Welcome To Lagos (2010) s01e03 Episode Script
Kuramo Beach
The programme contains some strong language.
Do you know something? Over the next 40 years, the number of humans crowded into this little planet is going to climb to over 9 billion.
And nearly all of this population explosion is going to take place in cities, ever-expanding urban centres which will become the hub of all human activity.
Where on earth is it going to end? Welcome to Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, and the fastest growing megacity in the world.
In ten years' time, they say Lagos will be home to more than 25 million people, and everyone is wondering how it's going to cope.
It can barely handle all the people who are here already! Well, some people think they have the answer.
Plans are afoot to re-model Lagos and turn it into a modern first-world city.
These are a few of the people on the frontline of this change.
They are determined.
Adaptable.
And incredibly resilient.
And if the plans do succeed, and the city becomes a Western-style metropolis who's going to be there to enjoy it? Once a month, for a few hours on the last Saturday, Lagos undergoes an amazing transformation.
Some of the noisiest and busiest streets in the world fall silent, as 16 million people stay at home to help tidy up their neighbourhoods.
Whether people are moved by "civic pride" in the swankier parts of town, or deterred by the "on the spot fines" in the poorer areas, the Government's "sanitation day" is rigorously observed by everybody, everywhere.
Kuramo Beach is a tiny spit of sand attached to Victoria Island, Lagos's most upmarket neighbourhood.
It's become the unlikely location for a shanty town, housing a thousand or so people, which has already twice been bulldozed by the government.
But even here, the inhabitants are out in force.
Esther has lived here since she arrived in Lagos 7 years ago.
She was only 16, and looking for adventure in the big city.
Now she's got a little business selling phone cards, and a house, where she lives with her husband, Segun, while the try to get enough money to move somewhere more permanent.
Welcome to my house.
This is where I live.
And my husband.
We live here together.
My husband is not at home.
He has gone to work.
I got a radio where I listen to music.
And two pillows where we sleep, I and my husband.
And here is my bag where my clothes in.
I have some books, I do read a lot.
This is my Bible.
I take it to church.
Here we hang our clothes all round because, at any time, the water can be aggressive and then will be entering into our house.
My husband has gone to work, like I said, and he is a very loving and caring man.
I love him.
Yes.
Setting up home on the beach is relatively easy.
For about £80, paid to the right people, you can get a house made of scrap wood and tarpaulin built for you.
And as long as you don't mind mucking in once a month, and keeping it tidy, you'll get along fine.
When it comes to cleaning up the city, sanitation day is just the tip of the iceberg.
The government has drawn up big plans to turn Lagos into the Singapore of Africa, a modern, business-friendly city that will attract people from all over the world.
To achieve this, they plan to destroy all the slums which make up three quarters of Lagos, and drive out all the criminals, squatters and illegal traders who clog up the streets.
They're calling it the "Lagos Megacity Project".
And these guys, the Task Force, are at the forefront of it.
Made up of hand-picked policemen and state paramilitaries, the Task Force operate on a mandate all of their own.
They have the power to arrest, seize goods and even destroy property, without providing any compensation.
This guy, Sagede, was born and bred in Lagos, and used to work as a traffic cop.
But as soon as he heard about the Task Force, he jumped at the chance to go and work for something he really believes in.
When Sagede talks about the city being doomed, this is what he means.
Mile upon mile of gridlock, and huge areas of slum housing with no proper drainage and sanitation, which have sprawled organically over the years.
The Megacity Project claims it's going to fix these problems by re-vamping the entire infrastructure of the city.
But that means creating chaos, because when the Task Force and their bulldozers have flattened these areas to make way for the new roads and sewage systems, there's very little mention of where the people who live here now should actually go.
And that's a lot of people.
11 million, and rising every day.
Esther's best friends on Kuramo are called Blessing and Victoria, two mothers with young children who were born on the beach.
Blessing is heavily pregnant with her second child, which is due in just a couple of weeks.
Despite Esther's concerns, the beach has proven a popular place for young families to bring up their children.
On average there's a new baby born here every couple of weeks.
And, not surprisingly, a village-like community has grown up around them.
There are shops catering for families on a budget, filled with cheap foods like Gari, the cassava flour eaten by everyone, every day.
A cinema showing all the latest Nollywood movies.
A church, and even a sports centre.
And with huge construction projects less than 10 minutes walk away on Victoria Island, it's an easy commute for all the men.
Like Esther's husband, Segun.
