Nigeria's biggest slum

Teken

Known around here
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2,921
Location
Canada
I'm always impressed with how people do so much with so little. The person they are talking to has incredible command of the English language and is easily understood. This can't be said about the Indians I've had to deal with at (WEPRO) that seem to get worse every single year. :facepalm:

Watching these sort of video's just affirms there's always someone else who has less . . .
 
Joined
Aug 8, 2018
Messages
7,510
Reaction score
26,400
Location
Spring, Texas
This is a very interesting film. I spent a couple of months in Lagos back in 2002 and then did five years there 2006-2011. I saw a big difference between those two tours and now what this video shows in 2021. When I was there they were saying that Lagos was about 17 million and now this video states 25 million. Makoko is not that far from where I was on Ikoy and VI. We would drive past it on the way to the airport. It was not as big then as it is now. These are photos I took in 2002.

IMG_0022.JPGIMG_0023.JPG

Living there was quite an experience. It does teach you to appreciate what we have here in the US. The Nigerian in the film was the son of the Chief. He had a good education. He is well fed and has had access to medical help if needed. He has electricity! He is not the average Nigerian. The British accent is quite common there of people that have attended school. Note his father did not speak English and did not have the British accent. Most children that receive an education go back to their home and use that education to help the village. Every Nigerian I worked with had a high sense of family, and family is not just your biological one but also your village. They would send part of their salary back to the village and the elders would distribute it as they saw fit. Every holiday was spent back home.

Folks there were very friendly and helpful. Go to a market or to the beach and they love to talk to you and learn about the rest of the world. But as any place with a huge population, theft was a big concern. Other than the kidnapping for ransom issues there, I never much felt unsafe.
 

Teken

Known around here
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2,921
Location
Canada
This is a very interesting film. I spent a couple of months in Lagos back in 2002 and then did five years there 2006-2011. I saw a big difference between those two tours and now what this video shows in 2021. When I was there they were saying that Lagos was about 17 million and now this video states 25 million. Makoko is not that far from where I was on Ikoy and VI. We would drive past it on the way to the airport. It was not as big then as it is now. These are photos I took in 2002.

View attachment 112064View attachment 112065

Living there was quite an experience. It does teach you to appreciate what we have here in the US. The Nigerian in the film was the son of the Chief. He had a good education. He is well fed and has had access to medical help if needed. He has electricity! He is not the average Nigerian. The British accent is quite common there of people that have attended school. Note his father did not speak English and did not have the British accent. Most children that receive an education go back to their home and use that education to help the village. Every Nigerian I worked with had a high sense of family, and family is not just your biological one but also your village. They would send part of their salary back to the village and the elders would distribute it as they saw fit. Every holiday was spent back home.

Folks there were very friendly and helpful. Go to a market or to the beach and they love to talk to you and learn about the rest of the world. But as any place with a huge population, theft was a big concern. Other than the kidnapping for ransom issues there, I never much felt unsafe.
What made me quite sad was to hear of how polluted the water is there. Listening to the guide explain how the toilet worked and the fact all of the fecal matter goes straight into the lake / river. Yet, the children ignore what the elders have told them about not swimming / bathing / drinking from the same. :embarrassed:

In another part of the video I wasn't clear on the part about the fish they caught in the same lake / river and sold it at the city???

Did they actually say they receive more money for that contaminated fish? Or simply they caught the fish to make income and that was it. The irony is they know the fish is not fit to eat and will still sell the same to the people. :facepalm: Than again watching people walk back and forth in a mine field everyday just to get from A - B.

All the while dribbling a ball without a care in the world makes eating contaminated fish a walk in the park! :lmao:
 

Arjun

Known around here
Joined
Feb 26, 2017
Messages
9,147
Reaction score
11,233
Location
USA
The world would have made significant progress when they stop referring Africa as a country :facepalm:
 

garycrist

Known around here
Joined
Sep 25, 2021
Messages
2,367
Reaction score
6,967
Location
Texas
It was sort of like that in Seville Spain when we were there in the late 50's early 60's. For us, it
was Stink Village on the then "out skirts" on Seville. A polluted creek ran through the settlement
that was water sewer etc.

The kids would run after the cars as we passed through yelling chicle, chicle, chicle, which meant gum, gum, gum.
On a good note they could not play baseball but, boy did they know how to play soccer and kickball!
 

IAmATeaf

Known around here
Joined
Jan 13, 2019
Messages
3,318
Reaction score
3,308
Location
United Kingdom
You get the same in India, the famous slums with the blue tarpaulin plastic roofs you see from your trans Atlantic plane as it comes into land at Mumbai airport. I've also watched videos of the slums in Brazil.

What is humbling is what little these people have but they still seem happy whereas my kids get upset if they don't have the latest iPhones.
 
Joined
Aug 8, 2018
Messages
7,510
Reaction score
26,400
Location
Spring, Texas
In another part of the video I wasn't clear on the part about the fish they caught in the same lake / river and sold it at the city???
The 'settlement' is in Lagos Lagoon, which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean. On average there is about a 2.5-3.5 foot tide range.

I doubt that there is live fish in the Makoko settlement proper. Way to polluted for that. I think that the distinction is being made between the fish caught in the part of the lagoon west of the Third Mainland Bridge versus caught in the Badagry Creek tidal area or in the open Gulf of Guinea/Atlantic Ocean. The Makoko area is circled in red on the below map. While Google Maps shows it as land, it is really floating/staked buildings over 3-5 foot deep water.

1639623545649.png
 

Teken

Known around here
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Messages
1,616
Reaction score
2,921
Location
Canada
The 'settlement' is in Lagos Lagoon, which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean. On average there is about a 2.5-3.5 foot tide range.

I doubt that there is live fish in the Makoko settlement proper. Way to polluted for that. I think that the distinction is being made between the fish caught in the part of the lagoon west of the Third Mainland Bridge versus caught in the Badagry Creek tidal area or in the open Gulf of Guinea/Atlantic Ocean. The Makoko area is circled in red on the below map. While Google Maps shows it as land, it is really floating/staked buildings over 3-5 foot deep water.

View attachment 112242
Appreciate the insight but I'm still unclear about what the host and lady said about not eating the fish they catch. Yet they sell the same fish to others instead more inland to others?!?
 
Top