Below is the final part of the 3 part BBC documentary 'Welcome To Lagos'.
Part 1 is available here.
Part 2 is available here.
Now, that you have seen the conclusion of the series, how do you feel? The Nigerian government issued a reaction via it's Ambassador to the U.K. who asserted that the program was far from fair and balanced in that it claimed to be showing Lagos but only showed a part. Friend and loyal reader, Dee, has offered to write her opinion about the series which is to come shortly.
WATCH BBC'S 'WELCOME TO LAGOS' PART 3 (VIDEO)
Friday, April 30, 2010
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17 Curiosities. Add Yours.:
Thanks for sharing this video. I think of all the people, Esther is my favorite. I wish them all the best. As for the documentary, however good or misguided it is, the BBC has done their bit, the rest is left to us.
It is very very balanced.
Part 3 especially showed the rest of Lagos. I love this documentary!
I choose not to focus on what the motives of the BBC may have been/are.
I loved this episode especially.
Esther is such a strong, ambitious, chatty, real life Lagosian.
Since we don't tell our stories ourselves, the world has chosen to tell some parts of our story and now we cry.
It may not be balanced, but they didn't make this up.
It may not be the reality of ALL of Lagos, but it is these peoples reality.
Esther is a beautiful strong woman and in that I don't think she is unusual - though her support of Chelsea placed her in the opposing camp. What I loved about the series were the characters who laid to rest some of the horrible negative stereotyping of Lagos's working people. I also appreciated the fact that the marginalised voices got to speak about their lives and loves and the film exposed the forced removals of poor people and worse without providing them with alternative shelter and work - the loose their homes they loose their livelihoods. What I didnt like was the sometimes glib patronizing commentary.
Balance? It was a programme on the "slums" of Lagos and in that it was balanced. There is nothing to stop the BBC or any Nigerian for that matter in making another documentary which looks at the diversity of Lagos exposing the gap between the rich and poor and the growing middle classes - where are they in the equation? Certainly not in solidarity with the poor!
The programme was actually filmed by a company called Keo Film(hope I got the name right) and I can tell you that they do have at least one NIGERIAN on their payroll.
I always listen and watch and as far as I heard and saw the programme never said that were showing the whole of Lagos, right from the first series they made it clear they were showing slums of Lagos.
The Nigerian High Commission is useless, we cannot expect people to write or show good things about us, our lives are not in their hands, if the Government is disgusted with the programme all they have to do shoot their own version and give it to the same BBC or any other mainstream channel even if it has to be paid for like an advert.
I was very touched and inspired by the documentary. I hope all the people documented achieve their goals in life and continue being hardworking and happy. I hope Esther becomes a teacher or Journalist soon :)
The documentary was about the slums so why are people expecting them to show the glitzy Lagos??? We should be happy that people will get to see the hardworking and resilient, regular Nigerians. I agree with Doja, those that are unsatisfied with this documentary can film the Lagos they see and give it to the international media.
The problem is not so much with the content; it is with the title. The title sets the expectation for the viewers, and that may explain the frustration of some Nigerians who were expecting to see more than the slums of Lagos. A more suitable title would have been 'Welcome to The Slums of Lagos'or 'Survival in the Slums of Lagos' because that's the primary focus of the show --the slums.
There is nothing offensive in documenting the real lives of real people, going through real problems. As a matter of fact, I learned so much from this show. The show is as honest as shows come in its portrayal of lower income Lagos. I always wonder how the VAST majority of people survive in Nigeria as a whole given the lack of job opportunity, and limited education and skill, and now I have seen a first hand account. Scavenging through dirt to pay for music production is the epitome of the struggles and aspirations of every single human being in a capitalistic system.