For people living in ghettos across the city, planning for tomorrow is becoming something of a luxury.
When the Task Force target an area for clearance, they often arrive at dawn, without warning.
Like here, in Agege, where this morning, they're destroying all the slums built along the main railway line in and out of Lagos.
Like most things round here, the railway system isn't exactly a model of efficiency.
As it stands, Nigeria's largest city has a service of just one train a week.
And as the tracks have lain empty, thousands of people have flooded in, building shops and houses wherever they like.
Now, the government is planning to install an ultra-modern electric railway to ferry the commuters of tomorrow into the commercial centre of the new Megacity.
And that means clearing the route.
All twenty-odd miles of it.
At Task Force Headquarters, Sagede and his squad are just starting their shift.
Although he was born in Lagos, Sagede has moved to neighbouring Ogun State.
And he's refusing to come back until Lagos's transformation into a Megacity is complete.
Today is Esther's 24th birthday.
And for the last few months, Segun has been putting aside a little bit of money every week, so he can throw her a proper party.
All Esther's friends have come round to help out and the preparations have been buzzing with the latest rumour doing the rounds.
CAR HORN BLARES OU As part of the Megacity project, Sagede and his squad make regular raids against one of the city's most notorious problems Area Boys.
These loosely-organised gangs control nearly every neighbourhood in Lagos, robbing people, extorting money, and taxing anyone who comes their way.
Everybody hates them! The Task Force's methods may not be that prettybut they are working.
Rather than risk an encounter with these guys, most Area Boys are choosing to stay at home these days.
Or even get a job.
Its 10 days since Esther's birthday and things have gone terribly wrong.
Segun is now staying with friends further down the beach because Esther has kicked him out.
An hour after Esther read his text messages, Segun came home to find all his possessions piled up in the middle of the beach and his mobile phone buried in the sand beside them! It's the kind of single-mindedness and strength common to a lot of the women here.
Not only do they all pop out dozens of babies, and cook, and clean, and look after the house, but the vast majority have full-on jobs too.
Running their own businesses, hawking food, hustling with the best of them.
So while it might appear that the city is run by men, everyone knows that without the women this whole place would fall apart.
Blessing's baby is now a week overdue, so Esther has called in Victoria, a midwife who used to live on the beach.
CHELSEA FOOTBALL TEAM SONG PLAYS ON RADIO Bow-ow-ow! It's raining today, and I'm so excited, I'm so happy.
I can't hide my feelings! Due to the rain, my club's team won.
We won 2-1 against Arsenal.
I'm quite excited.
I don't know what I'm going to do, I'm so happy! We are heading for the finals.
We are heading for the finals! I can't hide my excitement.
Once the Task Force have been through an area, sweeping away all the miscreants and Area Boys before them, the beautification squads move in.
Since the Megacity project began, a whole industry of landscapers and gardeners has emerged, charged with turning Lagos green.
Although it might seem a bit absurd to spend so much money on plants and water features, when three quarters of people in Lagos live without proper drainage and sanitation, most people here support the beautification projects.
The Area Boys who used to occupy these patches of wasteland are now being offered work as gardeners and park wardens, which is making the whole city feel much safer.
And after decades of neglect, people are pleased to see someone is trying to change things for the better.
It's almost two weeks since Esther kicked Segun out, and after a bit of detective work, she's got to the bottom of those text messages.
While Segun stews on the beach, Esther's decided to take one of her regular trips to see her parents on the outskirts of the city.
When she first arrived in Lagos as a young girl, Esther slept with a man on the beach, and pretty soon, she discovered she was going to have a baby.
She gave birth to a daughter, Christina, but after a couple of years, the bulldozers came and destroyed their house, and Esther decided the beach was no place to bring up a kid.
So, for the time being, Christina lives with Esther's parents.
Home sweet home.
THUNDER RUMBLES As the first big storm of the rainy season hits the city, for the people on Kuramo beach, it's the first opportunity in months to collect free drinking water.
But sometimes, too much water is not a good thing.
Everybody on the beach knows that once or twice a year, at extremely high tides, there's a risk of flooding.
But this year the damage is especially bad.
But before they can even deal with the mess of last night, the tide changes, and the whole thing starts again.
Not that anyone seems to mind too much.
Instead of grabbing their possessions and heading for high ground, these guys just grab a spade and get on with it.
Across town, on a rooftop in Surulere, Sagede is working his second shift of the day.
