1. Nigerian Slum's Filth Is a World Away From Capital's Glitter
In the Lagos slum of Makoko, perched on a lagoon, the water is black with filth. But today the hymns and chants of the faithful rose with fervor and the white robes of many of the Sunday churchgoers glimmered in the putrid breeze.
Religion, offered in many guises, is booming in a desperate Nigeria, plundered by successive military governments. The pigs that snuffle amid the garbage in Makoko do so beneath signs for the Redeemed Church of Christ, the Word of Life Bible Church, the Foursquare Gospel Church, the Holy Ghost Solution Church and countless others.
Victor Olayiwola, an immigration official with a monthly salary of $40, stood in spotless white robes outside the Celestial Church of Christ, an evangelical church bordered by an open sewer. ''The churches are springing up because of our suffering,'' he said. ''Without the preachers, there would have been war in Nigeria.''
About 500 miles from here, and a world away. in the newly constructed capital, Abuja, signs abound of where some of the oil wealth that might have lifted Makoko from its mire has gone.
2. Life in Makoko Slum
Copyright, Blaise APLOGAN, 2010,© Bienvenu sur Babilown
Tout copier/collage de cet article sur un autre site doit en mentionner et l’origine et l’auteur sous peine d’être en infraction.
babilown.com 