However, a show that documents the socio-economic lives of low, middle, and high income residents, and how they interact with each other in the context of the Lagos economic system, would be more deserving of the title 'Welcome to Lagos'. So, in the final analysis, while the show does very well on portraying poverty in the slums of Lagos, it does not deliver on showing a cross-section of Lagos among the different economic groups and the conditions under which they thrive, and is therefore not deserving of the title 'Welcome to Lagos'. As many others have said, if the Nigerian Government is rattled by this, they should do something about it; I can think of many spins on this. I hope the Federal Government can.
"Welcome to Lagos", what an aspiration and a "man in the mirror". For anyone anywhere that does not know what to do with the future, here is your future. Shame we do not know where the noise coming out of our so called government is from. Their mouth or the other end? As always, they missed the point. A huge learning platform presents itself and they are embarrassed. They are not obsessed with legacy like our heros in the awesome docusoap. Great people, mad nation and stupid government. What a joy.
i like this show... the problem with it is the title. it is called 'welcome to lagos' but it pretty much only shows the slums of lagos. its just misleading for all the young and impressionable minds that are out there in england, and trust me there are many of them. and also, they only ever show the negative side of africa... dats what british tv does, which isnt right because there are positive sides too. this was a good documentary but they should have named it something like 'the slums of lagos' instead and they need to break the mould and show positive developments as these are definately occuring all throughout not just africa but indeed the whole developing world
welcome to Lagos is one of the best documentaries ever These so call cry babies who moan about misrepresentation need to take a hard look at themselves. It's not about them, it's about their fellow Nigerians yet they're sooo blind to that fact. Anyway WTL has helped me examine the other side of life. I hope others do the same.
I really enjoyed the movie, but I doubt that in ten years we will see a Lagos that looks much like London. That has its roots in a world economic system in which Nigeria and Nigerians have been exploited by foreigners in the first place but now by their own politicians and business people.
I am pained that Esther and Segun had to seperate permanently. I wish her all the best and I hope her dream of becoming a teacher or a journalist comes true for she has the brains for it.
Thank you very much SDS!
i dont know why i'm not moved. maybe because the script is too neat or because the guys in the dump speak too neat an english or something else. something just seems not to be right with it. if bbc decides not to show other infrastructure maybe its because govt had done a very good job of tooting its own horn. i just find it amusing. it only shows that we are a part of the world, after all the bronx in england is also related to a dump site. there are also ghettos in the uk. good job bbc!! may be someday you'll do a documentary on london. MAYBE!
After all the hype, I finally watched the series and I am so glad I did. I learned A LOT. I grew up middle class in Lagos and just assumed the poor petty trade, beg or become thieves. It was very eye opening to see how industrious they get. I really wish the government could help make things better in terms of providing the basic ammenities of life. It was humbling to see these Lagosians take pride in their work no matter how menial. Who am I to complain of my life and lack of wealth, when i have access to so much that they don't. Esther was my favorite!!!
The Impossible traffic jam, a narrative By Allwell Okpi is probably the next installment in the long line of awesome Lagos stories. It begins like this "Tunde Orekoya left Purpose Life Retreat Centre, near Ayetoro village, about five kilometres from Redemption Camp along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to head back to Lagos. That was at 3:15pm Saturday, May 8. He didn’t get home till 7am Sunday" ... enjoy.
A real good documentary. This is awesome!
As far as I am concerned, this doc is balanced. Majority of people in Lagos are not wealthy, but poor. Maybe they don't live in the slums, but most of those people are just one misfortune away from joining the slum community. You are living in a fairy-tale if you honestly believe that there is a thriving middle class in Lagos. What country with a thriving middle class yields absolutely no power to them? No, in places like this there is almost certainly the "Haves" and the "Have Nots". What do they have... Money. What does that equal... Power. What does that mean... it means these "initiatives", which may seem to have good intentions, are just the "haves" pushing the "have nots" out of the way to make room for more "haves" (even non-Nigerians). China pushed the poor out of the way just to make room for the Olympic cameras...now its Lagos's turn. Grab your popcorn, its going to be an epic!
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