Makoko Slum

Shout out to everyone, how is the weekend going? It's a great one here and I hope you are all good wherever you are. There have been warm days and cold nights here in my region. People have been complaining about too much cold even when there is no water body around us. We live on a plain land with trees around us. The cold is really getting too much without rain.

This massive earth has people living almost everywhere on its surface. There are people who live in plain land, mountain areas and water areas.

My topic today is focused on the part of Nigeria that lives on the river. Yes, they live not in but on the river. They are the popular slum in West Africa and one of the largest of its kind in the world. I am talking about the "Makoko slum".

To some, this might sound new but I believe some of us might have heard about it or even know where this slum is located. I just got to hear about it and ever since I heard it for the first time, I have been trying to know more about it.

Yesterday as I was dining with my cousin sis, she saw this video on her Facebook where some white visitors came to see the Makoko slum. She was also knowing about it the first time. She quickly called my attention and I was surprised to see a hanging village on a large surface of water for the first time ever. I never imagined there was a place like that in my country and wouldn't have believed it in pictures.

The Makoko slum has a number of people living there, after browsing more about this place, I found out that they do just about everything in the River. This hanging city majors in their occupation in fishing and eating mostly of sea foods.

Fishing is a daily routine for survival and every home is likely to have fishermen. They have a wooden boat for both fishing and movement from outside their hanging home to wherever they want to go including on land.

This city seems like a wonder of the world to me because I couldn't believe a place like that exists; people living on water, hilarious! Kids and adults are seen moving about on the boats and facing their daily activities.

The water below is a source to do many things but I believe they won't consume it. I saw from an interview how one of the inhabitants was telling about the hanging city. According to him, he said he was born and raised there and has been there all his life. He's a fisherman and that's his survival occupation. He was asked where they dump wastes and where they use as toilet and he said it is that same river. I was like ouch! For real? What has the government done to help out these people was the next lines of questions in my mind.

It is really not easy to survive on a dry land and now here is a city built on water. What about their babies and the cold weather over there? The adults who have spent so many years will be used to the environment more than the kids and infants that live there. This hanging city interests me in some ways, I will love to visit there and spend at least a night over there and experience what it looks like. I know it will be a great experience with the fresh seafood they have, lol!

A hanging school was once built but was later abandoned for safety and now, the school has collapsed and all these on the same river. The government, individuals and firms should help out the Makoko children in free education and scholarships. Building a stronger and more standard homes for them is another way they can be helped. Makoko is the world's largest floating slum.

Thanks for reading and have a beautiful weekend.

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Lead image credit: From unsplash.com