In his youth, he was a noted dancer and choreographer, touring the world with the Nigerian National Theatre.
And once a week he still teaches an evening class in Nigerian traditional dance.
1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6.
1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Let's go! Now a lot of people round here have more than one job, but Sagede, who spends his evenings promoting traditional values and tribal cultures, and his days ploughing through the city destroying its ghettos, does seem to be taking this to the extreme.
Like everybody else working on the Megacity project, Sagede is of the opinion that if you want to make an omelette, you've got to break a few eggs, and he's convinced that they are making a real difference.
And you know what? He might well be right.
But it's all so chaotic and brutal at the moment that it's difficult to predict how it's all going to end up.
One thing's for sure though, it's going to be a while before Sagede is ready to re-pack his stuff, and move back into the Megacity of his birth.
SHE WHISTLES A couple of days after the flood, the sea has calmed down, and most people are starting to repair their homes.
But Esther and Segun have other problems to deal with.
Like most people in Lagos, during uncertain times, Esther turns to her church.
And tonight, for the first time, she's travelled to the other side of the city to attend one of their special events.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God is gigantic, and these monthly, all-night "miracle services," held in a purpose built hangar in their own enormous compound on the outskirts of Lagos, are attended by up to a million people.
You have always been My closest friend You are there To bring me back Thank you, Jesus Thank you Thank you, Lord It's a month since the all-night prayer vigil, and Esther and Segun have separated permanently.
She's now living in a house on her own, and making ends meet with her phone card business.
Despite the rumours, there's still no sign of the Task Force arriving, and word is going around that the people on the beach are being granted a reprieve for a couple of years, which gives Esther a chance to start planning for her future.
That's what I'm going to do.
That's what I'm going to do.
Esther, and all the others who live on Kuramo Beach, are just some of the millions of people making their lives in the slums and ghettos of Lagos, sharing the same kind of hopes, dreams, fears and ambitions as the rest of us, and like a billion other people in similar conditions all over the world, they're living through a period of immense change, as mankind begins to come to terms with its urban future.
But one thing's for sure.
However the Lagos Megacity Project turns out, the people who have come here, and made their homes in the most unlikely of places, will find new and fantastic ways to adapt to it, and make Lagos their own again.
RED BEE MEDIA LTD
Do you know something? Over the next 40 years, the number of humans crowded into this little planet is going to climb to over 9 billion.
And nearly all of this population explosion is going to take place in cities, ever-expanding urban centres which will become the hub of all human activity.
Where on earth is it going to end? Welcome to Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, and the fastest growing megacity in the world.
In ten years' time, they say Lagos will be home to more than 25 million people, and everyone is wondering how it's going to cope.
It can barely handle all the people who are here already! Well, some people think they have the answer.
Plans are afoot to re-model Lagos and turn it into a modern first-world city.
These are a few of the people on the frontline of this change.
They are determined.
Adaptable.
And incredibly resilient.
And if the plans do succeed, and the city becomes a Western-style metropolis who's going to be there to enjoy it? Once a month, for a few hours on the last Saturday, Lagos undergoes an amazing transformation.
Some of the noisiest and busiest streets in the world fall silent, as 16 million people stay at home to help tidy up their neighbourhoods.
Whether people are moved by "civic pride" in the swankier parts of town, or deterred by the "on the spot fines" in the poorer areas, the Government's "sanitation day" is rigorously observed by everybody, everywhere.
Kuramo Beach is a tiny spit of sand attached to Victoria Island, Lagos's most upmarket neighbourhood.
It's become the unlikely location for a shanty town, housing a thousand or so people, which has already twice been bulldozed by the government.
But even here, the inhabitants are out in force.
Esther has lived here since she arrived in Lagos 7 years ago.
She was only 16, and looking for adventure in the big city.
Now she's got a little business selling phone cards, and a house, where she lives with her husband, Segun, while the try to get enough money to move somewhere more permanent.
Welcome to my house.
This is where I live.
And my husband.
We live here together.
My husband is not at home.
He has gone to work.
I got a radio where I listen to music.
And two pillows where we sleep, I and my husband.
And here is my bag where my clothes in.
I have some books, I do read a lot.
This is my Bible.
I take it to church.
Here we hang our clothes all round because, at any time, the water can be aggressive and then will be entering into our house.
My husband has gone to work, like I said, and he is a very loving and caring man.
I love him.
Yes.
Setting up home on the beach is relatively easy.
