got in had emptied his entire bladder.it was like 10 gallons of urine.abeggggggg the documentary was on point jooooooo.

Hi folks,
May i express my gratitude to all of you for taking the time to express your vies on the topics in this forrum.
That said may i also appeal to you to keep down or if i have my way complete drop personal attacks, rude, foul, offensive languages?I believe that we are desperate for change and change of the type Obama said has come to America during his swearing in ceremony.
I do not personally think that anyone would take us seriously if they see the level of the expletives in some of our comments or personal attacks on one another. That type of language or behaviour can only but reassure people that they can divided and rule us because we do not love or respect one another. Love for us from others can only be achieved if we show love and respect for one another. there is a job to be done with shell and BP stealing our oil and using and abusing us. United we can do this job and disunited and verbally violent to one another we are, they will win and we will continue to fail. Think about this deeply and lest shake on it think together for the future of our country. YES WE CAN! I love you all.

well said papillo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

morpheus24:

I'd like to see some links of the good stuff BBC has reported about Nigeria?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/onyourstreet/thestreet/nigeria/  (Around the Nigerian home)


[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/tkbn4mY6U0s[/flash]

[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/DGv4WtaQiqs[/flash]

[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/hY_0lVKPxSs&feature=player_embedded[/flash]

[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/oejBAX6g8_s[/flash]

[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/bU9-gkpcVmU[/flash]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8575375.stm (reclaiming land)

[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/R8TfYW4lzR8[/flash]

[flash=400,345]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/smh5ncwkHNI&feature=related[/flash]

Nneka's too cute. She's so down-to-earth.

Na wa

Posted by: kushe
Insert Quote
@ kobojunkie

in 2002 while trying to attend a nigerian wedding in milwaukee,an accident happened on the freeway that made it totally impassable.i was with my uncle[a doctor] and his kids and the only options were to either go back to his house or pass through the inner city and make it to the wedding.

what i saw ,no documentary could prepare me for it.it was so heart rendering that my little cousins about 12 and 14 then burst into uncontrollable wailing.that wasn't the worst i had seen life,at least i went to boarding school in a federal government college,and we decongested our digestive systems via a pit latrine with flies the size of crickets constantly buzzing,and once nepa struck we were destined to match sh.it

i had lived in london for a bit and i felt brixton,hackney or peckham were the worst u could see in the west,but that day i saw hell in milwaukee.3 years before katrina,it felt like a hurricane had swept through the city and 7 years before the meltdown it felt like half the properties were being foreclosed.the poverty was palpable and i could almost swear i was dreaming,how could this be america?i would never forget how several buildings had planks across empty windows that had no panes,it looked like hitler's army had just plundered the entire town and there were no cornershops,macdonalds or a seven eleven,it was unbelievable especially cos my cousins were born in that city and had lived there all their lives but being kids of an md,they lived on the nice part of town.


to cut the long story,there is a slum in every city.the people that built dubai's amazing skyline live in very well documented slums.the london underground smells awful on fridays and so does the one in paris.i got into a lift in walthamstow once and the guy that left before i got in had emptied his entire bladder.it was like 10 gallons of urine.abeggggggg the documentary was on point jooooooo.

Dude, read the question posed, and then come back with something HONEST AND STRAIGHT TO POINT On this. What slums in the US or UK compare to what you have in Lagos today? Simple question . . . . Please do not add Haiti disaster photos to your list of comparisons there, cause I get the feeling you are trying to use disaster pictures in here, I don't know why.