For about £80, paid to the right people, you can get a house made of scrap wood and tarpaulin built for you.
And as long as you don't mind mucking in once a month, and keeping it tidy, you'll get along fine.
When it comes to cleaning up the city, sanitation day is just the tip of the iceberg.
The government has drawn up big plans to turn Lagos into the Singapore of Africa, a modern, business-friendly city that will attract people from all over the world.
To achieve this, they plan to destroy all the slums which make up three quarters of Lagos, and drive out all the criminals, squatters and illegal traders who clog up the streets.
They're calling it the "Lagos Megacity Project".
And these guys, the Task Force, are at the forefront of it.
Made up of hand-picked policemen and state paramilitaries, the Task Force operate on a mandate all of their own.
They have the power to arrest, seize goods and even destroy property, without providing any compensation.
This guy, Sagede, was born and bred in Lagos, and used to work as a traffic cop.
But as soon as he heard about the Task Force, he jumped at the chance to go and work for something he really believes in.
When Sagede talks about the city being doomed, this is what he means.
Mile upon mile of gridlock, and huge areas of slum housing with no proper drainage and sanitation, which have sprawled organically over the years.
The Megacity Project claims it's going to fix these problems by re-vamping the entire infrastructure of the city.
But that means creating chaos, because when the Task Force and their bulldozers have flattened these areas to make way for the new roads and sewage systems, there's very little mention of where the people who live here now should actually go.
And that's a lot of people.
11 million, and rising every day.
Esther's best friends on Kuramo are called Blessing and Victoria, two mothers with young children who were born on the beach.
Blessing is heavily pregnant with her second child, which is due in just a couple of weeks.
Despite Esther's concerns, the beach has proven a popular place for young families to bring up their children.
On average there's a new baby born here every couple of weeks.
And, not surprisingly, a village-like community has grown up around them.
There are shops catering for families on a budget, filled with cheap foods like Gari, the cassava flour eaten by everyone, every day.
A cinema showing all the latest Nollywood movies.
A church, and even a sports centre.
And with huge construction projects less than 10 minutes walk away on Victoria Island, it's an easy commute for all the men.
Like Esther's husband, Segun.
For people living in ghettos across the city, planning for tomorrow is becoming something of a luxury.
When the Task Force target an area for clearance, they often arrive at dawn, without warning.
Like here, in Agege, where this morning, they're destroying all the slums built along the main railway line in and out of Lagos.
Like most things round here, the railway system isn't exactly a model of efficiency.
As it stands, Nigeria's largest city has a service of just one train a week.
And as the tracks have lain empty, thousands of people have flooded in, building shops and houses wherever they like.
Now, the government is planning to install an ultra-modern electric railway to ferry the commuters of tomorrow into the commercial centre of the new Megacity.
And that means clearing the route.
All twenty-odd miles of it.
At Task Force Headquarters, Sagede and his squad are just starting their shift.
Although he was born in Lagos, Sagede has moved to neighbouring Ogun State.
And he's refusing to come back until Lagos's transformation into a Megacity is complete.
Today is Esther's 24th birthday.
And for the last few months, Segun has been putting aside a little bit of money every week, so he can throw her a proper party.
All Esther's friends have come round to help out and the preparations have been buzzing with the latest rumour doing the rounds.
CAR HORN BLARES OU As part of the Megacity project, Sagede and his squad make regular raids against one of the city's most notorious problems Area Boys.
These loosely-organised gangs control nearly every neighbourhood in Lagos, robbing people, extorting money, and taxing anyone who comes their way.
Everybody hates them! The Task Force's methods may not be that prettybut they are working.
Rather than risk an encounter with these guys, most Area Boys are choosing to stay at home these days.
Or even get a job.
Its 10 days since Esther's birthday and things have gone terribly wrong.
Segun is now staying with friends further down the beach because Esther has kicked him out.
An hour after Esther read his text messages, Segun came home to find all his possessions piled up in the middle of the beach and his mobile phone buried in the sand beside them! It's the kind of single-mindedness and strength common to a lot of the women here.
Not only do they all pop out dozens of babies, and cook, and clean, and look after the house, but the vast majority have full-on jobs too.
Running their own businesses, hawking food, hustling with the best of them.
So while it might appear that the city is run by men, everyone knows that without the women this whole place would fall apart.
Blessing's baby is now a week overdue, so Esther has called in Victoria, a midwife who used to live on the beach.
CHELSEA FOOTBALL TEAM SONG PLAYS ON RADIO Bow-ow-ow! It's raining today, and I'm so excited, I'm so happy.
I can't hide my feelings! Due to the rain, my club's team won.
We won 2-1 against Arsenal.
I'm quite excited.
I don't know what I'm going to do, I'm so happy! We are heading for the finals.
We are heading for the finals! I can't hide my excitement.
Once the Task Force have been through an area, sweeping away all the miscreants and Area Boys before them, the beautification squads move in.
Since the Megacity project began, a whole industry of landscapers and gardeners has emerged, charged with turning Lagos green.
Although it might seem a bit absurd to spend so much money on plants and water features, when three quarters of people in Lagos live without proper drainage and sanitation, most people here support the beautification projects.
The Area Boys who used to occupy these patches of wasteland are now being offered work as gardeners and park wardens, which is making the whole city feel much safer.
And after decades of neglect, people are pleased to see someone is trying to change things for the better.
It's almost two weeks since Esther kicked Segun out, and after a bit of detective work, she's got to the bottom of those text messages.
While Segun stews on the beach, Esther's decided to take one of her regular trips to see her parents on the outskirts of the city.
When she first arrived in Lagos as a young girl, Esther slept with a man on the beach, and pretty soon, she discovered she was going to have a baby.
She gave birth to a daughter, Christina, but after a couple of years, the bulldozers came and destroyed their house, and Esther decided the beach was no place to bring up a kid.
So, for the time being, Christina lives with Esther's parents.
Home sweet home.
THUNDER RUMBLES As the first big storm of the rainy season hits the city, for the people on Kuramo beach, it's the first opportunity in months to collect free drinking water.
But sometimes, too much water is not a good thing.
Everybody on the beach knows that once or twice a year, at extremely high tides, there's a risk of flooding.
But this year the damage is especially bad.
But before they can even deal with the mess of last night, the tide changes, and the whole thing starts again.
Not that anyone seems to mind too much.
Instead of grabbing their possessions and heading for high ground, these guys just grab a spade and get on with it.
Across town, on a rooftop in Surulere, Sagede is working his second shift of the day.
In his youth, he was a noted dancer and choreographer, touring the world with the Nigerian National Theatre.
And once a week he still teaches an evening class in Nigerian traditional dance.
1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6.
1, 2, 3 4, 5, 6.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Let's go! Now a lot of people round here have more than one job, but Sagede, who spends his evenings promoting traditional values and tribal cultures, and his days ploughing through the city destroying its ghettos, does seem to be taking this to the extreme.
Like everybody else working on the Megacity project, Sagede is of the opinion that if you want to make an omelette, you've got to break a few eggs, and he's convinced that they are making a real difference.
And you know what? He might well be right.
But it's all so chaotic and brutal at the moment that it's difficult to predict how it's all going to end up.
One thing's for sure though, it's going to be a while before Sagede is ready to re-pack his stuff, and move back into the Megacity of his birth.
SHE WHISTLES A couple of days after the flood, the sea has calmed down, and most people are starting to repair their homes.
But Esther and Segun have other problems to deal with.
Like most people in Lagos, during uncertain times, Esther turns to her church.
And tonight, for the first time, she's travelled to the other side of the city to attend one of their special events.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God is gigantic, and these monthly, all-night "miracle services," held in a purpose built hangar in their own enormous compound on the outskirts of Lagos, are attended by up to a million people.
You have always been My closest friend You are there To bring me back Thank you, Jesus Thank you Thank you, Lord It's a month since the all-night prayer vigil, and Esther and Segun have separated permanently.
She's now living in a house on her own, and making ends meet with her phone card business.
Despite the rumours, there's still no sign of the Task Force arriving, and word is going around that the people on the beach are being granted a reprieve for a couple of years, which gives Esther a chance to start planning for her future.
That's what I'm going to do.
That's what I'm going to do.
Esther, and all the others who live on Kuramo Beach, are just some of the millions of people making their lives in the slums and ghettos of Lagos, sharing the same kind of hopes, dreams, fears and ambitions as the rest of us, and like a billion other people in similar conditions all over the world, they're living through a period of immense change, as mankind begins to come to terms with its urban future.
But one thing's for sure.
However the Lagos Megacity Project turns out, the people who have come here, and made their homes in the most unlikely of places, will find new and fantastic ways to adapt to it, and make Lagos their own again.
RED BEE MEDIA LTD